Shropshire Star

Wolves skipper hails 'phenomenal' Matheus Cunha

Wolves captain Max Kilman has heaped praise on ‘phenomenal’ Matheus Cunha after his Black Country derby strike.

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Matheus Cunha. Picture: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire.

The Brazilian helped make derby history by scoring the second in a 2-0 win that earned Wolves a first victory at The Hawthorns in 28 years.

Cunha now has eight goals and six assists this season in all competitions and Kilman was full of admiration for the forward.

“He’s been fabulous,” the captain said.

“There’s added pressure on our forwards because we don’t have many and you could see in the celebrations just how much it meant to everyone.

“To win 2-0 away from home against our rivals, it’s top.

On Cunha, the skipper added: “He’s a really funny guy and sees the world differently!

“He’s a really nice guy and on the pitch you can see his character.

“You could see in the last five or 10 minutes how he’s tracking back, making slide tackles and winning the ball back.

“He’s been phenomenal and has really kicked on this season.”

It was also Wolves’ first win over Albion since 2011, as Gary O’Neil and his side wrote their names in derby folklore.

Kilman said: “It’s brilliant. We came here to do a job and we knew it had been 28 years since we’ve won here, so that was the plan.

“The boys all deserved it because they performed really well.

“There were tough periods in that game and we had to defend a lot of corners when their pressure came, and we dealt with it really well.

“We managed to have really good end product.

“You can see the togetherness, especially as the season has gone on.

“We’re really stuck together. We’ve lost some players and we’re still together as a really strong unit.

“This was a real test, coming to a derby away from home with an early kick-off, and we showed our togetherness and unity within the team.”

With Brighton waiting in the fifth round, Kilman is now targeting a FA Cup run this season.

He said: “We have to take every game as it comes but we won’t be afraid.

“We want to win the game (against Brighton), because it’s the FA Cup and anything can happen.

“Hopefully we get a good result, go through again and then get as far as we can.”