Boss Gary O’Neil insisted Wolves must maintain their focus after booking an FA Cup Black Country derby against West Brom.

Matheus Cunha’s penalty saw off Brentford 3-2 after extra time on Tuesday and sent Wolves into the fourth round.

Nelson Semedo and Nathan Fraser twice hit back for the hosts after goals from Nathan Collins and Neal Maupay in an entertaining replay.

Wolves now go to The Hawthorns on January 28 for the first Black Country derby in three years – and first with fans in attendance since 2012.

“As soon as we walked off I was thinking about Brighton (in the Premier League). I understand fans will be excited, it will be a big atmosphere, it hasn’t been played with fans for a while,” O’Neil said.

“I can’t wait to lead the team down there and see if we can progress again. There’s a Premier League game coming up and I have a very small tired group to do some work with before we go to Brighton.

“I have mixed feelings about the performance but I’m delighted with the win. The lads have worked unbelievably hard over the two ties. We’ve talked about taking the FA Cup seriously, we went down to 10 men at Brentford and tonight got a bit awkward for us.

“The players deserve credit for how they have approached the whole tie. We gave Brentford a bit of a lift by giving them two crazy goals.”

Collins, who joined Brentford from Wolves for £23million in the summer, opened the scoring after 13 minutes when he prodded in after Kristoffer Ajer’s shot was saved.

Semedo and Pablo Sarabia went close before Semedo levelled after 36 minutes when he tapped in after Thomas Strakosha saved his initial header.

Back came Brentford, though, and Maupay restored their lead six minutes into the second half after a VAR check for offside.

Yet Wolves equalised again with 17 minutes left, Fraser drilling into the corner three minutes after coming on.

It set up extra time and Shandon Baptiste had a shot turned on to the post by Jose Sa before Cunha won it in stoppage time of the first period when Pedro Neto was tripped in the box.

Brentford will now have Ivan Toney available when his eight-month suspension for betting breaches ends on Wednesday.

Boss Thomas Frank said: “It’s massive, no doubt. It’s like signing a Premier League striker who can score 20 goals because he’s proved it.

“Every team would be happy to sign a quality player like him. Ivan is a top player but he’s also very good at making the whole team better.

“Tonight we did a lot of things right. The first half was a bit direct from our side. I was very pleased with the second half and in extra time. In general we put a lot of effort into the game and we could have won.

“The game was decided by a penalty which, in my opinion, is not there. Ben (Mee) clearly hit the ball into Neto’s feet. It’s difficult to make a call but unfortunately I can’t alter that.”

Wolves set up an FA Cup derby showdown with West Brom after a battling extra-time win over Brentford.

Matheus Cunha’s penalty sent Gary O’Neil’s side through to the fourth round as the hosts eventually sealed a 3-2 replay victory at Molineux.

Wolves hit back through Nelson Semedo and Nathan Fraser in normal time after Nathan Collins and Neal Maupay twice gave the visitors the lead.

But Cunha’s extra-time spot kick booked a Black Country derby at the Hawthorns, the first in three years, on January 28.

The Bees will be left with a blank weekend but will at least have Ivan Toney available having missed him during a barren winter, during which they have won once since the start of November.

The striker completes his eight-month ban for betting breaches on Wednesday.

The 1-1 draw in the initial tie ended a five-game losing streak for the Bees and confidence still looked low until they scored against the run of play after 13 minutes.

Wolves had been in the ascendancy but were caught when Kristoffer Ajer wriggled goalside of Matt Doherty.

His fierce effort was parried by Jose Sa but, when the ball was played back in, Maupay’s shot was blocked and Collins bundled the ball in from six yards.

It was part redemption for Collins who endured a nightmare against his former club in the Premier League last month, gifting them three goals in a 4-1 defeat.

It failed to deflate Wolves, though, and they went close to a leveller after half an hour.

Cunha cross found the unmarked Semedo and, with Thomas Strakosha stranded, the defender’s shot was blocked by Brentford’s massed ranks on the line.

The ball ran for Pablo Sarabia but he could only put his effort into the side netting.

