It’s disappointing that we haven’t won the game, their goals were really scrappy, where we failed to deal with big old blokes in our box, however Flint has an excellent goal scoring record for a CB, with 2 in 2 at Molineux now. Set pieces aside we looked really comfortable, their only real threat seemed to be Leko, and he faded drastically second half, and then replaced. If we can tighten up on set pieces – and I think dropping Miranda will help with that too, as he is simply not dominant enough, then teams will struggle to score past us.
Ruddy – Flapped at the corner for Flint’s goal, he was slightly impeded, but not fouled, felt he was a bit slow to react to the effort that hit the post too, distribution was very good, and it was interesting, probably unique to see both teams at Molineux in a Championship passing it our from the keeper rather than hoofing it.
Doherty – I’ve never seen him play better, got up and down, kept the ball really well, always offered himself, I can’t remember him giving the ball away, had a goal (rightly but narrowly) disallowed and if it wasn’t for Cav’s performance he’d have been MOTM, on this form we don’t need to worry about needing better.
Batth – Again, this is as good as I’ve seen him play for a very long time, extremely dominant in the air, strong in the tackle, and you could see him commanding and demanding from the players around him, great goal too. Unlucky when he smashed a great tackle on the half way line that the ref had given a foul for a challenge just earlier.
Coady – Good, in fact excellent distribution, seems to be the glue that makes the back 3 work, several important interceptions and blocks, though not largely troubled overall.
Miranda – Not at all convinced, for a supposed ball playing CB he doesn’t look that good on the ball, was hesitant and rash in the tackle, I think he will give away a lot of fouls, and as said he simply didn’t look that confident on the ball, was disappointed with him, and from the fact that Saiss came on for him, Nuno was too.
Vinagre – Love this guy, so much energy, great technique, really good delivery, to think he has played just 4 or 5 senior games! If this guy is “backup” we have nothing to worry about down the left this season, as long as we can keep such a young player fresh. Unlucky with the penalty, as there is no way that is an intentional hand ball, but his hand was in an unnatural position, and that is why it was deemed to be a penalty.
N’Diaye – Very impressive, got up and down superbly, was effective in both boxes, whether laying on Vinagre who set up Bonatini for the first goal, or making last ditch headed clearances in our box, he was everywhere! Not just a clogger either, played several very nice balls to Doherty (most notably) and seemed to fit in well with the type of football we play. I really hope he can sustain this high energy performance, as was constantly making interceptions and tackles and as said it was surprising to see how attacking he was too, with a handful of excellent powerful forward runs.
Neves – Disappointing, whilst he wasn’t “bad” he wasn’t as effective as I expected to be, he kept the ball, made a couple of good tackles, but there were no wow moments as such, hopefully just a bit of an off day – or perhaps the weather DID effect him afterall.
Jota – Again, I love this guy, such a high energy performance, harrying, hassling, niggling away at everyone within 10-15 yards of him, his attitude is superb, and when he does have the ball he looks so confident, it is so refreshing to see Wolves players so comfortable on the ball, so willing to run at opponents, on their left, their right or he’d just pop it through their legs. His technique is superb, a fantastic touch that enabled him to lash a looping volley in the first half, and many other notable times where he just plucks out of the air when it looks like the ball is at too awkward a height. Slight criticisms are that he should have scored when he hit the bar, and a couple of times he waited for it to come to him in the 6 yard box, rather than gambling (although his goal actually came from that).
Bonatini – Slow, cumbersome, but I think he is important to how we play, whilst I wasn’t overly impressed with him, I feel that we need someone of his type to enable us to play the way we want too, he is a focal point and also someone who will be consistently in the areas he needs to be to pop the ball in, as proven by 2 of his 3 goals being practically the same.
Cav – MOTM comfortably, a pity he had clearly tired, as I think had he stayed on we may well have gone on to win the game, he was fast, direct and inventive, perhaps took 1 touch too many when he rounded the keeper, but that aside pretty much everything he did was spot on, he linked well with Doherty and Leo, and also with Alfred, and gave their left back one hell of a roasting. He is going to be a vastly important player for us this season, particularly I think away from home.
Subs
Bright – Tried, but ultimately failed to keep up the momentum on the right side that Cav had given us, one touch too many a couple of times, lead to me being frustrated.
Saiss – We looked far, far more comfortable when he replaced Miranda, Saiss got a lot of the ball and used it well, he also completed his defensive duties with far more confidence and ease than Miranda too IMO, if N’Diaye is perhaps a better foil for Neves, then we can have no concerns about Saiss playing as one of the CBs until Boly is back instead of Miranda.
Marshall – Great corner for Batth’s goal, and some nice passing, he looks so slow when carrying the ball though, a different kind of player to Cav, Jota etc, and one that will be important throughout the season.
Ref – When the penalty was given I thought it was a ridiculous decision, having seen it since he got it right. The two other notable decisions were when he waved away a penalty claim for a foul on Batth. For me Batth fouled their defender, their CB headed it, and then Batth crashed into him, I’ve also seen some moaning about him giving a foul by Batth on the half way line, he didn’t give a foul for that, he gave it for a foul just moments earlier. Overall he got the key decisions right, though his insistence on not having “proper” drop balls was annoying, this kicking back to the opponents malarkey is wet!
