Wolves fire cheeky dig at West Brom star after Black Country derby flashpoint | OneFootball

The manner of Fer Lopez's winner is one which the Albion defender will want to forget

Wolverhampton Wanderers are basking in the glory of their Black Country derby triumph against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, and have poked fun at Baggies defender, Nathaniel Phillips, whose error led to the only goal of the contest.

Wolves and Albion hadn't faced off against each other in a league fixture for over five years, but Fer Lopez's goal ensured that the home side emerged victorious in a game which they dominated for extremely large parts.

Wolves have now won back-to-back matches by a 1-0 scoreline and climbed above their bitter rivals in the Championship table on goal difference ahead of the three-week international break.

Cesar Peixoto's newly-relegated outfit were very rarely threatened by James Morrison's side, who suffered their first defeat in five matches as a result.

High-profile clashes such as this fixture, which dates back to 1886, have provided so many cult heroes at Molineux and The Hawthorns over time, whilst others have, to their dismay, been forced to play the role of pantomime villain.

On this particular occasion, it has been ex-Liverpool academy graduate, Phillips, who has been viewed as the latter, especially by the Wolves fanbase in their post-match conversations.

Wolves poke fun at West Brom's Nat Phillips with social media post after Black Country derby

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West Brom were certainly under the cosh against Wolves from the get-go, and in truth, were lucky not to be at least two goals down at half-time due to a succession of fine saves from Max O'Leary to deny Nasser Djiga, Rodrigo Gomes and Marshall Munetsi.

However, Albion's defensive resolve came unstuck five minutes after half-time, as Lopez pounced on Phillips' loose backpass towards the shot-stopper to slot home first-time.

Whilst a goal for the hosts had been coming for some time, it is a moment which the 29-year-old will want to forget rather swiftly.

But it's fair to say those of a Wolves persuasion, unsurprisingly, enjoyed his mishap, and on the club's X account, which read "the goalscorer," shows Lopez full of smiles in the dressing room with multiple TV screens showing Phillips' reaction to his error in the 50th minute.

Wolves and West Brom fans react to Nat Phillips, Fer Lopez social media post

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Unsurprisingly, there has been a mixed reaction to the aforementioned post depending on which side of the rivalry's divide supporters find themselves on.

One Wolves supporter who was clearly amused with the image and caption replied: "And the man who got the assist on (the) screens!"

Another claimed: "The admin deserves a promotion for putting the screen of the best Albion player today."

"Only right to get the guy who assisted him in there as well," read a similar response.

However, one Baggies supporter clearly wasn't impressed, responding with: "Will still take you a half a decade if you win every derby in the season to get the most wins, for a club that’s so much “bigger” you really don’t have much to shout about do you."

James Morrison praises Nat Phillips despite major West Brom error vs Wolves

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Despite being forced into the high-profile error due to the intense nature of Wolves' press, Phillips has still made a solid start to the season for West Brom, who, by and large, have continued to generate strong momentum after a positive end to last season.

"He owned up to his mistake," Morrison revealed post-match. "But Nat's been immense over the last couple of weeks."

The centre-back has formed a strong partnership with club captain, George Campbell, in this season's early weeks, and will hope to make amends in Albion's next game, which is another local derby against Birmingham City at The Hawthorns.