Gary O'Neil on John Stones' late winner against Wolves: 'It felt tough'

Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Gary O'Neil said the decision to allow John Stones' goal in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City “felt tough”.

Stones, 30, headed the winner in stoppage time to secure all three points at Molineux, but controversy arose after the fourth official initially ruled that Bernardo Silva had been offside and disallowed the goal.

However, VAR concluded that Silva was out of sight and had no influence on Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned his original decision and a goal was awarded.

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After the game, O'Neil compared the decision to Maximilian Kilman's goal, which was ruled out for offside last season. Although he found it tough, O'Neil was disappointed for his players that they couldn't get a point on Sunday.

“It was comparable to a goal (that Wolves disallowed) against West Ham last season,” O'Neil told Sky Sports.

“We sent the referees a picture proving that the West Ham goalkeeper could see the ball, but the reason given was that the player was in close proximity. The same argument could be made here, but we just have to accept it.

“I'd rather not discuss it because it still sounds like I'm apologizing. Whatever decision they make, I respect them. We don't want to cross that line, but it felt hard.

“But I’m proud of the players. An incredible performance and we gave ourselves a great chance. I’m disappointed for the players we had to leave with nothing.”

The result means Wolves return to the bottom of the table, winless from their first eight Premier League games.

(Marc Atkins/Getty Images)