Wolves 2-1 Newcastle: Player ratings as Hwang Hee-chan stars to crush winless Magpies

Wolverhampton Wanderers moved into tenth place in the Premier League table on Saturday afternoon, clinching a 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Newcastle United at Molineux.

Wolves took the lead on 20 minutes with the first real chance of the game, when Raul Jimenez drove at the heart of the Magpies defence and threaded the ball through to Hwang Hee-chan, and the forward slotted his strike coolly beyond Karl Darlow.

The hosts should have doubled their advantage soon after, as Hwang terrorised the Newcastle backline and cut the ball across to Francisco Trincao, only for the Portuguese winger to hit the underside of the bar with his effort.

Bruno Lage's men were made to pay for that miss, as Newcastle levelled just before half-time with their first shot of the game. Goalkeeper Jose Sa met a through ball ahead of Joelinton and felt he was fouled by the forward, but the ball broke to the edge of the box where substitute Jeff Hendrick was waiting to rattle a controlled strike into the net.

Wolves appealed for a free-kick, but the referee was having none of it, and the two sides entered the break all square. Lage's side did regain their lead soon after the second half kicked off however, as Jimenez and Hwang combined for a second time, and the South Korean forward buried his effort on his left foot.

Newcastle struggled to create any great chances of note, despite chasing the game for the majority of the second half. Steve Bruce's men fell to yet another defeat, while Wolves secured a second consecutive victory.

Wolves player ratings

1. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Jose Sa (GK) - 6/10 - Made the initial save to deny Joelinton, but felt he was fouled by the Brazilian as Hendrick smashed in the equaliser. In fairness, he was probably right on that one. No other saves to make.

Max Kilman (CB) - 8/10 - A great ball-player. Often linked up with Moutinho to get Wolves moving up the pitch. Did his defensive duties well, too. Solid.

Conor Coady (CB) - 7/10 - Barked plenty of instructions, but possibly the least convincing of the backline.

Romain Saiss (CB) - 7/10 - Not a bad display and rarely looked in danger of getting skinned by the clueless Almiron. Part of an improving defence.

2. Wing-Backs & Midfielders

Nelson Semedo (RWB) - 7/10 - A decent performance on the right, coming up against the likes of Saint-Maximin and Joelinton. Kept both extremely quiet, which is key to getting the better of Newcastle.

Ruben Neves (CM) - 8/10 - Controlled the game in midfield against a Newcastle side that never really fancied stringing too many passes together.

Joao Moutinho (CM) - 7/10 - An easy afternoon for someone of his ability and standing in the game. Kept play moving, and rarely gave the ball away.

Fernando Marcal (LWB) - 7/10 - A positive influence on the left flank, bursting forward and supporting his attacking teammates, while never shirking his defensive duties.

3. Forwards

Francisco Trincao (RW) - 6/10 - Should have doubled the scoreline but crashed the ball against the underside of the bar instead of hitting the net. Can't miss those chances.

Raul Jimenez (ST) - 8/10 - Brilliant strength and penetration to charge through the Newcastle defence and slide a superb ball into Hwang. Repeated his heroics to supply Hwang for another goal in the second half.

Hwang Hee-chan (LW) - 9/10 - Calm as you like to slot his shot beyond Darlow and into the net to register his second goal for the club. Almost got the assist for Trincao, bursting through and setting up the winger - but he fluffed his lines. Doubled his tally with a wonderful finish on his left foot for the winner.

4. Substitutes

Leander Dendoncker (CM) - 6/10

Adama Traore (LW) - N/A

Newcastle player ratings

5. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Karl Darlow (GK) - 5/10 - Rushed to close down Hwang, but couldn't stop the forward from rolling the ball home. Completely exposed by his backline. Same again for the second.

Javi Manquillo (RB) - 3/10 - Saw Hwang making his move, watched him all the way - but decided not to go with him. Lazy defending, and it put Clark into all sorts of trouble.

Ciaran Clark (CB) - 3/10 - Showed zero awareness as Hwang snuck in behind him to nip to the ball first and score. Should be more alert to the danger, even if Manquillo didn't help him out. Lost Hwang for the second, too. Goodness me.

Federico Fernandez (CB) - 4/10 - Unable to stop Jimenez on his march towards goal, allowing Wolves to regain the lead. Needs to be stronger there.

Matt Ritchie (LB) - 6/10 - Not to blame for any of Newcastle's horrific defending, with most of the action coming on the other side of the pitch. Got to feel for him.

6. Midfielders

Joe Willock (CM) - 6/10 - Had to come off midway through the first half, after suffering an injury. A huge blow for Newcastle's main summer transfer, given his importance to the team.

Isaac Hayden (CM) - 5/10 - Tried to protect his backline as best he could, but the fact Jimenez wandered through a couple of times to supply his goalscoring teammate is pretty damning.

Sean Longstaff (CM) - 5/10 - Tried to dispossess Jimenez in the buildup to the goal, but ended up on his backside on the floor, watching the Mexican set up the opening goal.

7. Forwards

Miguel Almiron (RW) - 5/10 - Fairly anonymous throughout the game, and never really threatened to make any sort of impact on a side bereft of attacking ideas.

Joelinton (ST) - 4/10 - A passenger - and an expensive passenger, at that. Genuinely offers so little to the team in all departments, but always isolated. Played some part in the equaliser, although it was probably a foul.

Allan Saint-Maximin (LW) - 6/10 - Caused panic to spread through the fanbase when he went down injured early on, but ploughed on regardless. A quiet game by his standards, and unusually ineffective.

8. Substitutes

Jeff Hendrick (CM) - 6/10 - SUPER SUB! Brought on to replace Willock and fired a great strike home from the edge of the box to pull Newcastle level.

Jacob Murphy (RWB) - 6/10

Dwight Gayle (ST) - 6/10