LOUIE LEFEVRE shares a detailed match report of Wealdstone vs Wolves U21s in the National League Cup
Wealdstone vs Wolves U21s – Tuesday 12th August, Grosvenor Park (National League Cup)
With pre-season behind them, Wolves U21s faced a visit to National League side Wealdstone in the National League Cup before they could get their campaign in the PL2 underway. James Collins’ team faced National League South opposition just two weeks ago, beating AFC Telford United 4-3 in an end-to-end friendly.
Wealdstone narrowly avoided relegation from England’s fifth tier last season but enjoyed a positive pre-season winning four of their six friendlies. They began their season with a 2-0 win over National League South champions Truro City last Saturday. Both sides were eliminated in the group stages of the last edition of the NLC.
Wolves came out the gates rapidly, scoring the opener just four minutes in. Mateus Mane split the defence with a perfectly weighted pass to Ethan Sutherland, who squared it for Fletcher Holman to place into an empty net. Caden Voice could have received his marching orders ten minutes into the first half, dragging down the Wealdstone striker as he barrelled towards goal. Referee Aji Ajibola clearly felt lenient so early in the season, and let the captain for the evening off with a yellow.
A minute later and Sak Hassan levelled the scoring in stunning fashion. An olimpico, straight from a corner that sailed over Josh Gracey and into the net. The Somali international will no doubt claim it was intentional. Halfway through the first-half and Wealdstone took the lead after a lengthy stoppage due to an injury suffered by Nathan Young-Coombes. Not a goal that Josh Gracey will want to watch back, as a cross from the left sailed through the hands of the keeper and onto the head of Nathan Tshikuna who couldn’t miss. With five minutes of the half left, Gracey cut out a cross from the opposite side but could only push it as far as ex-Tottenham man Anthony Georgiou. Luckily the Cypriot flashed his shot just wide.
Debutant Lucas Covolan had his fair share of struggles between the sticks for the hosts. A relatively tame effort from Mateus Mane bouncing off the Brazilian and out for a corner. In added time of the first 45 Tshikuna put a perfect cross in for Stones captain Jack Cook, who spurned a fantastic opportunity to stretch his side’s advantage.
HT: Wealdstone 2-1 Wolves U21s
Wealdstone made a trio of changes at the break, including the introduction of Millwall loanee Alfie Massey, who’s arrival at Grosvenor Park was announced just an hour before kick-off. Wes Okoduwa changed his positioning for the second half and found himself in a more natural right wing-back role. He got a fantastic opportunity after latching onto a long ball over the top. 18-year-old defender Phillip Chinedu chased Okoduwa down and put in a phenomenal tackle to take the opportunity from the England youth international at the last possible moment.
Dani Angel replaced goalscorer Holman with 20 minutes remaining but was starved of chances. Josh Gracey ventured into the opposition half for the final seconds of the match, but couldn’t do anything as the free-kick won by Ji was easily cleared by the older, more physical team.
A second half devoid of quality as the match fizzled out, with Wolves running out of steam towards the end. Much improvement will be needed and hopefully this can be chalked up to a few rusty legs following the summer break.
FT: Wealdstone 2-1 Wolves U21s
Wealdstone will now turn their attention to Halifax when they return to National League action this weekend. Wolves meanwhile begin preparations for their first competitive game of the season against other U21 opposition when they travel to Lancashire to face Burnley on Monday.
A goal of real quality in the opening moments was the only real plus for Wolves, with Mateus Mane and Fletcher Holman both looking good when on the ball. The Sutherland to Holman is a combination fans of both Wolves and Solihull Moors will be accustomed to and it looks likely to continue on. A rocky start for the Wolves defence, but the young core at the back will no doubt settle in as the season continues.
Wealdstone XI: Covolan, Hutchinson, Cook (46), Diarra, Chinedu, Hassan, Georgiou (46), Kadji (46), Tshikuna, Nkrumah, Young-Coombes (20)
Subs: Johnson, Massey (46), Obiero (20, 62) Day (46), Woodman (46), Tiensia, Trialist (62)
Wolves XI: Gracey, Dayman, Okoduwa, Voice, Olagunju, Sutherland (88), Griffiths (73), Rawlings, Barnett, Mane, Holman (73)
Subs: Nasta, Carson, Reynolds, Bradbury (73), Ji (88), Angel (73)
ARTICLE BY LOUIE LEFEVRE
I’m a student and a season ticket holder. I enjoy talking about the next generation of Wolves players and you can usually spot me on Match of the day behind the goal!