What went wrong for Brighton in 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton

Tommy Doyle, the only outfield player holding the fort for the visitors with them chasing the game at 2-1 down, managed to intercept a Mats Wieffer pass as four Seagulls bore down on him in added time.

Doyle scored via the underside of the South Stand crossbar when Albion got away with late lapses in the 3-2 Carabao Cup win over the same club.

This time, a similar in-off finish by Matheus Cunha, via a deflection off Jan Paul van Hecke, gave Wolves a draw they celebrated like a win.

Wieffer’s inability to get the ball past Doyle was the most vivid example of an Albion collapse in a game they seemed to have won when Evan Ferguson fired them into a 2-0 lead on 85 minutes.

That should have been the big story of the day.

Ferguson’s first goal for almost a year, drilled home in the manner to which we once became accustomed, to wrap up the points.

But Rayan Ait-Nouri replied almost immediately from a corner.

And, amid the chaos which followed, came the moment which was captured in countless freeze frames on social media on Saturday evening.

Doyle’s situation was similar to that facing a goalkeeper at a penalty.

Odds against him but under no pressure.

As he said afterwards, he felt he could be the hero but not the villain.

That all the expectation was on the ball-carrier.

Wieffer was right not to go for the corner flag with those odds in his favour.

His decision-making was fine in that respect.

Perhaps that of one or two of the players who charged forward with him was not so.

But, of course, the execution was wrong, maybe the choice of intended recipient was wrong, as Wieffer himself clearly knew within seconds, given his reaction even as Wolves started their attack.

But Albion should have seen this job through from 2-0, not 2-1.

Their boss Fabian Huerzeler said: “We were not mature enough, not professional to win this game. We have to learn quickly from this.

“If you don’t win games like this in a beautiful way, then you have to win it in an ugly way.

“Until the second goal from us, we controlled the game and we defended quite well, and then we became too passive.

“We were not ruthless enough in defending the set-pieces, we had a big chance to go for a third goal and we missed this, and we were punished.

“We were not acting professionally and we have to learn from this.

“This team is very young with a lot of potential but exactly these moments show if you stay now together, if you learn from it, if you show personality, if you show character, and that is what I expect from them.”

Would Albion have let the win slip from 2-0 had Lewis Dunk been there as both defender and leader?

Would they have been as deep and reticent in defence and as brittle at a couple of set-pieces?

He is not infallible but it is tempting to think things would have been different.

Dunk was withdrawn from his 250th Premier League appearance due to a calf injury suffered in the warm-up.

Jack Hinshelwood also missed out but Danny Welbeck was passed fit and scored his sixth goal of the season just before the break.

That moment, with a clinical finish from Georginio Rutter’s perfect pass, rewarded a first half in which Albion dominated and Jose Sa made a fine save from Carlos Baleba’s long-range effort: The second half was more even and Wolves had chances, with Bart Verbruggen making a couple of saves.

There were certainly nerves around the home support.

Which just increased the relief when, after a dangerous run by sub Tariq Lamptey, Ferguson drilled in the second.

Relief at the lead being doubled. Relief at Ferguson ending his goal drought.

Game over. We thought that in the stands, anyway. Maybe the most important people did too, those in blue and white at least, until Ait-Nouri struck.

From that point on, there wasn’t a cool head in the place. Except, maybe, that of the lone wolf.

Albion: Verbruggen; Veltman, van Hecke, Igor, Estupinan; Baleba (Wieffer 79), Ayari; Kadioglu (Gruda 71), Rutter (Lamptey 79); Mitoma (Enciso 88); Welbeck (Ferguson 71). Subs not used: Steele, Cahill, Adingra, Moder.

Goals: Welbeck 45, Ferguson 85.

Yellow card: Rutter, Igor, Estupinan.

Wolves: Sa; Bueno, Dawson, Toti (Forbs 46, R. Gomes 90); Semedo, J. Gomes (Guedes 90), Doyle, Lemina (Sarabia 46), Ait-Nouri; Cunha, Strand Larsen (Andre 90). Subs not used: Bentley, Doherty, Andre, Bellegarde, Lima.

Goals: Ait-Nouri 88, Cunha 90+3.

Yellow card: Toti, Ait-Nouri Referee: Michael Oliver.