Nuno Espirito Santo Hits Out at Refereeing Questions After Controversial Win Over Newcastle

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo admitted his side's stoppage time winner at Newcastle was 'lucky' but praised his side's never say die attitude. Matt Doherty's

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo admitted his side's stoppage time winner at Newcastle was 'lucky' but praised his side's never say die attitude.

Matt Doherty's 94th minute goal handed Wolves their second successive victory, following their midweek scalp over Chelsea, although Santo admitted there was a degree of fortune about the winner.

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"We were lucky in the end," said the Wolves boss post-match, as quoted by Sky Sports. "We had chances before, but in the last minute to get a second ball from the goalkeeper. We were lucky, but happy of course."

His side had previously taken the lead in the match through Diogo Jota's chest and volley in the box, only to be pegged back by Ayoze Perez' glancing header a few minutes later.

However, the turning point in the match came in the 57th minute as DeAndre Yedlin was given his marching orders by Mike Dean for denying Jota a clear goalscoring opportunity – a decision Santo agreed with.

"In the second half everything changes with the red card of Newcastle, we control the game. And we had more possession," the Portuguese added. "It is too difficult for me to judge because I am on the other side of the pitch. What I felt was that it was a hold and I thought Diogo was one on one with the goalkeeper."

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The Newcastle bench and fans were left seething following Dean's decision not to award a penalty later on as Wlily Boly appeared to catch Perez in the face with an elbow with the score level. However, Santo refused to be drawn on the incident.

"For me that was a dispute of the ball, don't always ask me about the referee. I know it's a tough job. Let these questions for another person," said Santo.

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"You are always asking me about the referee. Sometimes he gives you, sometimes he takes you but I truly believe he is always deciding what he sees. Let's not take credit from our victories and Newcastle cannot always ask questions of the referee."