Saturday 14th October.
Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa.
The 30,239 fans who arrived at Molineux for a late kick off knew that even a draw for the home side would see them move to the top of the Championship, for the first time this season.
Cardiff lost to Birmingham on Friday night and with a better goal difference, Wolves only needed a point to
claim top spot.
Few fans however would have expected such a dominant performance from Wolves.
Nuno made two changes to a team that comfortably beat Burton before the international break.
Barry Douglas, was preferred to Vinagre at left wing back and Connor Coady returned to central defence following
suspension.
Villa were coming off the back of a four game winning streak in the league, after a slow start to the season under Steve Bruce.
Fireworks and flames greeted the players as they came out onto the pitch, with the biggest crowd at Molineux
since 1981.
It was an atmosphere to remember.
The first half was tight with Villa setting their stall
out early to thwart Wolves.
Villa, who sat deep throughout the first half, with the experienced John Terry and James Chester set out to frustrate Wolves.
Early in the first half, both Saiss and Danny Batth could have scored from headers.
A Neves shot twice from long-range, one just wide and the second needing Villa goalkeeper, Sam Johnstone to
punch a swerving ball away.
The first half saw Wolves have two appeals for penalties that were denied by referee Tim
Robinson.
Helder Costa took a boot in the face from fellow forward Jonathan Kodjia, which on another day could easily have resulted in a penalty for dangerous play.
Later in the half Doherty, who was excellent all game, was tumbled over by Albert Adomah in the box only for the referee to waive play on.
Wolves dominated the second half with the majority of possession playing some of their best football of the season.
Ten minutes after half-time Wolves took a deserved lead.
Cavaleiro’s cross found its way to Diogo Jota at the back post.
With two touches the forward left three Villa defenders rooted to the spot. He rifled a shot into the roof of the
net.
The 20 year old, Tongue out, spiralled away in celebration in front of the South Bank, circling his arms as if to pump up the Wolves crowd.
Wolves doubled their lead on the 71st minute with a move that stretched from one penalty box to the other.
Diogo Jota broke free, only to be denied by Johnstone. The ball fell to Bonatini, who fired in from an extremely acute angle.
The Wolves striker has been involved in more goals than any other player in the league this season.
The Brazilian is building a reputation for being in the right
place at the right time.
Wolves nearly made it three, late in the game, with a header from Jota very close to sneaking over
the line.
On the follow up, Bonatini struck straight at Johnstone before being blocked at the second attempt.
Against a less experienced and more fragile defence than Villa’s, Wolves could have run rampant on Saturday.
Wolves for all their talent have one of the youngest squads in the League. Villa have one of the most experienced.
But without a few last ditch tackles from Alan Hutton, and some excellent goalkeeping the scoreline could have been much higher.
Wolves were well-deserved winners and with expectation rising a Molineux Nuno’s focus will be firmly on finding the best way to beat Preston next Saturday.
Leave a Comment