Theo Walcott’s first goal for Southampton in nearly 15 years was enough to secure a point for the visitors as they drew 1-1 at Wolves – with substitute Pedro Neto equalising late on to deny them victory.
Walcott is back at his boyhood club after joining on a season-loan from Everton last month. He originally left St. Mary’s as a 16-year-old in 2006 for Arsenal.
And it looked like his 58th-minute strike, from a Che Adams cross, was going to seal an away victory at Molineux before Neto put pay to that 17 minutes later when he pounced on a rebound after Raul Jimenez had struck a post.
The Saints entered the game unbeaten in their previous six fixtures and were looking for a fourth-straight Premier League win.
Meanwhile, Wolves were looking to atone for their 1-0 defeat at Leicester City prior to the international break.
An early battle for the Golden Glove is hotting up between Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio and Southampton counterpart Alex McCarthy – with both shot-stoppers tied on four clean sheets so far this season.
McCarthy was forced into early action, doing well to save Nelson Semedo’s long range effort before parrying Leander Dendoncker’s follow-up attempt.
Wolves looked defensively solid despite being without captain Conor Coady – who missed his first game since their promotion to the Premier League back in 2018, a run spanning 84 consecutive matches, after being forced to isolate for coming into contact with someone with Covid-19.
With both keepers proving hard to beat in recent fixtures it was no surprise the first half ended goalless with neither team able to break the deadlock.
That changed on 58 minutes though when an in-form Adams cut the ball back across the face of goal from a wide position, leaving an unmarked Walcott to smash the ball home from close range.
Walcott has struggled for game time in recent years, but with Danny Ings out injured the former England international looks to cement his place in a new look Saints side.
Despite conceding the first goal Wolves responded well, with manager Nuno Espirito Santo opting to replace Ruben Neves with young forward Neto in an attempt to add more attacking fire power.
Less than five minutes later the substitution paid dividends, with Neto tucking away the rebound from Jimenez’s initial shot which struck the post.
The home side had a chance to complete the turnaround when Joao Moutinho delivered a free-kick into the path of Jimenez whose header found the top right-hand corner of the goal, but was instantly ruled out for offside.
The match ended 1-1, which was a fair reflection of a game where neither side was at their most clinical.
The Saints host Manchester United on Sunday afternoon and go into that encounter in a brilliant run of form. They are unbeaten in seven league games – their best run of form in the top flight in seven years.
Meanwhile, Wolves will hope for a more cutting-edge performance when they travel to a struggling Arsenal side on Sunday night.
By Fraser Day
