Wolves Fans' Verdict v Leicester: A wasted opportunity

Adam Virgo

A game where we had complete control and were playing some of our best football this season for the first 30 minutes, all thrown away by a mixture of silly errors, poor decision making and questionable tactics.

The goal from us was all from us being aggressive high up the pitch – fantastic work from Lemina and a brilliant finish from Cunha. After that we were still putting the pressure on and Leicester didn’t have anything whatsoever.

In absolute control and one ball through to Vardy, we get caught out and then Jose Sa makes a rash decision by coming out and giving a penalty away when there was no need considering he was going away from goal and Kilman was covering enough.

The goal obviously gave them a huge boost and we just lost all momentum and struggled to do anything from then on, particularly after half time.

Lemina having to go off killed us as well, his energy and effectiveness defensively was all lost and we ended up playing much slower.

Their second goal was coming and eventually they got it but we just created next to nothing in the second half. Constantly making the wrong decisions and Lopetegui got it all wrong by bringing Moutinho and Hwang on so early for Costa and Sarabia. Hwang I can understand a lot more but having four central midfielders on and Cunha without another striker with him, we’ve all seen that doesn’t work and it didn’t again.

It’s really frustrating because that game was there to be won and we had complete control. I still think we’re safe but ideally we do need to beat Palace on Tuesday or at least draw to just not give us that added pressure when we don’t need it.

Rob Cartwright

The inconsistency being shown by Wolves is driving me mad; not just between games but even within games now!

We were in complete control for 37 minutes of this one. Wolves' midfield were completely dominant and though Leicester huffed and puffed they hardly mounted an attack. We took the lead on 13 minutes and looked increasingly likely to add to that.

We don’t half know how to waste a corner!

Sa had had nothing to do. Why he chose to challenge Vardy in the far right of his box I will never know. He had, rightly, come out to narrow the angle and had done well to force Vardy to his left, but just stand up! The ball was going away from goal. As soon as there was contact this was going to be a penalty. Vardy is the master of the dive.

Leicester fans woke up. They couldn’t believe they were level at the break.

Two bits of misfortune for Wolves. Lemina was injured and couldn’t play the second half. A big loss for us. Vardy didn’t appear either. Bad news as he had done nothing apart from to fall over Sa.

Neves did OK, but when Moutinho replaced Costa on 58 minutes, we lacked any physical presence at the top and the Leicester defence may as well have got their pipe and slippers out for a comfortable last half hour.

Why we didn’t see Traore on at this point I will never understand. Hwang, Podence and Neto were all introduced, but we still lacked a physical forward or anyone with speed and strength with the ball.

The inevitable goal was conceded with 15 minutes to go. A well-worked goal.

Our only efforts were two Neves free-kicks and a Toti header which I thought had gone in, so celebrated like an idiot!

Yes, we should have had a penalty for handball, but VAR know best. Doesn’t it?

Man of the match, for me, was Cunha but he needs to play with a target man and was less effective when Costa was subbed.

Leicester needed the three points more than we did. I just can’t understand how we made it so easy for them. I don’t think it will make much difference come the end of the season, but reveals frailty in our squad.

We are just as likely to win the next two games as we are to lose them. I think we would settle for three points from these two. Get more and we’re probably safe; get less and the panic may set in.

Clive Smith

Every time we start heading towards the escape door we then stop. Our rollercoaster ride continues. I have slowly counted to 10 but am still angry. For thirty plus minutes we were a delight to watch and looking as good in the final third as at any time this season. Crisp accurate passing, full of energy, winning every loose ball and in total control. Leicester looked deflated on and off the pitch, almost resigned to their fate.

Cunha had given us a lead and we looked likely to add to that. By then Leicester had crossed halfway once and Toti had made a decisive block. Games are rarely won singlehandedly, and likewise defeats are not either. However. Sa made a silly unnecessary challenge on Vardy who was heading away from goal and not in a goal scoring position.

An equaliser, a complete reversal in momentum and what had been looking very much like an inevitable win looked the opposite. It was hoped a good half-time talking would do the trick – it didn't. Neither did the introduction of Neves for Lemina.

The Costa-Cunha combination had carried on where it had left off last week but once Costa was replaced on the hour, our already struggling attack virtually disintegrated.

