Wolves youngsters making a name for themselves in India

Wolves Under-19s made an impressive start in their opening game by beating Everton 4-0, thanks to a brace from Nathan Fraser and goals from Alfie Pond and Ty Barnett.

They are joined in Navi Mumbai by West Ham, South African side Stellenbosch and Reliance Foundation Development League sides Sudeva Delhi, ATK Mohun Bagan, Bengaluru and Reliance Foundation Young Champs.

On the opening game, Fraser said: “It was good. It was hot, but scoring an early goal took the pressure off us and we could keep it around the back.

“We had a lot of the ball which meant we didn’t need to do so much running so it was a good start.

“Coming here with the weather and different surface, you don’t really know what to expect but scoring early eases everyone.

“You can start to enjoy the game a bit more and start to play a few of our patterns with less pressure.

“We knew going into the second half that we had the better of them and that we should score more.

“We were confident of getting more and managed to score three, but we could have got even more but we’re happy with four.

“Scoring as a striker gives me more confidence but carrying it on each game is even better. I scored another two today but wanted to score more – I wanted to get three or four.

“I’ll look to the next game and try and score there as well.”

Wolves face their second group game against Reliance Foundation Young Champs today, kicking off at 11.30am UK time.

Academy manager for football, Jon Hunter-Barrett, added: “It’s an outstanding opportunity and life experience that the players and coaches are able to get through football.

“Asia is definitely one of the areas we’re trying to do more work in and gain an increase in our brand and reputation. For us to have this opportunity through the Premier League to go out to Mumbai was a no-brainer for us.

“Our coaches and players are able to set the expectation and they know how important these trips are to the football club, so as a group they’ll be able to work towards that and maximise the opportunity provided.”

Wolves’ final group game will be played against Sudeva Delhi on Tuesday at the Reliance Corporate Park, with a UK kick-off time of 3.30pm.

West Ham are currently the cup holders after victory last summer on home soil.