Wolves have earned their Spurs over the years
Trips to Tottenham have not always been fruitful ones for Wolves in recent history, but there have been notable exceptions, not least four years ago when the Nuno era perhaps reached its peak before the world changed.
It is perhaps only now that Wolves can head to North London with the same sort of confidence and firepower as was displayed so memorably back in 2020.
It was a Wolves goal which was as breath-taking as it was brutally direct and effective.
Diogo Jota, inside his own half, flicked the ball nonchalantly over Lucas Moura, skipped equally effortlessly past Serge Aurier and Davinson Sanchez and delivered an inch perfect pass into the path of Raul Jimenez.
After which the Wolves striker, in the form of his life, took one touch forward, one touch inside and dispatched a clinical left foot shot beyond Paulo Gazzaniga in the Spurs goal.
The marauding Mexican dashed over to celebrate in front of the delirious following of Wolves fans making their first ever visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, doused in delight after enjoying their team twice coming from behind to lead, with 17 minutes remaining.
Goals from Matt Doherty and Jota had already twice levelled to cancel out efforts from Steven Bergwijn and Serge Aurier in front of a crowd of 58,064.
Wolves won 3-2 against a Spurs team under Jose Mourinho which didn’t register a shot on target in the second half, to move above their hosts and into sixth in the Premier League table, only three points adrift of Chelsea in fourth.
The Champions League was looming into view.
And this, in a season when Wolves already had a two-legged Europa League last 16 tie to look forward to against Olympiacos.
It was an afternoon with all the hallmarks of the way Nuno Espirito Santo had got his Wolves team functioning.
So much talent, organisation and ability, especially on the counterattack, and so much fight and character, in making it 35 points gained from losing positions in a season-and-a-half, six ahead of their nearest comeback challengers.
“It was a huge game, our first at this ground, which is brilliant,” reflected captain Conor Coady after the game.
“To beat a world-class team like Tottenham is fantastic, an amazing day for this football club.”
This was Sunday, March 1st in 2020. Wolves were in a very good place.
Just three days earlier they had come through the second leg of their last 32 Europa League clash in Barcelona, beaten 3-2 by Espanyol but progressing comfortably 6-3 on aggregate.
The fans were loving life, and they were loving a new chant, the ridiculously catchy ‘L’Amour Toujours’ by Gigi D’Agostino, the goal music which had been played in Spain.
Sky Sports reporter, lifelong Wolves fan and Express & Star columnist Johnny Phillips was covering the game, completely neutrally, of course. Club legend Steve Bull was watching from Spurs’ Tunnel Club. It was quite a day.
“It's probably one of my favourite games to have worked on covering Wolves,” Phillips recalls.
