Wolves Fans' Verdict v Southampton: What a result!

Clive Smith

Every so often you go to a game that will stick in your memory for years to come. We all recall Ryan Bennett at Bristol City. This will be one of those games.

Some people might take each game as it comes but most of us have had this game bookmarked for a while. Time will tell how significant it was but for now we can take plenty of positives.

It took less than 10 minutes for the referee to take over the game and by half-time he had shown six yellow cards which included two for Lemina. Strangely the second half had just as many similar fouls without a single card being shown. I’ll leave you to be the judge of his performance.

Southampton had a game plan, long high balls to their very tall ‘number nine’. But they also had a couple of pacy players. We struggled to keep them in check frankly as they were working hard, closing us down and making it difficult for us to settle.

Losing last week’s star performer Lemina so quickly after conceding a goal, all inside half an hour, was a real kick in the teeth. We were on the rack, desperately needing to stay in the game and not go two down.

To a man everyone stood up to be counted, matching their physical effort and trying hard to retain possession and push forward.

We still had just 10 men for the second half but it was less obvious. Lopetegui again showed his desire to utilise a 16-man squad, starting by bringing Traore and Bueno on at the interval. Both changes worked a treat as Traore gave us an outlet ball while also giving Saints something new to think about. Bueno too helped, defending well but also making sure he got a cross over into their box when he was forward.

Costa was the next to be introduced and despite still being a man short our impressive work-rate meant the balance of the game was turning in our favour. Saints looked more scared to lose, Costa and Traore helped create a scramble in the box and a deflection led to an equaliser.

20 minutes to go and most of us would have taken a draw there and then. Saints started to bring on their subs and it looked like the momentum might change. Without their big bloke though, besides a couple of freekick situations there was little threat.

Amazingly late on a chance came our way and a classy Gomes finish at the second attempt sent the players, staff and the away end into ecstasy. That unique occurrence where random strangers could be seen hugging each other in all directions.

Then there was just the fingers crossed, head in hands minutes to hold on with the backdrop of a loud screaming away end drowning out the booing from other areas of the ground. We’ve got super Lopetegui!

A magnificent result. A different type of performance too. Neves probably shades MOTM with some impressive passing, particularly to Traore, but it was more the sum of all the parts than one individual. It already feels like Dawson has always been here. Sarabia played the full 90 minutes and, along with Nunes, Cunha and Gomes certainly know what life can be like in the Premier League. Everyone put in a shift and, like last week, Traore put in the sort of half we have rarely seen him do. Totally committed with and without the ball.

Lopetegui has certainly brought about a huge shift in the squad whether it be the new signings or those who have played all season. What looks a tight knit group, extremely fit and totally committed team is a far cry from where we were prior to the World Cup. Still more to do of course that is the realism, but for the second game in a row we can enjoy the moment for a while.

Liam Kennedy

At 3:45pm on Saturday, I was already coming to terms with not beating Southampton and thinking of how we had to beat Bournemouth next week.

Thank God Lopetegui and the players didn’t have the same mentality as me.

Even though they are the worst team in the league, having 10 men and being one goal down felt like an absolute mammoth task but thankfully we had Julen, Traore, Joao Gomes and Nathan Jones on our side to help overcome it.

Lopetegui got it spot on second half, Southampton never even looked like scoring, excluding Kilman’s pass to their striker, and the longer we stayed in the game the more you felt we would have a chance.

Even with the Costa substitution, at the time I thought he was mental for bringing Costa on over Jimenez but that is exactly why he is a Europa League winning manager who has worked for Real Madrid and I on the other hand keep funding Bet365 every week.

All the players in the second half stuck to their job and did it well. Can we take a moment to talk about the finish that sent Wolves fans crazy… Jan Bednarak what a finish lad.

At the start of the month, I felt we needed seven points from Liverpool, Southampton, Bournemouth and Fulham, and felt it could be the month that defined our season, so being in a position where we have six from the first two is incredible and emphasises the good work the team has done since Lopetegui has come in.

Without wanting to speak soon it does feel like there is a feel-good factor about going to Wolves games again that has pretty much been non-existent for this season but hopefully, a big win against Bournemouth next week should give us some much-needed breathing space.

My best takeaway from the game apart from the win is how strong our bench seems to be at the moment – with Neto, Chiquinho and Kalajdzic all coming back to full fitness as well, it feels like a good quality squad is coming together.

Rob Cartwright

This was a fantastic result, given the adversity suffered during the first half. The players have their belief back and we have a coach who is an astute tactician.

To achieve 60 per cent possession when playing with 10 men for over an hour, away from home, is some achievement.

Lopetegui made changes at half time and spurred on by a vocal away support the players remained patient while pushing for the equaliser.

