Tractor Boys thwart Wolves

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 v Ipswich Town 1

During his five years in charge at Molineux Wolves fans grew accustomed to Mick McCarthy’s no nonsense approach both in the way that he set up his teams and in his demeanour at post match interviews. And when he guided Wolves up and kept them in the Premier League he became something of a local hero one whom Wolves fans still hold in high regard. His departure was not the most edifying and in the aftermath Wolves imploded. Quite what Mick thought about it all has remained a secret but you could be assured that the fire to prove his detractors wrong burned brightly. Off he went to Ipswich where once again he has quietly fashioned a team capable of rising out of the Championship. That doesn’t necessarily imply easy on the eye. Wolves under his stewardship were rarely easy on the eye and if today’s encounter is any arbiter his latest creation clearly puts function before flair. Unfortunately for Wolves they descended to the same level rarely dominating possession and creating very little. A match for the connoisseur it was not.

So what are we to blame; the enormity of the occasion or the spoiling tactics of the visitors? Possibly a bit of both but if the opening twenty minutes set the template for what followed then that it was clear that end to end excitement was not going to feature greatly. Even the opening goal on 22 minutes occurred in slow motion such that there was a delayed reaction amongst the Ipswich support. It came from a floated corner and though credited to Tommy Smith, I thought it went in off the head of Richard Stearman. Either way it was a soft goal and in some respects against the run of play since up to that point Ipswich had created nothing.

Despite the goal Wolves struggled to raise the tempo, their play disjointed and seemingly risk averse. Only Nouha Dicko looked lively. The half was almost done when in the 40th minute Wolves created their first chance a cross from the right causing mayhem in the Ipswich box. The ball looped to David Edwards whose instinctive volley was well parried onto a post by Ipswich keeper Bartosz Bialkowski. The ensuing corner produced nothing and that was how it remained to the break.

At half time somebody commented “45 minutes to save the season”. Coach Jackett clearly had a similar thought his side starting the second half full of vim and vigour. On 46 minutes a Kevin McDonald cross picked out Dicko but he headed wide when it was easier to hit the target. Three minutes later and from almost the same spot McDonald fed Rajiv Van La Parra in the left channel. The winger cut inside on his right foot before firing at goal, his shot ricocheting off an Ipswich limb and looping across the goalmouth to Benik Afobe who volleyed home from inside the six yard box.

With so much time left on the clock it was odds on that Wolves would score again and close out the game. But it never happened. Bakary Sako was peripheral, Van La Parra kept wasting the ball and neither Dicko nor Afobe had another clear cut chance. The McCarthy bus had been well and truly parked and it remained resolute.

The dream is still alive but it’s getting fainter by the minute.

Wolves: Ikeme 6, Iorfa 6, Batth 6, Stearman 6, Golbourne 6, Van La Parra 6 Sub Henry, Edwards 7, McDonald 6, Sako 6, Afobe 6, Dicko 7

Ipswich Town: Bialkowski 7, Chambers 6, Smith 6, Berra 6, Mings 6, Parr 6 Sub Anderson, Skuse 7, Tabb 6, Bishop 6 Sub Hunt, Sears 6 Sub Wood, Murphy 5.

Attendance: 23,409

Ref: Stuart Attwell 7

©Mark Brennand