Wolves suffered defeat at the hands of Huddersfield on Tuesday night, who ended their 14-game winless run with an injury time goal. The defeat means that Wolves have now lost seven of their 12 Premier League matches against teams starting the day bottom of the table. It also means that they have gifted Huddersfield nearly half of their total points this season (six out of 14). It was a really poor night for Wolves and after the match, Nuno stated that this kind of performance “cannot happen again.”
Overall performance
The most concerning statistic to come out of the match is that Wolves only had seven attempts on goal, zero of which were on target. Huddersfield, on the other hand, kept knocking. They had 15 shots, three on target and worked Wolves’ defence all evening. They looked like they wanted to win, and the same can’t be said for Wolves.
While the defence stayed strong for 90 minutes, making 17 clearances, 10 interceptions, and two saves from Rui, it just wasn’t enough. The possession was split 50/50 but Huddersfield were more creative and persistent, whereas Wolves attacking force was very weak.
Substitution nightmare
Usually, I try to remain uncritical of the managers’ decisions, but Nuno’s choices of substitutes yesterday was poor. Of the three substitutes, Ivan Cavaleiro was the only one who made any sort of impact with Helder Costa and Morgan Gibbs-White doing virtually nothing. The only contribution Costa made was two accurate passes, winning one out of three duels and being fouled once. Gibbs-White didn’t do much better.
The one thing I don’t understand is why after Adama Traoré showed so much promise against Bournemouth, he wasn’t given a chance. Also, personally, in tough games like this, I think Saiss should be given a run-out. He’s strong, and no-nonsense which is what you need in games like this.
Strong from Boly
Despite most of the match being a big disappointment, Willy Boly worked really hard in defence. He was strong and did what he could to combat Huddersfield’s attacking presence.
He made six clearances, blocked two shots, won two out of two tackles, won 10 out of 15 duels, and successfully played two long balls. The defender even managed a shot off target. He was one of the best Wolves players on the pitch, putting in a real shift to try and keep the team in the game.
Conclusion
A disappointing evening from a Wolves perspective, and something definitely needs to change before they face Cardiff on Saturday. Neil Warnock’s men play very physical, which means Wolves need to come out stronger and more prepared than they did on Tuesday night. If they don’t, they could very well be on the losing side for the second time in the space of a week.
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