It was no surprise when we conceded a second given that we were not retaining possession like we had in the first half. It would have been a decent point, but it was not to be.

Our back four all played well, Dawson in particular won several headers. An impressive Gomes was MOTM while Nunes had played really well in the first half but Dewsbury-Hall nullified him from then on. Costa and Cunha led the line well but Cunha wasted a couple of shooting chances, choosing instead to play an unnecessary extra pass.

John Lalley

Such a wasted opportunity; in cruise control against a team shorn of belief and plummeting towards the drop, we present them with a needless lifeline and in so doing, extend our own nagging doubts. We’ve only managed to scrape a couple of unlikely wins on the road this season and this surely was our best opportunity to land a third and virtually guarantee our survival.

The three remaining fixtures awaiting us on our travels look daunting to say the least and our failure to cash in here heaps a whole lot of unnecessary pressure on our shoulders.

Since we gained promotion, the King Power Stadium has offered us nothing but frustration; we’ve barely managed an effort on goal game after game and VAR has reserved some of its most despicable kicks in the teeth for us at both ends of the pitch. Come to think of it, fruitless treks to their old ramshackle Filbert Street ground rarely left us with much to smile about either.

When Leicester demolished us at Molineux back in October, long odds would have been available for a punt on them to be relegated. And any suggestion that super slick Brendan Rodgers would be out on his ear and replaced by the flaky Dean Smith would have seen the culprit given a tablet and told to lie down. It really is a strange turn of events, but help for Leicester is often on hand when Wolves show their face.

The six points we have gifted The Foxes are likely to go a long way to saving their skins and that is truly frustrating. Youri Tielemans had put the initial skids under us at Molineux, but this time he was pressurised and dispossessed to present Cunha with what should have been a decisive goal.

A better team than Wolves would then have feasted on Leicester’s desperation and insecurity. Given their plight, they must have feared the worst conceding first at home with the anxieties of their supporters adding to their burden. But Wolves simply don’t have that ruthless streak in their armoury and as soon as the penalty was conceded, the initiative shifted and conclusively so.

Without doubt Jose Sa was unfortunate with the inadvertent contact that tripped Vardy, but the wisdom of rashly haring after the striker when he was moving away from our goal was more than questionable. He’s had similar damaging rushes of blood in the past and this one cost us big time.

From that moment, Wolves would gladly have settled for a point which would have been no disaster. But as the second half progressed and Wolves offered so little, a decisive Leicester strike became increasingly likely. Sa made one particularly fine save but when Castagne settled the issue, few if any were surprised.

Our next two opponents at Molineux, Crystal Palace and Villa will both be visiting basking in their best form of the season and intent on doing us serious damage. With those three stinkers away from home lined up, Wolves face what could be a torrid finale to the season. What an opportunity to ease the tension was scorned on Saturday!

James Pugh

A tough one to take that. It’s rare that wolves have dominated a team as much as they did in the first half and to not come away at least with a point. But the truth is we crumbled under pressure and in this instance, Julen is to blame.

The one thing most wolves fans can comfortably agree on is Julen loves a sub, especially when compared to Nuno and Bruno. Yes, this has won us games before, and it has definitely benefitted us more than not, but not this time. While Neves is comfortably our best player, he was poor after he came on and changed the game. Would have rather seen him start, and if he was struggling have Gomes deployed. If anything, that shows exactly how great Lemina and Gomes are.

I know I haven’t been overly complimentary on Costa on these verdicts, but taking him off was the wrong call. We needed a second goal and he was causing problems. I am not sure why Sarabia is starting following a string of below par performances, with our top scorer Podence and an eager Hwang on the bench.

After a fantastic spell of games, Nunes had his first poor game as a wide midfielder, and I am starting to struggle seeing him in that position going forward.

Also, we probably should start a discussion on Jose Sa. Yes he has saved us a few times, but I feel like he’s made a big mistake in him once every four games, which in a low-scoring team is not ideal.

One of the main positives however is Cuhna is comfortably our best player (another striker goal too!), and I am very much looking forward to seeing a Wolves team built around him going forward.

Wolves outright refuse to make the relegation chat go away and there are a massive few games ahead now.