Gary O’Neil disappointed with Wolverhampton Wanderers draw against Aston Villa

Head coach Gary O’Neil has suggested that he is disappointed that Wolverhampton Wanderers had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday.

Wolves went into the West Midlands derby having defeated Premier League champions Manchester City last weekend, securing some breathing space above the relegation zone.

However, the Wolves were unable to prevail against their rivals at Molineux, despite taking a lead shortly after the restart through Hwang Hee-chan.

Pau Torres equalised three minutes later and Villa finished strongly – helped by the dismissal of Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina – with Ollie Watkins hitting the post in the final seconds.

Taking that into account, O’Neil accepted that he had to content with a share of the spoils to a certain degree, yet admitted his frustration at Wolves failing to regain their lead after Villa’s leveller.

Speaking to Match of the Day, O’Neil said: “A little bit disappointed with the result. When you go 1-0 up and you are controlling the game. I didn’t feel there was much danger.

“There was a bit early and we needed to get to grip with things. [Jose] Sa had to make a couple of saves but in the second half I don’t remember him having to do anything really. We had two big chances. We had decent control until the sending off. After that we were hanging on.”

Despite feeling that Wolves squandered the chance to claim more points against Villa, O’Neil said that he was satisfied with the eight points that Wolves had accumulated from as many league matches this season.

The Englishman added: “I think the points return has been good for the games we have had. The fixtures were tough. In general, we are in a good spot points return wise. The last two games have looked a lot more like how we prepped for. Some progression and a lot of work to do.”

Wolves have already faced Man City, Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa and Manchester United since the opening weekend of the season, as well as meetings with Everton, Crystal Palace and Luton Town.

An away fixture at Bournemouth on October 21 is next up for Wolves, who will be without Nelson Semedo and Lemina through suspension.