For the second Saturday running Wolves left London with nothing having established a one goal lead. Last week Fulham got a winner in the 90th minute and today Spurs managed to score in the 87th and 91st minutes to send the visiting contingent home dejected.
Wolves opened with a formation they had used for part of the 2nd half at Fulham with Stearman replacing the suspended Berra and Jones and Fletcher replacing Van Damme and Ebanks Blake;
Hahnemann,
Foley, Craddock, Stearman, Ward
Mancienne,
Henry, Jones
Jarvis, Doyle, Fletcher
Spurs are a good passing team and at the start of the game Wolves were struggling to get on the ball, but from their only early attack Jarvis went down under a challenge from Gallas that looked a possible penalty from where Wolves fans were housed at the other end of the ground. After an early spell on the back foot Wolves were giving as good as they got but they had Hahnemann to thank for two excellent saves midway through the half. The first came from a dipping shot from Van Der Vaart then an even better one to tip over a goal bound header from Crouch.
Spurs should have taken the lead when for the first time Bale got past Foley on the right. After outpacing the Wolves full back he got tot the line and put in a perfect cross that found Keane on the edge of the six yard box but the former Wolves striker, who looks a shadow of his former self, glanced his header wide when it looked easier to score. And Wolves were to make them pay for the missed chances at the end of the half when Foley, Jarvis and Jones linked together on the right and a low cross was turned in from close range by Fletcher. The half time whistle came as the Wolves fans were singing ‘1-0 to the dirty boys’.
After the break we waited for a Spurs onslaught that didn’t come as Wolves were holding their lead quite comfortably. This despite losing Jarvis and Fletcher who both went off limping to be replaced by Van Damme and Edwards. Wolves were now playing 4-1-4-1 with Doyle on his own up front. If anything Wolves looked even more comfortable after the subs as they had been struggling to get Jarvis and Fletcher into the game but both subs made a good impact.
But with less than 15 minutes to go Spurs sub Hutton set off on a run from inside his own half and was unchallenged until the penalty area. He pushed the ball past Ward on the left side of the area and was brought down for a clear penalty from which Van Der Vaart sent Hahnemann the wrong way.
Shortly afterwards Foley was sent flying after the ball had gone leading to shouts of ‘If that was Wolves you’d have sent him off’ from the away fans but incredibly not even a foul was given. Then within 30 seconds we amazingly we had an identical incident on Van Damme on the other side of the field and at least this time the ref gave a free kick and a yellow card to Van Der Vaart. The scoreline suggests that Wolves folded after losing their lead but nothing could be further from the truth as with Van Damme and Doyle prominent Wolves won a succession of corners. A goalbound Van Damme volley was blocked, a Dave Jones free kick went just wide and Dave Edwards was inches away from connecting with a diving header from a dangerous cross.
But it all turned sour for Wolves at the end. A Huddlestone shot was blocked but fell perfectly for Pavlyuchenko to have a simple task to slot home. Then Stearman made his one mistake of the game as he hesitated on a clearance and when he finally tried to hook the ball clear it hit Hutton and looped into the net.
Hahnemann – his best performance of the season so far with some good saves and collection of crosses.
Foley – only beaten once by Bale all day in another good showing.
Ward – gave away the penalty but had another sound game.
Craddock – never put a foot wrong and dealt well with the threat of Crouch.
Stearman – at fault for the 3rd goal but until them had an excellent game
Mancienne – made some good tackles but sometimes chasing shadows with Spurs good passing
Henry – had a decent game but I got the impression he was keeping out of trouble today
Jones – had a better game and was instrumental in a good spell for Wolves just before the break
Jarvis – struggled to get into the game but came into the middle to cause Spurs some problems at the end of the first half with his pace before worryingly limping badly when he went off
Doyle – led the line well with great close control and hold up play
Fletcher – didn’t seem suited at all by the role he was asked to play on the left and goal apart made little impact.
Van Damme – is clearly getting up to pace and was a real handful for Spurs late on
Edwards – usual full of energy showing
I can’t say I like the formation we used today as we struggled to get Fletcher and Jarvis into the game and there is often a gap ahead of the full backs due to playing a narrow midfield. But it got us a lead and with 5 minutes left the general view of Wolves fans was that it was a job well done. But we can’t escape the fact that we have not won since the opening game and with a nasty run of fixtures on the horizon in a month’s time we need to get a win or two from the next three games at home to Villa and West Ham and away at Wigan.
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LATEST COMMENTSCapital times for Wolves
DJ: Fair comment Gerald - I will do better Capital times for Wolves
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Tim: I don't think Doyle will play, unless he's been training on a "dead" leg.
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