Five key talking points as Wolves bounce Baggies out of FA Cup

Wolves beat West Brom in a fierce Black Country derby that saw tensions spill over into the stands.

Here are five things we learned at The Hawthorns as goals from Matheus Cunha and Pedro Neto earned a 2-0 win for the visitors.

Disturbing scenes

Everybody loves a raucous atmosphere but nobody benefits when a minority cross the line.

Wolves playmaker Tommy Doyle had bottles thrown at him when trying to take a corner — these actions only increase the divide between players and the fans who follow them. 

And the disturbances in the crowd following Wolves' second goal have no place in the modern game — with the Football Association rightfully announcing that they will investigate the unacceptable scenes.

Players fearing for their families' safety and people being put in danger is not a good look for anyone involved in the match.

Best foot forward

The demands of modern football have seen many managers put out weakened teams in the FA Cup.

Both bosses could have done the same today with Wolves fighting for European football and West Brom embroiled in a play-off chase.

Perhaps it was the fear of losing in a historic derby, perhaps football's oldest trophy still retains some of its magic, but it was good to see two strong line-ups take the field.

Whatever the reason, the bosses deserve credit for giving it their all in a Black Country derby.

Back of the Neto

Neto has been linked with Manchester City and Arsenal this season and may have added to his price tag today.

A hamstring injury has kept the Portuguese forward, 23, out for a large chunk of the campaign.

But he showed little signs of rust as he skipped past a flat-footed defence to open the scoring after a penetrating Wolves counter-attack.

Hee's the man

Wolves had enough firepower to get over the line this afternoon but Gary O'Neil needs a back-up centre forward.

With Hee Chan Hwang on Asian Cup duty with South Korea, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde had the honour of leading the line.

The 25-year-old is no slouch but looks to lack the killer instinct Wolves need if they are to maintain their European charge.

No VAR, no problem

It is a divisive issue but it is hard to see how this game would have been improved by pausing it so men in a van could review the on-field decisions.

Referee Thomas Bramall and his officials did a great job in a difficult encounter.

And if they had not? Well, video officials have dropped plenty of clangers themselves.

There were arguments Kyle Bartley could have seen red for his body check on Cunha but a yellow card looked to be the correct decision.