Wolves Fans' Verdict v Spurs: Another capital victory

John Lalley

Whether it be White Hart Lane, Wembley or the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Wolves regardless of the venue, never appear in the slightest bit fazed at taking a tilt at Spurs in London.

This was the perfect response to the inexplicable lapse suffered against Brentford. Possession statistics barely carry any relevance in football these days. Spurs enjoyed – if that is the right expression – more than 70 per cent of game-time on the ball. Which counted for virtually nothing as Wolves created the better chances and only our own profligate finishing prevented a final scoreline of comfortable proportions.

Ultimately, the injured Matheus Cunha wasn’t missed; just the same, given the acres of space Wolves were creating, the Brazilian had he been around might have filled his boots in similar fashion to his exploits at Stamford Bridge.

Having conceded horribly from corners in recent games, it was deeply satisfying to find ourselves cashing in this time around. Joao Gomes might have been the smallest player lurking in the penalty area, but leaving him unchallenged proved an outrageous error. Diminutive in stature he may be but the dynamic header he powered home would have done full credit to Derek Dougan. Andy Gray wouldn’t have turned his nose up either.

He really is a pocket dynamo is Gomes; fiercely competitive, maturing almost with every game and increasingly influential in just about everything Wolves are trying to achieve. His energy levels are boundless; over an hour gone on the clock, he’s been defending for his life, makes another interception in his own penalty area, feeds the rampaging Neto and gallops eighty yards to take the return pass. The finish is decisive; cool and concise with ruinous consequences for the opposition.

Wolves should have added to their tally and the wastefulness could have spelt utter frustration had Ben Davies not missed a glorious late opportunity to equalise. Conceding such a scrappy goal mere seconds after the interval threatened to undo all the previous good work. The players must have been absolutely deflated. But to stand firm, resist capitulating, defend solidly and ultimately regain the initiative says much about the character of this squad.

This against a top six team, at their own grandiose arena with Champions’ League aspirations on their agenda. Wolves have overcome some mountainous odds starting before a ball was kicked in pre-season; the wheels were supposed to come flying off. Well, they haven’t and frankly, it’s a remarkable effort all round.

Clive Smith

I’ll be honest – I didn’t really fancy us at kick-off. No Cunha, a depressing result last week with a tired-looking squad against a quick attacking side.

What do I know! Instead we put in an excellent team performance with a terrific energy level – you could see that as some players collapsed exhausted at the final whistle.

Despite having far less possession we’ve rarely created as many good clear chances. Hwang, Neto, Sarabia twice and Bellegarde could have prevented a tense final 15 minutes.

Gary O’Neil deserves credit for the way he set the team up. Not so much the team selection, that picked itself, but the way he got them to exploit the space Spurs gave then defending diligently in and around our box. The ‘whole package’ worked a treat. Gomes, all 5ft 9 inches of him, scoring with a header from a corner might not have been in the script but it was a welcome reward for our first half endeavour.

Spurs had a high defensive line which allowed forward passes wide to Neto and Sarabia in particular and they were ably supported by Ait-Nouri and Semedo.