Leader of the Pack: Newcomer leads Wolves-West Ham Premier League soccer in Jacksonville

Maybe Jacksonville didn't know Rodrigo Gomes before Saturday night.

But Rodrigo Gomes, more than likely, will never forget Jacksonville.

A newly-signed Portuguese forward entering off the bench for his new English club, Gomes scored twice in the last 20 minutes to decide Jacksonville's opening game in Saturday night's Stateside Cup soccer match at EverBank Stadium, a storm-delayed 3-1 win for Wolverhampton Wanderers over West Ham United.

"To join a new team and get two goals in his first proper game was nice for him," Wolves manager Gary O'Neil said.

If not for Gomes, an already-long night would have stretched onward into a penalty-kick shootout. Instead, his effort earned him a new title: first match-winner in Jacksonville's first-ever contest between two teams from England's Premier League.

Wolves needed Gomes, too, a 21-year-old acquisition from SC Braga who overcame several more heralded talents on West Ham's squad — Czech Republic captain Tomas Soucek, Ghanaian winger Mohammed Kudus and English free-kick ace James Ward-Prowse among them — to thrill a thoroughly-drenched Northeast Florida crowd.

WEST HAM SHAKY DESPITE KUDUS HIGHLIGHT

Kudus, a speedy and often electrifying winger who scored twice for Ghana at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, had tied the score for West Ham with a driven low shot shortly before halftime.

But the London club repeatedly showed fragility against the counterpunch of the hard-pressing, hard-running Wolves.

A giveaway around the net led to the first goal, and West Ham struggled to find a rhythm after the break, coming closest when Callum Marshall's apparent score was ruled offside.

"I think that we have to improve in a lot of things with and without the ball, so we have a lot of work to do in front of us," West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui said.

GOMES SHINES UNDER GLOOMY SKIES

Two lightning delays. A flash flood warning. Is this any way to welcome guests from overseas?

England's soccer visitors got a taste of a genuine Sunshine State gully-washer, a vigorous late-afternoon thunderstorm that kept both clubs in the locker rooms until nearly 6:30 p.m. Then, a separate storm cell sparked another lightning delay that stretched from 6:58 to 8:28 p.m. and ultimately delayed kickoff until 9:05 p.m. Soaked to the bone, thousands of fans — an official attendance was not announced at the stadium — nonetheless stuck around past the final whistle around 11 p.m.

But Gomes ensured the night would end with more goals than lightning delays. After Jean-Ricner Bellegarde stole the ball in midfield and launched Goncalo Guedes on the counter, Gomes stayed alert to finish the go-ahead goal in the 72nd minute.

Five minutes later, he added another, heading home a bending cross from 18-year-old fullback Pedro Lima.

THE BIG PICTURE

The numbers on the scoreboard weren't the main focus for either squad, not in a game planned as a preseason tune-up before both teams begin England's Premier League season. Wolverhampton kicks off its season Aug. 17 against Arsenal in London, while West Ham starts against Aston Villa.

The main objectives: building tactical cohesion, trying new players and avoiding injuries. One who didn't was Wolves forward Matheus Cunha, who exploited a turnover outside the box for the tournament's first goal in the 18th minute. Cunha, a striker on Brazil's Tokyo Olympic team, walked off gingerly minutes afterward with what O'Neil called pain in the back of his knee. O'Neil said it's unclear when he can return.

Both teams experimented with wholesale substitutions, tactical tweaks and formation adjustments in preparation for the tests to come.

"It was a good test for [Wolves], actually, to press a back four for the first half and then to press a back five for the first 15 minutes of the second," O'Neil said.

Saturday's match formed the opener of a one-week, three-team exhibition tournament that also includes London-based Crystal Palace, a series that will include matches in Tampa and in Annapolis, Maryland.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR JACKSONVILLE?

The question for Jacksonville: With stadium renovations also on the way over the next four years, will the arrival of West Ham and Wolves herald a soccer resurgence for the city?

During the 2010s, Jacksonville became a relative hot spot for the United States Soccer Federation, holding a half-dozen matches for the United States men's and women's national teams between 2012 and 2019.

Included in that series was a June 2014 contest between the U.S. men and Nigeria, which drew a crowd of 52,033 -- at the time, a Florida attendance record for the United States men for any game that was not part of a larger tournament.

The city also served as host for several club matches during that span, including teams from Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany and Mexico.

In May, Visit Jacksonville president Michael Corrigan announced the formation of the Jacksonville Sports Foundation , which seeks to bring a wide variety of sporting events to the city.

The weather wasn't able to dampen the excitement for fans of both clubs, with hundreds spending their afternoon in tailgate mode outside the stadium before the heavens opened and many more sticking around after the final whistle for celebrations and postgame autographs.

"The lads did really well, and the pitch held up well," O'Neil said. "I was thankful we could get it on because now the week can go as we planned it."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Leader of the Pack: Newcomer leads Wolves-West Ham Premier League soccer in Jacksonville