Wolves robbed
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 v Tottenham Hotspur 1
I am not a betting man but if I were what odds on the opening home game of the season being an encounter between the very manager, who just four months previously had been occupying the home team’s dugout, and his Portuguese replacement. Coincidence, eventuality …. call it what you will but that is what occurred today at the Molineux.
Furthermore, Nuno Espirito Santo returned to WV1 on the back of yet another defeat over Pep Guardiola. Last week’s 1-0 win for his new charges Spurs, was his third in the Premier League over the Spaniard. By contrast Wolves opened their account with a defeat away at Leicester by a similar margin. The one bright note for home support was that Harry Kane’s future appears Manchester bound and thus he was kept from the fray until twenty minutes from the end.
By then Wolves should have been home and hosed but, as it was, they found themselves behind. From the moment they conceded in the 10th minute, to a disheartening penalty following an errant ball by Ruben Neves, Wolves dominated possession. Furthermore, they outplayed their opponents for long tracts of the game, playing with far greater pace and purpose than was evident for much of last season. In fact if there is a criticism to lay at Nuno’s feet it was his insistence on retaining possession at any cost with a consequent lack of incision. You could already see this influence on Tottenham who for the most part were happy to play a waiting game interspersed with the occasional foray up field. It wasn’t a great watch if truth be told.
That said for all Wolves first half dominance guilt edged opportunities were sparse and had not Steven Bergwijn passed behind Dele Alli on 36 minutes, Tottenham would have extended their lead. But the home side ended the half on the up and continued that into the second with a bright start.
The critical moment of the half occurred on the hour. Despite his error which had lead to the goal, Neves was back to his pulling strings in midfield best and in the 60th minute his slide rule pass put Adama Traore free on goal with just the keeper to beat. Unfortunately the lightning quick Spaniard, who missed two good opportunities at Leicester last week, repeated the feat by hitting Hugo Lloris as he advanced from his line rather than tucking the ball away. A golden opportunity had been squandered and five minutes later a rare Tottenham attack resulted in a series of shots on goal all of which were blocked by a yellow jersey. And with five minutes left of the game Jose Sa saved well from both Kane and Bergwijn. In between these moments Wolves continued to strive but it was clear that whatever they did it just wasn’t going to be their day.
Still, it was a promising performance. By picking both Max Kilman and Marcel, Bruno Lage has stiffened the defence whilst at the same time re-invigorating the midfield where Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho both had good games. Wolves just need a striker to find the net. But as the last two weekends have proved that is never an easy task.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sa 8, Semedo 7, Kilman 6, Coady 6, Saiss 6, Marcal 6 Sub Silva, Moutinho 7 Sub Dendoncker, Neves 8, Trincao 6 Sub Ait- Nourri, Traore 7, Jimenez 6
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris 7, Tanganga 6, Sanchez 6, Dier 6, Reguilon 6, Hojberg 6, Skipp 6, Alli 6, Lucas Moura 6 Sub Lo Celso, Son 6 Sub Kane, Bergwijn 7 Sub Winks
Attendance: Not stated.
Referee: Stuart Attwell 8
©Mark Brennand