Off colour Wolves outplayed by slick Watford
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 v Watford FC 2
Walter Zenga. Remember him? Some time manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, quite high on the fruitbat scale, whose three month rein at the Molineux ended almost two years ago to the day on 25th October 2016. 4 wins from 14 games was not the most successful of starts and for all the supposed claims that he retained the support of the players out he went.
Contrast Zenga’s record with Nuno’s. 4 wins out of 8. Three draws. One defeat. Fifteen points out of a possible twenty four, with Wolves riding high in 7th place. It is all rather surreal the sole defeat against Leicester leading me to an Eeyore like view that in spite of their emphatic Championship success, Wolves were insufficiently prepared for the battled hardened units of the Premier League.
To gain a foothold in season one of a Premier League campaign the promoted team must gain points against those sides that are likely to finish below half way. Thus far Wolves have exceeded expectations in the six pointers against Burnley, Crystal Palace, West Ham and Southampton. Today’s visitors Watford are another side in that category but any evidence of it following a first half in which they dominated play was scant. Quicker and more precise in their passing there was a brief period on the half hour when they played keep ball, out of sorts Wolves left chasing shadows. By that time the visitors were two to the good following a nightmare minute in which the home side appeared to switch off.
After a tame start in which little of anything happened in minute 19 Abdoulaye Doucoure, who ran affairs for much of the game, was allowed to advance into the Wolves penalty area before feeding Etienne Capoue. From 25 yards the Frenchman’s bullet shot went through Conor Coady and unsighted Rui Patricio was stuck on his line as the ball found the back of the net. From the re-start Wolves immediately gave up possession allowing Doucoure to once again advance on goal. He then fed Roberto Peyrera who dinked the ball over Patricio and into the net. 2-0 to the visitors and that, to all intents and purpose, was it.
In fairness to Wolves their second half performance had far more urgency than the first but as the game progressed it was evident that neither the rub of the green nor the referee – who made a series of inexplicable decisions – was going to come to their aid. Helda Costa looked the most lively of their attacking options but with little to show for the space that he created. The home side’s best chance came on 77 minutes when Ivan Cavaleiro headed over following a Vinagre cross.
The WM phone in suggests that by picking an unchanged side the players are getting too comfortable. That may be so. Whatever the reasons this was a wake up call and based on that I’m just grateful for Coach Nuno’s promising start.
Wolves: Patricio 6, Bennett 5, Coady 6, Boly 5, Doherty 6 Sub Traore, Castrol Otto 5 Sub Vinagre 6, Neves 5, Moutinho 5, Costa 6, Jota 6, Jimenez 5 Sub Cavaleiro 5
Watford FC: Foster 6, Ferminia 7, Mariappa 6, Cathcart 6, Masina 6, Doucoure 8, Capoue 8, Hughes 6, Pereyra 7, Deulefou 6 Sub Gray, Success 6 Sub Prodl Sub Wilmott
Attendance: 31,144
Referee: Lee Mason 6
©Mark Brennand