WOLVES FANS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS FOLLOWING WOLVES EMPHATIC WIN 4-1 AT FULHAM
CRAIG HICKEY
Well, what a fantastic performance today from every player in the team, but especially the defence: Nelson Semedo, Joao Gomes, and the main man Matheus Cunha! I would have been happy with a draw, but boy did we deliver today—four fabulous goals. It would be hard to pick the best as I listened. I’m sure MOTD won’t be crowing as much as we will. The fans were brilliant in their support, and I have to say Gary O’Neil and his team played a blinder today. I know they had 10 men for the last two goals, but isn’t that what you should do—take advantage? Fulham are no mugs, but we matched them, tore them apart on the break, and we only played with one recognised CB. The team shape was excellent, with round pegs in round holes today. Lemina led by example, Cunha is world class, and the midfield certainly protected the defence. Sometimes we don’t see the work players do off the ball and the ugly jobs—Bellegarde and Rodrigo epitomised that.
Well done, Gary O’Neill and the coaching staff. He’s taken things on the chin and got on with it. The players are playing for him, no doubt, and they are enjoying it. The travelling support deserved a day like that, so enjoy it, while the rest of us will be smiling all weekend… out of the bottom three at last!
Wolves ay We!!!!!
BLACKPOOL WOLF
I don’t think any of us can believe it. First away win in nine months and we score four—what a result.
When the team sheet came out, I thought we were in for a tough afternoon, but we had luck and togetherness with us today. As much as I would love to get carried away, it could have been a different story. Jimenez and Wilson both hit the bar, and Fulham went down to ten men with about fifteen minutes to go. That being said, how hard did the lads work?
I was critical of Bellegarde at half-time, but I thought he did well in the second half. Rodrigo Gomes has definitely put himself in the running for a start next week. Joao Gomes worked his socks off as usual, and Mario Lemina did very well, especially with his positioning as centre-back. But the star of the show was Matheus Cunha. What a performance! Not only did he score two brilliant goals, he was involved in nearly every passage of play today.
We are now four games unbeaten, and with Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham, Ipswich, and Leicester as our next five games, we have a real chance of grabbing some points.
Well done to the Wolves fans who travelled away and really got behind the team, showing Raul Jimenez the respect he deserves. The fans were my man of the match; they never stopped believing and really pushed the lads on.
PAM WELLS
Wow, where on earth did that come from! When the team sheet came out, the only result I could see was us getting hammered. I then missed the first 10 minutes trying to get my app to work. When it came on, we were getting absolutely hammered. Just after, Raul let us off the hook by missing an absolute sitter. After 20 minutes, Iwobi scored for Fulham after a mix-up between Rodrigo Gomes and Rayan Ait-Nouri. It looked like a case of here we go again! But at the half-hour mark, Lemina made a great pass to Cunha, and he made it look so easy to equalise. Later on, Semedo suffered a really bad tackle, which definitely deserved a yellow card at least.
We came out in the second half like a different team. We fought for everything in midfield, and this time, from an assist by Cunha, João Gomes put us in front. Could we hang on? According to Cunha, we could do better than that; he scored another glorious goal from the edge of the box. Not long after, we brought on subs, and one of them was Guedes for Cunha, who finished the game off with another good goal.
4-1! Who on earth could possibly have seen that coming after the lineup and the first half-hour? João Gomes was great again, but there can only be one man of the match.
Matheus Cunha, what a player he is! Please God, he stays fit.
Poor first half performance, but the second half more than made up for it, and my performance rating is an 8.
Onwards and upwards!
JOHN TARAS
Before the game, my fellow reporters and I discussed the scoreline for today’s match. I went for 2-1 to Wolves, adding, “Miracles do happen.”
Well, today we witnessed a miracle. When the team sheet was announced and we had only one recognised centre-back, we all expected the worst! Toti and Lemina in a back four. Untried and untested!
It seemed we were doomed when Iwobi struck a screamer from outside the box. But the lads got stuck in and went for it. What we saw for the rest of the game, until the 98th minute, was a committed performance that deserves to be first on Match of the Day.
Two superb goals from Cunha, an assist for Gomes, and a last-minute goal from Guedes. All carved out of a high press still active in the 97th minute.
Every player gave their all today. Sa commanded his box, claiming cross after cross. Toti and Lemina were rocks, flanked by Semedo and Ait-Nouri. The midfield trio chased, closed down, and snarled all game. Cunha had the ball on a string and dictated the attacking moves. If both his goals aren’t in Goal of the Month, there’s no justice. For 24 hours, Wolves are out of the bottom three.
Miracles did happen at Craven Cottage today. Wolves put Fulham to the sword 4-1. Onwards and upwards.
GEORGE LAKIN
I’m not Gary O’Neil’s biggest fan, but there comes a point where you have to give the man some credit.
Whether you like him or not, we are unbeaten in four games now, with two wins and two draws. That’s as good as any manager could realistically have done.
There are two big questions that sum up where we are right now:
1.Are there other managers who could get more out of this squad? I think so, yes.
2.Will we go down under O’Neil? I don’t think so, but it will be close.
That Tommy Doyle moment (4 vs 1 against Brighton) felt like it had to be a turning point. So far, it has been.
Today, we were backs to the wall. The lack of defenders meant Gary had to improvise, and he did. A patched-up team, 1-0 down on the road to an in-form side… that’s a big result under the circumstances.
He’s earned himself a little bit of leeway now. Hopefully, with the pressure slightly relieved (rather than going into games knowing he’s one loss away from being sacked), results might become easier to come by. I think we saw that today, on the back of the Southampton win.
Let’s take a moment to enjoy this, to savour it, because days like today are exactly what we’ve been starved of. Since Brentford away, I’ve seen enough signs of life to give me a fraction of hope. Despite my reservations (which still exist), I’m choosing to run with that hope.
KARL WHITEHOUSE
The game, before it even kicked off, showed a problem. Losing two key players in the starting eleven to injury and illness highlighted the need for backup players in those positions. Having to create a makeshift defence was not ideal, but we have to see what happens.
We started well in the game, but we suffered from our tendency to give away goals, where our defending was lacking.
However, we did not sit back and dwell on going behind. We fought back and equalised with Matheus Cunha’s goal, set up by Mario Lemina from a set piece. We were back in the game.
We ended the first half stronger, taking control. We need to keep up the good work into the second half.
The second half started, and it was clear what Gary had done during the break. We played a higher press than Fulham, suggesting we were going for the win.
The link-up play between Gomes and Cunha was brilliant. They showed great chemistry and a clear path to goal.
Late on, we scored again when Guedes got his goal. Does this mean he is happy to play for our club despite being on the bench? Time will tell, but he deserves credit for being on the scoresheet.
In conclusion, we witnessed a great performance from the team. Coming from behind to win the game shows the players are responding to Gary. Scoring four goals with a higher press means we need to keep this going as we start to climb the table. We’re now four unbeaten in the league and scoring plenty of goals from all areas of the pitch. Everyone must play their part in this campaign.
This is a team wanting to play for Gary. If we keep playing like we did today, we will rise further up the table. You must beat the sides above you in the league.
Today’s player of the match is Matheus Cunha. He took his two goals well and assisted Joao Gomes. His performance deserves a rating of 9, especially with this makeshift side. Keep the faith and cheer them on for the next game against Bournemouth.