Wolves fume at VAR after James Ward-Prowse corner seals West Ham victory
The crowd at Molineux Stadium started shouting against VAR, which replaced the excitement that erupted when Max Kilman scored what he believed to be the equalizer in the 99th minute. However, the goal was disallowed, and the win was given to West Ham. Tony Harrington reviewed the play on the monitor to see if Tawanda Chirewa, who was offside, obstructed Lukasz Fabianski's view. The referee concluded that the goal should be disallowed and faced criticism for the remainder of the game, giving yellow cards to several players.
It's possible that Chirewa obstructed the goalie's view, but even if he hadn't, Fabianski wouldn't have been able to prevent the ball from going in. Even so, Harrington was convinced by the proof and decided to cancel the initial goal. Wolves have always been critical of VAR. During their match against Nottingham Forest in December, they held a demonstration in the stands by displaying banners that expressed their dissatisfaction with the technology.
The Wolves manager, Gary O’Neil, expressed his opinion that the decision made in the game was possibly the worst he has ever seen. According to him, only those with a poor understanding of the game could believe that it was offside. In his view, Premier League officials should not have found the play offside. He added that if it is correct by the letter of the law, then the law should be changed. The goalkeeper's vision and ability to save the shot were not impacted by the player's position. David Moyes and Fabianski also agreed that it should never have been offside, and only the referee and VAR made that decision.
O'Neil had a conversation with Harrington on the field after the game ended, and attempted to carry on the discussion in the locker room. According to O'Neil, he went to talk to Harrington and posed some inquiries, however, Harrington wasn't pleased with how the questions were phrased. Consequently, Harrington chose not to talk about it any further.
In the game, Harrington made several important decisions. He gave both teams a penalty, which were scored by Pablo Sarabia and Lucas Paquetá respectively. Additionally, he didn't count a goal scored by Emerson Palmieri. Harrington was also responsible for giving West Ham a corner, which James Ward-Prowse expertly bent into the far corner; although, the strong wind and José Sá's positioning played a more significant role than Harrington's decision.
Steve Cooper, the ex-manager of Nottingham Forest, was present among the spectators. Despite the bleak outlook, no one expected West Ham to win the match after a dismal first-half display where they were outperformed in every aspect. Wolves managed to score from a penalty kick after Rayan Aït-Nouri was fouled by Emerson. Although the hosts had the upper hand, they couldn't capitalize on their advantage and score more goals due to the absence of a designated forward in their starting lineup before the halftime.
David Moyes had to make a couple of changes at half-time due to West Ham's poor performance. He brought Michail Antonio in to better the attacking play, which proved to be a turning point for the team. However, West Ham suffered a setback when Jarrod Bowen was injured during the game. His injury could mean that he may not be able to play against Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League on Thursday. Moyes expressed his concern and hopes that Bowen will recover quickly because the team needs their important players for the upcoming matches.
In the second half of the game, control of the ball shifted from Wolves to West Ham. The roles of the two teams were reversed as West Ham showed their ability to attack. One of their goals was scored after Emerson was judged to have fouled Semedo before heading, and it was later redeemed when he provided a cross that resulted in Paquetá's goal. Moyes commented on the game, saying that the two teams seemed to have switched shirts at half time because Wolves dominated in the first half, but West Ham were able to take advantage of more opportunities in the second half. Despite this, West Ham was able to avoid letting Wolves get too far ahead with only a one goal lead at half time.
Only West Ham had the potential to emerge victorious in the game, however, nobody could have imagined that Ward-Prowse would outsmart the goalkeeper with his phenomenal corner kick. The midfielder undeniably intended to shoot, and he was rightfully rewarded for his efforts. Moyes also deserves credit for his second-half substitutions, although all of that pales in comparison to the chaos that ensued in injury-time. Kilman and Wolves were left absolutely livid, and it's difficult to argue against their frustration.
