Brentford exited the Emirates FA Cup at the third-round stage with a 3-2 extra-time defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Nathan Collins put the Bees ahead against his former club in the first half, before Nelson Semedo levelled before half-time.

Maupay put the visitors ahead again, despite an initial offside call from the assistant referee, but substitute Nathan Fraser took the game to extra-time with a low drive beyond Thomas Strakosha.

A 110th-minute penalty from Matheus Cunha won it for Wolves, who will face local rivals West Bromwich Albion in the fourth round.

Collins strikes against former club as Brentford start brightly at Molineux

Thomas Frank made three changes from the initial FA Cup third-round clash as Zanka, Ethan Pinnock and Christian Nørgaard were replaced by Ben Mee, Kristoffer Ajer and Vitaly Janelt.

Wolves made one enforced change from the game at Gtech Community Stadium, as Joe Hodge came in for João Gomes, who was sent off for a foul on Nørgaard in the 1-1 draw.

It was a quiet opening 10 minutes, with the only real chance a long-range effort from Wolves' Pablo Sarabia, which Strakosha held well.

That was until the Bees took the lead on 13 minutes. Ajer received the ball in the second phase of a deep free-kick and his rasping volley stung the palms of José Sá, before he headed the ball back across goal. Neal Maupay couldn't convert but, when the ball fell to Collins, he span and fired into the bottom corner against his former club. A muted celebration followed.

Wolves were keen to peg Brentford back immediately. Five minutes after conceding the opener, Cunha picked up the ball on the edge of the area and arrowed a shot towards the far corner. Thomas Strakosha got down well and kept it out with a sprawling save.

The ball was cleared off the Brentford line again soon after - and this time it was Keane Lewis-Potter who was performing the last-ditch defensive duties. A cross from Cunha fell to Nélson Semedo, whose effort was hooked off the line by the Bees man. The rebound fell to Sarabia, but his point-blank effort at a seemingly open goal went the wrong side of the post.

Semedo made amends for his miss on 36 minutes, when he equalised for the hosts. Cunha's cross from the right was won in the air by the right-back and, after Strakosha kept out his initial effort, the Portuguese followed it up and tapped home from inside the six-yard box.

Fraser goal sends game to extra-time

The second half began similarly to the first; a slow start before a Brentford goal.

With 52 minutes on the clock, Lewis-Potter drove down the left and made a clever pass inside to Josh Dasilva. The Bees midfielder attempted some skill on the edge of the area and the ball ricocheted through to Maupay, who beat José Sá with a side-footed finish from close range.

There was a VAR check to see who had poked the ball through to Maupay but, when it was confirmed to be the Wolves man, a second celebration ensued for the centre-forward and the visiting supporters high above the goal.

Down the other end, Tommy Doyle attempted to recreate his heroics from the first fixture, when he had two attempts from the edge of the box: the first was deflected back to him, before he struck a sweet half-volley over the bar.

Then, substitute Mario Lemina found himself firing wide from inside the area, after two missed clearances from Brentford players led to a quick counter-attack.

The introduction of Fraser was the catalyst for the hosts. The youngster scored within two minutes of coming on, finding himself with space inside the area and arrowing into the far corner.

The forward was in again moments later after another slick Wolves move, but a stunning save from Strakosha kept the ball out.

Two half-chances for either side followed, with 10 minutes to play. A Mads Roerslev cross fell to Lewis-Potter, who couldn't quite angle his header either side of Sá, before another Wolves counter saw the ball drop to Sarabia, but his effort flew over the crossbar.

Another chance for Gary O'Neil's side went begging as Wolves hit their visitors on the break. Semedo had the initial chance, before putting the rebound wide of the post with five minutes to go.

Cunha penalty consigns Bees to defeat

Both teams hit the woodwork in the first half of extra-time. First, Cunha charged down the left and hit the base of the post, before Shandon Baptiste weaved his way into the penalty area and did the same with the outside of his boot.

In stoppage-time of the opening period of extra-time, Wolves took the lead. Pedro Neto was brought down in the area, before Cunha stepped up and slammed the ball home despite Strakosha diving the right way.

Collins thought he had his brace in the second half of extra-time when he turned home Roerslev's cross, but the former was deemed offside in the build-up.

Wolves: Sá, Kilman, S Bueno, Toti, Semedo, Doyle, Hodge (Lemina 70), Doherty (Neto 57), Sarabia (H Bueno 87), Cunha (Dawson 108), Bellegarde (Fraser 70)

Subs not used: Bentley, Mosquera, Griffiths, Chirewa

Brentford: Strakosha, Collins, Mee, Ajer (Zanka 61), Roerslev, Janelt, Jensen (Yarmoliuk 90+4), Damsgaard (Baptiste 61), Lewis-Potter (Olakigbe 99), Dasilva (Peart-Harris 61), Maupay

Subs not used: Flekken, Fredrick, Goode, Brierley

Attendance: 24,692

Frank: I loved the spirit, mentality and effort

Thomas Frank stressed there were plenty of positives to take from the game at Molineux.

He explained: “Overall, the boys did well out there. I think the first half was a little bit average from our side, but we were still comfortable in the game.  

“I was very pleased with the second half and the two halves of extra-time, so it was at least 75 minutes at a good level.

“I think we actually deserved to get more out of the game. I loved the spirit, mentality and effort - that was really, really good.” 

Nathan Collins: We gave everything

Nathan Collins was left with mixed emotions following his return to Molineux on Tuesday night.

The defender, who spent the 2022/23 campaign at Wolves, scored the first goal of the game, bundling home from close range inside the opening quarter of an hour.

“It came to me and I tried to get in a good position as I always do to see if it would land for me, and fortunately it did,” said Collins. “But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter now does it?

“I enjoyed my time here with the lads and the staff. The fans gave me a bit of stick, but it’s part of the game.”

On the result, Collins added: “It’s frustrating, obviously. We put a lot into it, the lads worked hard. We put everything into it that we could. A bit of luck went their way with the peno.

“It was 50-50 all the way through; we made it difficult for each other.”