Wolves earned fans’ respect with Black Country derby win, says Peixoto

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

A buoyant Cesar Peixoto said Wolves had earned the respect of their fans with Sunday’s Black Country derby win over West Brom.  

Wolves leapfrogged their rivals to go fourth in the Championship – only three points behind leaders Swansea City with a game in hand – with a 1-0 triumph at Molineux.

The decisive moment came five minutes into the second half, as Nathaniel Phillips was pressed into a loose pass inside his own area, allowing Fer Lopez to finish past the onrushing Max O’Leary.

O’Leary had almost single-handedly kept West Brom in the contest up to that point. He made five saves throughout the game, the best of which was an incredible stop to push Nasser Djiga’s first-half header onto the crossbar – and he also thwarted Andre on the follow-up.

Wolves had 15 shots to West Brom’s seven, hitting the target six times and only seeing Jose Sa tested twice at the other end. 

They also won the expected goals (xG) by 1.96 to 0.27, and Peixoto felt the result made a statement going into the three-week international break.

“I liked that a lot. The players worked so hard and did a great job. We won it for the supporters, the environment in the stadium was amazing,” he told BBC Radio WM.

“We played with courage and character and pressed high – and we fought right to the end to make sure we got what we deserved.

“We created a lot of chances, but their goalkeeper made some great saves and we somehow didn’t score.

“It’s an important three points. But it is only three points. Most importantly, these players showed they deserve the respect and support that the fans can give them.”

— Wolves (@Wolves) September 20, 2026

Albion boss James Morrison was gracious in defeat, saying: “We got what we deserved, really. We weren’t at our best and we created a lot of anxiety in ourselves.

“In the first half we didn’t threaten their goal, and in the second half we didn’t create enough. We just weren’t brave enough to take the ball under pressure and have that belief to go and attack.

“That may be down to the younger players playing in a derby for the first time, or just making too many mistakes. We made a mistake when we were in control of the ball and that decided the game.”

There were seven goals in Sunday’s other Championship fixture, with Bolton Wanderers twice coming from behind to earn an eye-catching 4-3 win at Norwich City.

Norwich – who also lost their previous Championship game 4-3, against Middlesbrough – went ahead twice in the first half, through Mohamed Toure and Ruairi McConville.

Thierry Gale and Gaika Larrazabal both scored swift equalisers, before Sam Dalby’s neat one-v-one finish gave Bolton the lead for the first time early in the second half. 

Jack Stacey’s great strike across goal made it 3-3, but substitute Atsuki Ito got the winner, drilling home left-footed from the edge of the area in the 72nd minute as Bolton leapfrogged their hosts to go 15th. 

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