Wolverhampton Wanderers came away with a 2-0 win at local rivals West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup Fourth Round but the real story came off the field.
The game had to be suspended for roughly half an hour after the second Wolves goal as fighting broke out in the stands in a way that hasn't been seen in decades.
Both sets of players and match officials had to be taken off for their own safety before coming back out half an hour later to finish the game.
On the field, goals from Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha won Wolves the game, but the scenes left a bad taste and soured the game.
Story of the Match
This FA Cup Fourth Round tie was the first Black Country Derby to be played in front of supporters since 2012. And the game was set up perfectly with Premier League Wolves having not won at the home of their rivals since September 1996.
When team news was announced an hour before kick off, it showed how seriously both teams were taking this game with both sides just making one change apiece.
West Bromwich Albion took a break from their Championship Play-Off push for this fixture but their only change was to bring in Nathaniel Chalobah in place of Adam Reach.
Wolves currently sit in 11th place in the Premier League and have widely exceeded expectations so far under Gary O'Neil this season. The only change from their 0-0 draw with Brighton on Monday was Jeanricner Bellegarde coming in for Pablo Sarabia. Defender Craig Dawson also started the game for Wolves having spent nine years on the books at rivals West Brom between 2010 and 2019.
The players walked out into a cauldron of noise at The Hawthorns for this 11:45am kick off with the early start down to a request from the Police.
There is always a danger of teams capitulating in such a hostile atmosphere but that was not the case here as both teams stepped up and there was very little to separate the two teams in the first half.
For the first half an hour it was the Championship side who appeared to be on top and the hosts had two early chances to put themselves in front when Brandon Thomas-Asante and Jed Wallace had free headers in the box but both were straight at the keeper.
Wolves dominated the possession in the first half but West Brom managed to prevent their Premier League rivals from having a shot for the first 38 minutes but when Wolves had their chance, they took it.
The goal came from an Albion corner. The corner was fired to Wallace on the edge of the area. But before it could reach him, it was intercepted by wing-back Matt Doherty who broke and released Pedro Neto down the right who used his pace well to run down the wing and cut inside and his low shot found the corner to put Wolves ahead.
The goal seemed to take the wind out of Albion's sails for the rest of the first half but they came back out fighting in the second. John Swift had a shot within the first minute of the half that was saved by Jose Sa with it also being the first Albion shot on target since the 9th minute.
The crowd had also been quietened by the Wolves goal but the noise levels rose again when Albion were denied a penalty in the six yard box.
That incident seemed to light a fire in this derby game as crunching tackles started flying in from both sides and the referee had to give out a few bookings.
It also got lively in the stands and the Police had to get involved when Tommy Doyle went to take a corner in front of the Albion fans and a number of bottles were thrown at him.
On the field, the game opened up and had a fast tempo but both sides still struggled to create clear cut chances. Both Thomas-Asante and Bellegarde had chances for their respective teams but could not find the target.
As the game wore on, Albion had to push forward a bit more and this led to Wolves getting their second goal. A long ball over the top was ran onto by Matheus Cunha who placed the ball between the keeper's legs to make it 2-0.
However, the goal sparked disgraceful scenes that harked back to the dark ages for football with scenes that saw players having to jump into the crowd to drag their children away, ball boys being taken away for medical attention and Police in riot gear brought into the stadium.
The game was suspended for over half an hour while things were sorted out before it was decided that the last ten minutes of the game could be played.
When the game eventually did get back underway, the game had a very different feel. The whole stadium was subdued and it had the feel of a tie that everyone wanted to end.
Player of the Match - Matheus Cunha
The Wolves side was full of solid but not spectacular performances in this game. But the one player who did stand out is Matheus Cunha who scored the second goal and was influential in a lot of what his team did going forward.
