Match Reports

Leaky Defence Costs Wolves More Points

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Following the international break, Wolves fans traveled in good numbers to The Den in the hope that Jackett had solidified his side’s crumbling back line, which had shipped 6 goals in 2 matches prior to Millwall.

Wolves went ahead early in the match when Danny Batth was in the right place and time, jabbing a half-volley into Forde’s net. Despite heavy Millwall pressure, Wolves held out for the first half, going into the tunnel one up at the break.

Against the run of play, Wolves added another goal to their tally following a goalmouth scramble that saw Ebanks-Landell claim the second league goal of his career in gold. With momentum behind the team, Wolves dominated possession for a period, and this paid dividends when Bakary Sako planted a superb free kick into the top corner of the net from a truly bizarre angle.

Almost instantaneously, the Lions’ Lee Gregory found himself in space as the chasm of the Wolves defence opened up, allowing him to coolly slot the ball past the scrawling Ikeme. Still comfortable to the point of lackadaisicality, the Wolves back line again was split open, this time from wing-play that created the space for veteran striker, Ricardo Fuller to smash the ball inside the goalposts.

In just a few minutes, the Black Country team collapsed and displayed a remarkable inability to retain possession. Cue some errant marking, surprising burst of pace on the ball from Fuller and a strange decision from the referee, allowing a free-kick to be taken whilst Richard Stearman was sprinting into position after being substituted on, and the boys from South East London had pulled the game back from the pits of despair and had equalised.

Wolves did not rest on their laurels at this point, but receiving that sucker punch on 87 minutes left little opportunity to win the game. Following some rare central midfield innovation, Dave Edwards found himself through on goal, only to be cleaved down by Williams, who took the bullet and drew a red card from Drysdale’s pocket. Sako’s powerful free-kick was expertly parried by Forde, and the ensuing corner came to no fruition, thus ending the dramatic tie.

As with many recent displays, this marks two points lost more than one point gained, but nevertheless sees Wolves move up a place in the table, sitting pretty on 7th with 20 points to their name.

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