Matheus Cunha completed a late comeback as Wolverhampton Wanderers earned a dramatic 2-2 draw against Brighton at the Amex Stadium.

Gary O’Neil’s men had been 2-0 down with five minutes to go before striking twice late on to rescue a point, though they still remain winless after nine games.

Danny Welbeck opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before Evan Ferguson appeared to put the game to bed five minutes from time with an incisive strike from the edge of the box.

But Rayan Ait-Nouri gave the visitors hope when he struck following a corner in the 88th minute before Cunha sent the away fans into raptures with a stoppage-time equaliser.

Brighton sit fifth while Wolves move up to 19^th in the Premier League table, overtaking Southampton.

How the match unfolded

The visitors had the best chance of the opening 10 minutes when Cunha pulled back from the left byline to find Tommy Doyle unmarked at the edge of the box, but he fired over.

It took 45 minutes for Brighton and in-form striker Welbeck to make the breakthrough. Georginio Rutter threaded the ball through to the Englishman and he made no mistake by firing across goal and into the bottom-left corner.

A double half-time substitution gave Wolves fresh impetus, though, as Jorgen Strand Larsen directed a free header at Bart Verbruggen straight after the break.

Despite increasing pressure from Wolves, Ferguson doubled Brighton's lead in the 85th minute. Tariq Lamptey fed him on the edge of the box before he turned to fire low into the bottom-left corner.

Ait-Nouri finally made Wolves’ efforts pay as he seized on a loose ball from a corner to fire home from inside the box in the 88th minute.

Against the odds, the visitors completed the comeback five minutes later as Doyle intercepted from a three-man Brighton overload at the back before firing a long ball forward, which Cunha received to fire home and snatch a point.

Welbeck keeps on firing

Brighton seemed to struggle to execute the final ball in their attacking moves in the first half, with Wolves’ low block proving resistant.

With speculation in the build-up to the match over Welbeck’s fitness, after he was stretchered off after scoring the winner against Newcastle United last weekend, there was surely relief among the home fans to see their top scorer’s name in the starting lineup.

That was certainly the case in the 45^th minute when he finally made good on Brighton’s pressure. A brilliant run in behind the Wolves defence allowed Rutter to play a throughball into his path, and he made no mistake to stroke home with confidence.

Welbeck threatened again in the 62nd minute as he seized on Pablo Sarabia’s mistake at the back to surge into the box. This time, he saw his shot blocked from close range but once more, he offered Brighton’s biggest threat.

It was unsurprising when the Amex Stadium crowd sang Welbeck’s name given his scintillating form, though their backline was unable to get them over the line in the end.

O’Neil’s men still fighting

Doyle’s heroic interception to start the Wolves move for their equaliser epitomised the fight in O’Neil’s side.

Faced with four Brighton forwards rushing towards him on the edge of his own box, the Englishman stepped forward to intercept as Wolves’ last man before starting an attack of his own.

The outcome proved to be decisive as Cunha’s late equaliser doubled the visitors’ points tally this season.

Wolves had come out resurgent after the break and slowly put pressure on a Brighton side that looked utterly dominant in the first half.

When Ferguson fired in their second against the run of play five minutes from time, it would have been understandable to see Wolves’ spirit break.

But if anything, they only looked galvanised. Ait-Nouri’s near-immediate response finally saw their pressure pay and gave them something to fight for, before Doyle’s intervention set Cunha free to finish the job.

Wolves still remain second from bottom on just two points, but their effort today indicates a side still set on delivering for O’Neil.

Club reports

Brighton report | Wolves report

Match officials

Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring. Fourth official: Gavin Ward. VAR: Graham Scott. Assistant VAR: Adrian Holmes.