The introduction of Costa after an hour was significant. He’s still waiting for his first goal, but created havoc in the Southampton defence while becoming an obvious target for Wolves attacks. He was involved in the equaliser, as was Traore who again came from the bench to impact on the result.

It was one way traffic now and it took some class from Gomes to secure the win with a debut goal shooting calmly from the edge of the box.

Sa deserves much credit too, as it was his save at 1-0 which kept us in the game, following a Kilman howler. I thought Bueno was superb after coming on at half time. Man of the match was Neves who is consistently at top of his game and is showing leadership both on and off the pitch.

I won’t waste any words on the officials, except that I despair at almost every game now as they do their best to spoil it for all. Despite this, we shall overcome.

We have lift-off and still 16 games to go!

John Lalley

Fact really is stranger than fiction; but this outlandish burletta stretched the bounds of credibility almost to its limits.

Given the bizarre nature and the importance of this fixture, it’s little wonder that when the referee blew for full-time and in so doing completed just about his only competent contribution to the afternoon, we all went ecstatically bananas. Nothing beats cocking a snook at a miscarriage of justice, defeating the odds and then finally basking in substantial, exhilarating satisfaction.

The evidence of a dire first-half offered little in even considering any sort of turnaround; Wolves had been dismal, pushed around and seemingly disinclined to match the desperate commitment of a home team facing their own crisis-point. Of course, all of the preparation, all of the tactical planning and all of the need for a competitive instinct appeared to be prematurely scuttled when the hapless Mr.Gillett took centre-stage.

Now, I’ve got no time for players marauding in the faces of officials and haranguing them with dismissive contempt; such conduct is a blight on the game and should be subject to zero-tolerance, but to even suggest that Mario Lemina indulged in such disrespect is disingenuous.

On a day, when almost across the Premier fixture list, the entire process of officiating was exposed in all of its paramount absurdity, this perverse decision and worse still, its ludicrous justification was frankly risible.

Almost a reincarnation of the 1970’s, reminiscent of that Judge Jeffreys of referees Clive Thomas, who dispensed similar retribution with relish and without mercy. Empathy and understanding? Not on your life! Whilst the rest of us seethed and bemoaned the slings and arrows, Lopetegui instead took decisive action.

Positive substitutions and a refusal to let his players even consider any hint of surrender showed once more that Wolves are now operating with a highly intelligent coach.

There is no rigidity with him; instead a gymnastic flexibility which seeks to manipulate tactics as matches evolve. In the technical area, he conclusively does think on his feet.

Traore, Costa and the admirable Bueno all entered the fray and made a significant impact on the game making light of our numerical disadvantage. And finally, the entrance of Joao Gomes who immediately lifted the pressure of expectation with his emotional finish.

He’s already in credit and his rapid impact will have greatly eased his burden of assimilation into the club. Lopetegui thumped his chest in delight on the pitch at the end to signify the heart and spirit of his players. He was absolutely spot-on; come to think of it, he’s been right on just about everything so far since coming to Molineux.

Just as an afterthought; we wouldn’t have been celebrating had Jose Sa not bailed-out Max Kilman when his weak pass-back threatened to leave us two down and almost certainly out of contention.

There has been much criticism of Sa from some fans this campaign comparing his efforts with the absolute brilliance of last season. It was a superb piece of goalkeeping anticipation at St. Mary’s and lets not forget two brilliant saves last week which ensured a comfortable victory over Liverpool.

Everybody is pulling in the right direction right now and that manifestly includes Jose Sa. When Hwang Hee-Chan limped off in that Liverpool game, all four sides of Molineux rose and applauded. It was abundantly clear by his response how much that reception meant to Hwang despite the pain of his injury.

He had previously been barraged with criticism and it was so much more constructive to listen to encouragement for a player who like the rest of this squad is giving his all to the cause. It really is fantastic when players and fans are in harmony; it’s a good vibe just now and having scapegoats never solved a thing. What a remarkable result this was; real guts and spirit in adversity and that’s a fact not fiction!

Fraser Bishop

We just love playing at St. Mary’s don’t we? Four consecutive wins away at Southampton but none more important than Saturday’s.

With 18 minutes remaining, Wolves were a man down and a goal down with it all to do, but a slice of luck and one piece of Brazilian magic later, things are looking up.

Whilst I fully trust Lopetegui and appreciate he knows what he is doing (and exactly what we need) I didn’t really understand the team selection. Four central midfielders on the pitch with Nunes playing on the left seemed unorthodox and lacking a bit of a presence up front which Costa later provided. The first half was poor from us, after a promising start initially, things unravelled quickly in the space of three minutes as we went a goal down and a man down too.

The red card was one of the strangest things I have seen. Was it because Lemina ran at him aggressively? Did he say something? Was it that there were too many players surrounding him? Either way, it seemed very harsh and if you are going to book a player for contesting one of your decisions as a ref, you will be in for a busy afternoon as it happens continuously. How many times do you see players around the referee in general, at least be consistent with what constitutes dissent! Not that it mattered, fortunately.

