JUST when it looked like the stethoscope was coming out again, Joao Palhinha slammed Dr Tottenham’s office door shut.
Wolves had not taken a single point all season but looked to be on for all three when Santiago Bueno fired home a scrappy goal nine minutes into the second half.
Once again, it looked like Dr Tottenham was making another appointment to aid an ailing patient.
Spurs fans had given their side the self-deprecating moniker on account of their knack of giving struggling teams first aid in the form of a victory.
They did it last season to both Crystal Palace and Ipswich, handing them their first Premier League wins of the season during a horror fortnight between October and November.
And they looked set to do it again here until Palhinha struck deep into stoppage time.
The Portuguese fired home a brilliant strike from sub Pape Matar Sarr’s knockdown to take a share of the spoils.
It was heartbreaking for Wolves boss Vitor Pereira, though he can still be proud of his side who at least did earn their first point of the campaign at the sixth time of trying.
For Spurs, it was a relief given they looked like they were going to choke completely.
Though failing to win still saw them blow the chance of moving into second.
The best stuff from a below-par Spurs came through Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Bergvall, mainly in the first half.
Kudus almost broke the deadlock inside 15 minutes when heading Xavi Simons’ delivery to the far post.
But the Ghanaian was denied by Sam Johnstone’s inspired, reflex stop which turned the ball onto the crossbar and over.
Spurs fans were salivating over a mouthwatering goal involving both Bergvall and Kudus just before the half-hour – until it was ruled out for offside.
A breathtaking one-two saw Bergvall receive the ball from Kudus and backheel it in behind for the winger to bury into the far corner, but replays showed the goalscorer had strayed.
It was not a nasty game but it was a competitive one, with ref Michael Salisbury unafraid to hand out bookings to Simons for a lunge on Marshall Munetsi and Joao Gomes for hauling down Simons.
Zimbabwean Munetsi seemed to pop up all over the pitch. He was technically playing No10 but only appeared to be half that, which was fitting given his shirt number was five.
Palhinha wanted a penalty when going down under a challenge from ever-present Munetsi – who had now pitched up in the box – as he tried to latch onto a Kudus rebound.
But the Portuguese loan star appeared to be looking for it and Salisbury was not convinced.
Wolves had made NINE changes from the last league game and switched to a back four for the first time in months in a bid to end their pointless run.
And they almost got the breakthrough deep into first-half stoppage time when a corner found its way to Matt Doherty at the back stick, but the Irishman’s effort clipped the bar.
Affectionately known as The Doc during his time at Spurs, it really would have been Dr Tottenham had Doherty netted a winner.
As it was, the full-back, who played 71 times for Spurs between 2000-2023, was taken off at half-time with the yellow card hanging over him.
But Wolves did take the lead nine minutes into the second half – and from another corner.
Jhon Arias’ delivery was headed down by the powerful Jorgen Strand Larsen and though Guglielmo Vicario saved, his parry bounced straight into and off the unwitting Palhinha, allowing Bueno to tuck away the loose ball.
Worryingly for Thomas Frank, his side had little in response over the next 36 minutes, with their few chances coming via potshots from range.
But then, with four minutes of stoppage time on the clock, up popped Palhinha with a brilliant finish to spare Frank’s blushes.
There were still some boos at full-time, underlining the frustration at not having beaten an until-then pointless Wolves side.
But given the circumstances, Frank certainly will take it.
Read the full article here