Yet the hosts did not have to wait long for a leveller six minutes later when Semedo reached Cunha’s flighted cross, his header was parried by Strakosha but he had the easiest of tasks of tapping in the rebound.

It should have given Wolves the extra momentum but they were behind again six minutes after the break.

Keane Lewis-Potter’s cross caused problems on the edge of the box and when the ball ran to Maupay he smashed in high from eight yards. The striker was initially ruled offside but, after a two-minute VAR check, the goal was given.

Maupay has scored just four goals this season – and only five since February 2022 – with two coming against Wolves after his strike in the original game.

Brentford were dreaming of the fourth round, which they had only gone beyond once since 2006, and Mikkel Damsgaard curled a free kick at Sa.

But the tie continued to twist and Wolves levelled again with 18 minutes left when substitute Fraser, on for just three minutes, drilled into the corner.

A minute later the forward should have put the hosts ahead only for Strakosha to pull off a wonderful close-range stop.

From then extra time loomed and Sa turned Shandon Baptiste’s effort onto the post soon after the restart.

But Wolves snatched a deserved win in stoppage time of the first period when Cunha converted from the spot after Pedro Neto had been tripped.

Matt Doherty marked his second Wolves debut with two goals and Nathan Fraser scored on his first senior appearance as they brushed aside League One Blackpool 5-0 to reach the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Sasa Kalajdzic doubled his Wolves tally days after getting off the mark at Everton and Fabio Silva capped a fine display with his first goal for the club since May 2021 before the popular Doherty, back at the ground where he spent a decade before leaving in 2020, scored two in seven minutes.

Substitute Fraser had set up the second of Doherty’s goals and the 18-year-old then got in on the scoring himself, beating goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell with a deflected effort late on.

With Matheus Nunes trying to force through a move to Manchester City, Goncalo Guedes heading back to Benfica on loan and Daniel Podence seemingly on his way out, Wolves need reinforcements in the final days of the transfer window but there were positive signs at Molineux.

Blackpool, without a goal in four matches since beating Derby 2-0 in the last round and deprived of cup-tied striker Jordan Rhodes and the injured Shayne Lavery, twice struck the frame of the goal but were comfortably second best.

Gary O’Neil made nine changes from Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League win at Everton, even including 15-year-old Emilio Ballard-Matthews among the substitutes, and will have been pleased with the attacking intent of those afforded an opportunity.

Kalajdzic, whose first season at Molineux was ruined by a torn ligament suffered on his debut, opened his Wolves account in the 87th minute at Goodison Park and needed only 10 minutes of this match to double it, bouncing a shot in after Pablo Sarabia’s effort was charged down by O’Donnell.

Wolves were then guilty of complacency against goal-shy Blackpool, loose in possession at the back and almost punished as Kenny Dougall saw a shot from 20 yards come back off the inside of the post.

But Silva settled nerves in the 25th minute as Sarabia ran forward from midfield and slipped the ball through for the 21-year-old to beat O’Donnell with a powerful finish.

After his last strike against West Brom in May 2021, Silva went a full season without a Wolves goal and then spent time on loan with Anderlecht and PSV Eindhoven, but O’Neil will hope his positive display here is a sign the former club-record signing, still only 21, is settling in at last.

There was a blow early in the second half for the hosts when 20-year-old Joe Hodge, making his first appearance of the season, pulled up clutching his hamstring when breaking into the box, with 19-year-old Harvey Griffiths handed a debut as his replacement.

The third goal came on the hour, with Sarabia again involved as he latched on to a deflected ball through and lifted in a cross from the left for Republic of Ireland full-back Doherty, back at Molineux after spells with Tottenham and Atletico Madrid, to head in off the underside of the crossbar.

Moments later, Doherty was at it again. The 18-year-old Fraser, on for Kalajdzic, beat the offside trap down the right and then tapped the ball back for Doherty to run at goal and beat O’Donnell at his near post.

At the other end Blackpool skipper Callum Connolly struck the crossbar with a free-kick but Wolves and Fraser had the final word six minutes from time.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.