Wolves back to winning ways
Wolverhampton Wanderers 4 v Watford FC 0
After three poor defeats in succession Wolves returned to winning ways with a convincing victory over lowly Watford. Three up in twenty minutes the game was all but done and dusted against an inept Watford unit. I gather their Manager Roy Hodgson is due a substantial pay day should he succeed in keeping his charges afloat in the Premier League. But if this performance is indicative, then his side is like a torpedoed Bismark, awaiting its final denouement.
Unlike Saturday, when Wolves failed to compete physically, here they were gifted far more space and time and used it to good effect. The game was only fifteen minutes old when Raul Jimenez squeezed the ball under Ben Foster following good work by Hwang Hee-Chan. Five minutes later a lovely move ended with Jonny crossing to Ryan Ait-Nourri whose pass across the goal was deflected in off Cucho Hernandez. Three minutes later Watford keeper Ben Foster did his best to deepen the mood of disarray when his scuffed clearance from outside the box only reached Daniel Podence. With an empty goal at his mercy, and Foster desperately trying the rectify his error, the Portuguese striker coolly slotted home. Poor Ben, the comical nature of the goal intensifying the ridicule that was now heaped on his ex West Bromwich Albion shoulders.
3-0 at half time Wolves could have sat back during the second half but chose not to, the introduction of Pedro Neto with half an hour still to go injecting a welcome increase in pace. The best, however, was still to come when in minute 84 a swift counter-attack ended with the ball in the possession of Ruben Neves on the edge of the Watford box. Feigning to fire an Exocet, instead he floated the most sublime of strikes over the outstretched arm of Foster and into the net. It was the icing on a rather splendid cake.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sa 6, Castro Otto 7 Sub Oliveira, Boly 7, Coady 7, Saiss 7, Ait Nourri 8, Neves 9, Moutinho 7, Hee-Chan 6 Sub Neto 7, Podence 7, Jimenez 7 Sub Silva
Watford FC: Foster 5, Femenia 5 Sub Kabasele 5, Cathcart 6, Samir 6, Kamara 6, Sissoko 6, Louza 7, Cleverley 5 Sub Etebo, Hernandez 6, Dennis 6, King 5 Sub Kalu 6
Attendance: 29,658
Referee: Darren England 9
©Mark Brennand