RETURNING HERO RAUL Jimenez rescued a point for Wolves at the death as they drew 2-2 with Blackburn in the Sky Bet Championship’s curtain-raiser at Molineux.
Mexico striker Jimenez scored a penalty in the third minute of stoppage time to equalise after Ryan Alebiosu handled Jackson Tchatchoua’s cross.
Until then it looked like the three points were heading to Lancashire as Sean McLoughlin had cancelled out Marshall Munetsi’s 18th-minute opener before Andri Gudjohnsen put Rovers ahead early in the second half.
Jimenez stepped off the bench to a rapturous reception on his first league game for Wolves in three years following his free transfer from Fulham.
However, the Mexican and Wolves’ new head coach Cesar Peixoto – in his first league game in English football – got a rude awakening as they trailed for the majority of the second half and had no answers until Jimenez’s late rescue act.
Blackburn had threatened first when Alebiosu’ deep cross found Oladapo Afolayan, but he looped a header just over the crossbar.
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Alebiosu was the architect again when his square pass gave Ryoya Morishita a sight of goal, only to fire a low drive straight at Dan Bentley.
The hosts made them pay by taking the lead seconds later.
Kieran Trippier, a new recruit, started the move when finding Fer Lopez and the Spaniard produced a superb pass to thread through Munetsi charging through the middle.
The Zimbabwe international produced a calm finish, rolling the ball under advancing goalkeeper Balazs Hoth for the first league goal of the season.
Wolves’ lead lasted just 10 minutes as McLoughlin equalised with a stooping header to meet Morishita’s cross.
Hoth gave his own defenders a scare when his fluffed punch from a Trippier corner fell dangerously backwards towards his own net before he retrieved the ball.
Lopez twice then Matheus Mane tried from distance, but did not trouble Hoth.
Blackburn started the second half with a flourish and went ahead for the first time in the 48th minute through Gudjohnsen.
The Iceland international – son of former Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen – fired home after beating Yerson Mosquera to Afolayan’s cross.
Afolayan was posing a real danger and an effort just wide as Wolves struggled to regain a foothold in the game.
Both sides rung the changes with three substitutes each to liven up a scrappy second half.
One of them, Jimenez, set up fellow substitute Tommy Doyle, only for the midfielder to blaze high and wide.
However, as the game wore on, the home side seemed to run out of ideas and energy, failing to create any more chances to leave a capacity crowd frustrated until Jimenez struck at the death.
The 35-year-old kept his cool to call Hoth’s bluff, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to snatch a point.
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Raul Jimenez snatches point for Wolves with last-gasp penalty against Blackburn
RETURNING HERO RAUL Jimenez rescued a point for Wolves at the death as they drew 2-2 with Blackburn in the Sky Bet Championship’s curtain-raiser at Molineux.
Mexico striker Jimenez scored a penalty in the third minute of stoppage time to equalise after Ryan Alebiosu handled Jackson Tchatchoua’s cross.
Until then it looked like the three points were heading to Lancashire as Sean McLoughlin had cancelled out Marshall Munetsi’s 18th-minute opener before Andri Gudjohnsen put Rovers ahead early in the second half.
Jimenez stepped off the bench to a rapturous reception on his first league game for Wolves in three years following his free transfer from Fulham.
However, the Mexican and Wolves’ new head coach Cesar Peixoto – in his first league game in English football – got a rude awakening as they trailed for the majority of the second half and had no answers until Jimenez’s late rescue act.
Blackburn had threatened first when Alebiosu’ deep cross found Oladapo Afolayan, but he looped a header just over the crossbar.
Alebiosu was the architect again when his square pass gave Ryoya Morishita a sight of goal, only to fire a low drive straight at Dan Bentley.
The hosts made them pay by taking the lead seconds later.
Kieran Trippier, a new recruit, started the move when finding Fer Lopez and the Spaniard produced a superb pass to thread through Munetsi charging through the middle.
The Zimbabwe international produced a calm finish, rolling the ball under advancing goalkeeper Balazs Hoth for the first league goal of the season.
Wolves’ lead lasted just 10 minutes as McLoughlin equalised with a stooping header to meet Morishita’s cross.
Hoth gave his own defenders a scare when his fluffed punch from a Trippier corner fell dangerously backwards towards his own net before he retrieved the ball.
Lopez twice then Matheus Mane tried from distance, but did not trouble Hoth.
Blackburn started the second half with a flourish and went ahead for the first time in the 48th minute through Gudjohnsen.
The Iceland international – son of former Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen – fired home after beating Yerson Mosquera to Afolayan’s cross.
Afolayan was posing a real danger and an effort just wide as Wolves struggled to regain a foothold in the game.
Both sides rung the changes with three substitutes each to liven up a scrappy second half.
One of them, Jimenez, set up fellow substitute Tommy Doyle, only for the midfielder to blaze high and wide.
However, as the game wore on, the home side seemed to run out of ideas and energy, failing to create any more chances to leave a capacity crowd frustrated until Jimenez struck at the death.
The 35-year-old kept his cool to call Hoth’s bluff, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to snatch a point.
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Championship Soccer