WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — João Gomes scored his first Premier League goal of the season and Rodrigo Gomes added a second in stoppage time to give bottom club Wolverhampton a shock 2-0 win over high-flying Aston Villa on Friday.
It was only the second win in the league for a club that remains six points adrift at the bottom of the table and is almost certain to be relegated.
However, there was no hiding the joy felt by the home players and fans who were ecstatic at beating their Midlands rival.
“You have to be pretty good to get a result like that against them,” coach Rob Edwards said.
“I’m really proud. Nights like this is why I came here. To connect with the supporters like that. I know we are in a difficult position but I love football. I love it on nights like that.”
The result was a bitter blow to Villa’s Champions League aspirations and a slap in the face for coach Unai Emery, who was bidding to record his 100th victory in charge of the Birmingham club.
“Now is the moment to be together and understand how the season is going,” Emery said. “We need to understand the moment we are in. We were already recovering because we drew two and won one but today we didn’t get the result we needed. It is still in our hands to reach the ambitions in the top positions.”
Both sides struggled in a dour first half but Wolves seized the initiative 16 minutes into the second period when Gomes gave it a surprise lead.
Adam Armstrong deftly cushioned a long pass right into the path of the onrushing Gomes and his superbly struck shot gave Emiliano Martínez no chance.
Villa pushed forward as the game went on and it was caught out in stoppage time when Wolves doubled its lead on the break, Rodrigo Gomes doing the damage.
Villa has won only one of its last five league games. The result leaves it 10 points behind leader Arsenal and five behind second-placed Manchester City, having played a game more than both.
Its next two matches are against the clubs immediately below it in the table, Chelsea and Manchester United.
“We need to keep playing how we are,” Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers said. “We are in third for a reason, we need to not forget that. The run lately hasn’t been the same, sometimes you have to come back down to earth as you are playing good teams which you could win or lose. That is the Premier League. We need to stay focused and get back to what we know.
“We didn’t do anywhere near enough to create chances and score goals. “We controlled the game so it isn’t all doom and gloom. They took their chances and we didn’t create enough.”
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