But to the credit of the players they dug in and going in at half time 1-0 down was disappointing but I still felt we were right in the game. A couple of subs at half-time and a tweak to the system saw us improve in the second half despite it not being a vintage performance. It feels like the spirit is there again now, earlier on in the season you can’t help but feel we would have rolled over and succumbed to the adversity thrown at us by going and conceding a couple more. That being said, if it wasn’t for Sa the game might have been taken away from us but he was able to bail Kilman out with some alert keeping’ after a weak back pass which later proved pivotal.

It’s a strange one coming out with a 2-1 win having had one solitary shot on target, but what a shot it was. You just couldn’t write it. After all the excitement and anticipation around this transfer, Gomes, having been freed at last, steps up to cooly side foot into the top corner and sent the away fans delirious.

Of course there is still a long way to go, but it feels very positive right now. Back to back wins and now a bit of breathing space from the relegation zone, with some momentum building and players who seem to be enjoying their football, we could be in for a very exciting second half of the season.

Adam Virgo

Back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this season and we had to really show fight, ambition and belief to do so.

I absolutely love this team and what Lopetegui is building. If you look at where we are now compared to what it was like under Lage, it’s a complete contrast. We would have never ever came close to drawing that game with 10 men, let alone winning it earlier in the season.

The first half was a complete write-off, we were playing well below what we’re capable of and the referee was giving out cards for anything and everything. The Lemina sending off was an absolute joke, especially with the reason that he told Neves, it feels like they just make up new rules every week at times.

At half time I think every Wolves fan would have been ecstatic with a point but Lopetegui’s changes had such a huge impact. Bueno, Adama, Joao Gomes and Costa all made a difference for our goals and the decision at half time to take more risks definitely played in our favour.

The equaliser was comical from Bednarek but it was fantastic work from Bueno and persistence from Costa and Adama to earn the goal. We were committing men forwards and getting bodies in the box to be able to hurt Southampton when the opportunity came along.

We held our own defensively, kept possession well and it always felt like we would have another chance to win the game. It looked as if Joao Gomes could have played Sarabia in but thankfully it didn’t matter because his finish was absolutely beautiful.

The fact we now have Neves, Nunes, Joao Gomes and Lemina as midfield options is a wonderful sight plus the option of using Moutinho when needed too.

The last 30 mins was just incredible to watch. Two away wins this season and both times we’ve had to come from behind to win, I don’t even remember a game when we won from a losing position under Lage. The whole mentality of the club and players just feels so much better and long may it continue.

Massive three points for us and if we can beat Bournemouth on Saturday then I really think we should be fine in regards to staying up. With Lopetegui in charge and some of the quality we have, I’m not worried about the prospect of relegation and I think by the end of the season we’ll be comfortably clear of the bottom three.

James Pugh

After the euphoria surrounding the Liverpool game and the confidence it must have brought, this first half display was difficult to fathom. Lacking pace, invention and discipline, Wolves struggled against against a struggling team, themselves devoid of confidence but bolstered by new signings who seemed up for the relegation fight.

After a MOTM display against Liverpool, Lemina got too hyped up against his old team. He was harshly booked for his first yellow, and his second was risible. The referee had a poor game, making it hard for himself with unnecessary early bookings, but this should not excuse player revolt. Sometimes you have to play the referee as well as the opponent. This was one such occasion. Lemina left his side with a goal down and a man down – so an uphill task from there on.

On the plus side Neves was again at his imperious best. He is a Rolls Royce of a player and his relationship with the new manager must surely be the key if we are to keep him in the summer window. We were lucky not to concede a second before half-time.

And then the remarkable turnaround. Lopetegui has barely put a foot wrong since arriving, apart from, by his own admission, getting the tactics wrong against Man City.

His substitutions are proactive rather than reactive, unlike the last manager, and a double substitution at half-time proved to be the master stroke. Traore, Costa, and latterly Bueno and the debutant Gomes all had a (very) positive effect on proceedings and moving into the final quarter Wolves were at last on the front foot.

The first goal was a scrappy affair but the winner was a thing of beauty, a difficult afternoon had suddenly become the highlight of the season away from the Molineux.

Upwards and onwards but with a note of caution. We have played Liverpool and Southampton at their lowest. What was the thinking behind Ward-Prowse trying an intricate passing movement twice from free kicks? He is probably the best striker of the ball in Europe. Bournemouth at home next week who were very impressive drawing with high flying Newcastle, this might be the trickiest fixture of the last three.

Bizarrely, last night I cast my eye on Brighton occupying the last European place rather than Everton in the relegation zone planning our route to overhauling them. Is this midwinter madness?