After an impressive FA Cup performance against Liverpool in the third round, being drawn against Shrewsbury seemed like a relatively easy tie in comparison for Wolves. However, as we all know, the cup can be a crazy thing and with upsets knocking Premier League teams out left, right, and centre, Wolves had to be prepared. Nuno’s men really struggled to put the ball in the net and before long, a big cup upset was on the cards as Shrewsbury found themselves with a two-goal lead with 19 minutes to go. Luck was on the side of the Wolves though, as they managed to pull it back to 2-2 with a Raul Jimenez strike and an extra-time header from Matt Doherty. The outcome will now be decided in a replay at Molineux. Let’s take a look at the stats from the match.
Overall Performance
Wolves had 67% of the possession and 81% passing accuracy. They also had 16 shots, five of which were on target. When you look at these statistics you would assume that they dominated the match, however, Shrewsbury played really well and will surely be disappointed to walk away with a draw.
Wolves won fewer duels, aerials, and tackles than Shrewsbury, they were also dispossessed a total of 11 times. Defensively, they weren’t as on the ball and were forced into committing 16 fouls. The only positive to this is that they didn’t pick up any cards despite the high number of fouls.
Shrewsbury managed to get under their skin and made them work hard to get something out of the game. The shrews were committed to the task at hand, making 32 clearances and picking up three yellow cards, they showed the drive to get through to the next round, which Wolves seemed to lack until the last 20 minutes.
Doherty saves the day
Jiminez gave the boys in gold and black hope again with his strike in the 75th minute, but it was Doherty’s 93rd-minute header that really saved the day, and kept Wolves in the competition. He had a fantastic game and by looking at his heat map you can see he really worked hard down that wing.
He had 80% passing accuracy, made five key passes, three successful dribbles, and produced one accurate cross. He was determined in attack and kept pushing up the pitch, but his defensive efforts were also impressive. He blocked one shot, won three out of three tackles and eight out of 13 duels.
I think he has been quieter as of late, but seemed much better on Saturday and was vital in the Wolves comeback. His goal should have given him a boost and we should see him back to full strength in the coming weeks.
Conclusion
A tough game for Wolves, but they managed to get themselves a replay in the end. Another injury time goal saved them, having scored an incredible amount of injury time goals this season. One being last week to give them the win over Midlands rivals Leicester City.
If Wolves manage to beat Shrewsbury in the replay at Molineux, they will face Bristol City away in the fifth round. Not a bad draw at all. With Wolves now fourth favourites to win the FA Cup and facing two ties against opposition outside of the Premier League, they really have the chance to go far. Shrewsbury have been eliminated in five of their last six FA Cup ties against top-flight opposition, so hopefully, Wolves can follow suit and get the win in the replay.
