Wolves edge nervy encounter
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 v Southampton FC 0
News of the recent death, at the age of 90, of Sammy Chung Sammy Chung - Wikipedia took me back to my embryonic years as a Wolves supporter in the early 1970’s. 50p gained you access to the Waterloo Road enclosure on whose crumbling concrete terrace my dad and I would stand. Entry was gained through a turnstile towards the North Bank end from where we would usually shuffle our way through the crowd to a position to the left of the half-way line; and on a direct line between the Wolves dug out and the director’s box. Unlike today, back then many managers preferred to sit with their directors, perhaps calculating that, should matters turn sour on the field, a closer relationship with higher authority might defer the axe being wielded.
Thus did coach Sammy Chung rough it with his players in the dug-out whilst manager Bill McGarry oiled his credentials in the director’s box. Once the game started if things weren’t going particularly well you would find yourself turning round at intervals to gauge McGarry’s expression and when, finally, he picked up the phone to Chung you knew that he was not best pleased - “It’s McGarry here on green. Tell Palmer to cross it into the box, not the f****g North Bank”. # Nowadays managers prefer to roam around their technical areas like caged tigers and, as a consequence, the game changing phone call has sadly been confined to the dustbin of history. As for Chung I can’t recall whether he too ascended to the director’s box once he replaced McGarry as manager in the June of 1976. Either way, he was a good servant to the club and received a fitting tribute at the start of today’s game.
And my goodness what a strange end to end encounter it was. Wolves started the game brightly but half-way through the first half it felt as if nobody was really on song yet the team was holding its own in terms of chances created. Neither Ruben Neves nor Joao Moutinho gained any semblance of control and as a consequence the game passed by new striker Sasa Kalajdzic who was making his debut. Then just as the half tipped into time added on Matheus Nunes was set free on the right and unlike so much of Wolves’ football he released the ball early into the corridor of uncertainty where it found an unmarked Daniel Podence at the far post. I am still not sure whether he quite intended to finish as he did. But no matter the ball dinked over Gavin Bazuna, to settle in the Southampton net. Mercifully no VAR to ruin home fan celebrations as Wolves went into the break having marginally edged the half.
As the teams emerged for the second half Goncalo Guedes replaced Kalajdzic who appeared to have picked up a knock. And off we went. 51 minutes Neto blasts the ball into the South Bank. 54 minutes he had another go but just failed to connect with Guedes. 60 minutes; a Ward Prowse free kick was hit fiercely but straight at Jose Sa. On 61 Che Adams scores only for it to be ruled out for hand ball. A minute later Adams hits the woodwork with Wolves seemingly in disarray. On 64 Jonny collected the ball in his own third and showing great composure dribbled to the half-way line. It changed the tenor of the half, opened up space down the left and calmed nerves. Wolves then retained possession, slowed down the game and regained a modicum of control. Thereafter Southampton rang the changes. They huffed and they puffed but clear-cut chances were there none. No time added on lightning strike this time and Wolves, unlike Artemis, have lift off.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sa 7, Castro Otto 8, Collins 6, Kilman 7, Ait Nourri 7, Neves 6, Nunes 8, Moutinho 6, Podence 8 Sub Hee Chan, Kalajdzic 6 Sub Guedes 6, Neto 6 Sub Traore
Southampton FC: Bazuna 7, Walker Peters 6, Bella Kotchap 7, Salisu 6, Perraud 6 Sub Maitland Niles, Diallo 6 Sub Djenepo 7, Ward Prowse 7, Elyounoussi 6 Sub Armstrong 6, Aribo 6 Sub Edozie 6, A Armstrong 6 Sub Mara, Adams 7
Attendance: 30,546
Referee: John Brookes 8
* Geoff Palmer was an attacking right back whose USP was his turn of pace. Which meant that he regularly found himself in the final third from where, more often than not, he would hit the North Bank terrace rather than Derek Dougan’s head. Despite this shortcoming he was a fine player who in a long career notched up 416 league appearances for Wolves. He is also one of only four Wolves players to have played in both League Cup triumphs in 1974 and 1980. #
©Mark Brennand