Wolves 1-1 Portsmouth: Terry Devlin Denies Wolves With Four Minutes To Go

Wolves and Portsmouth shared the spoils in a Championship clash that had plenty of edge but ultimately left the home side frustrated. Jordan James put Wolves ahead in the 62nd minute. Terry Devlin cancelled it out with four minutes to play. That is the story. And it is not a good one for Wolves.

The Match

Wolves had the lion's share of possession. Fifty-eight percent of it, to be exact. They had 15 shots to Portsmouth's eight. They hit the woodwork. They had more corners, more dangerous attacks, more key passes. The thing is, none of that matters when you concede a goal in the 86th minute and drop two points at home. End of.

Portsmouth came here to compete. They sat in, they absorbed, and they made Wolves do the hard work. With 42 percent of the ball, Portsmouth won 61 duels to Wolves' 38. Twenty-nine tackles to seventeen. That is not a side that came here to roll over. Their attitude was right.

First Half: Wolves Knock But Cannot Open The Door

Wolves controlled the tempo early and Portsmouth were content to let them. Sean Neave picked up a yellow card for Wolves in the 22nd minute for a foul, and he did not make it to half time. The Wolves manager hooked him at the break, bringing on Tawanda Blessing Chirewa. Jordan James also came on at half time, replacing Marshall Nyasha Munetsi. That substitution turned out to be the most important decision of the night.

Portsmouth made two changes of their own at the 53rd minute mark, introducing Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and Marko Milovanovic. The game was heating up. Iyad Mohamed picked up a yellow card for Wolves in the 55th minute for a foul. A minute later, Cesar Peixoto received a booking on the Portsmouth bench for an argument. Six yellows between the two sides by the end of the night. Three each. There was desire in this game, at least.

Jordan James Does What Wolves Needed

James had barely been on the pitch an hour when he settled the game. In the 62nd minute he drove a right foot shot home, assisted by Fernando Lopez Gonzalez. A midfielder off the bench making the difference. Good footballers do that. The question Wolves have to ask themselves is why it needed a substitute to unlock things.

Wolves had eight shots in the first half window of play before James arrived and converted. They hit the woodwork. They created. But they could not finish. Wolves managed only two shots on target across the whole match, and one of those ended up in the net. That conversion rate is fine when you hold on to the lead. It becomes a problem when you do not.

The Capitulation

Listen, giving up a goal in the 86th minute at home is unacceptable. You are four minutes from three points. Your job, every single player on that pitch, is to see it out. Portsmouth had Portsmouth's Terry Devlin pop up and slot a right foot shot past the Wolves goalkeeper. One shot on target from Portsmouth in this match. One. And it went in.

Wolves had brought on Jean-Ricner Bellegarde at the 75th minute and Tommy Doyle had come on at 67. Both picked up yellow cards in the final ten minutes, Bellegarde for a foul in the 83rd and Doyle a minute later. Fresh legs, yellow cards, and then a goal conceded. That is not game management. That is chaos.

Ryan Kavuma-McQueen also picked up a late booking for Portsmouth in the 90th minute, but by then the damage was done. Portsmouth had their point.

Portsmouth's Injuries And Their Resilience

It is worth noting that Portsmouth carried two injury absences into this game. One player out through a major injury, another on a long-term absence not expected back until November. Competing in the Championship with that kind of strain on your squad and coming away from Molineux with a draw says something about their mentality. Their standards held when it mattered.

What The Numbers Tell You

Wolves had 108 attacks to Portsmouth's 90. Wolves had 47 dangerous attacks to Portsmouth's 23. Wolves had six corners to Portsmouth's two. Wolves managed 20 total crosses to Portsmouth's nine. On every single attacking measure, Wolves dominated. And yet they could not win the game.

Portsmouth won more duels. Portsmouth made more tackles. Portsmouth made 21 successful tackles to Wolves' ten. The basics of competing in a football match, the willingness to put your body on the line and fight for the result, Portsmouth had more of that than Wolves did. That is a damning sentence for a home side.

Verdict

Wolves did enough to win this game on the balance of play. They did not do enough to win it on the scoresheet, and that is the only column that counts. You can dominate possession all night long. You can have fifteen shots. You can hit the woodwork. But if your defending in the final minutes is not good enough to hold a lead, you have let your standards drop at the wrong moment.

Portsmouth will be delighted. One shot on target, one goal, one point from a ground where they might have expected nothing. That is a result built on desire and accountability from every player in a blue shirt. Wolves have questions to answer. Their attacking output is there. Their mental toughness in the closing stages is not. Until they fix that, nights like this will keep happening.