Wolverhampton Wanderers’ surprising turn of form continued with an eventful 1-1 draw against Everton – a result that has left Wolves three games unbeaten, something I can’t even believe myself!
In a contest that was very much a game of two halves at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Wolves showed real desire after the break to fight their way back into the match, with starboy Mateus Mane confidently slotting home a deserved equaliser to cancel out Michael Keane’s first half strike.
The Old Gold and Black will feel unfortunate not to have taken all three points, especially after Everton were reduced to nine men following two second-half red cards – the first of which was pure playground stuff, as Keane hilariously saw red for pulling Arokodare’s hair of all things! Anyways, enough of the rundown, let’s get into the good and the bad.
Good: The Fight is Back at Wolves
After a 12-game losing streak, it seemed as if the club had hit rock bottom in December. The players were seemingly void of any sort of confidence or quality and the performances on the pitch, as well as the state of the club off it, was slowly draining the life out of the Molineux faithful.
Now, let’s be absolutely real, we are going to be relegated and so much change is desperately still needed at the club, but how good does it feel that Wolves haven’t ruined all of our moods for three games in a row?!
Rob Edwards deserves huge credit. His tweaks to the lineup and tactics have produced a side that finally looks like a professional football team again. The thing that strikes me the most is the fight and belief within the squad at the moment.
How many times have we seen Wolves go one down and completely collapse this season? It’s so refreshing to finally see a bit of real effort and battle on the pitch. It’s the least we as fans deserve, who have suffered nothing but misery all season. Wolves might be down, but they’re not going down quietly.
Bad: That First Half
Being brutally honest, I was pretty worried after the first half that I wasn’t going to have any positives for this game. We were awful. We started steady enough, but we were a shadow of our recent performances.
It felt like the team regressed back to their usual selves as we resorted to hoofball to Arokodare once again, which, against a CB pairing who clean up almost everything in the air, felt pretty stupid considering the football we played on the weekend.
The midfield struggled massively and Wolves offered next to no threat, with all three of our shots being off target. Definitely a half to forget for the players.
Good: In Your Heeeeeead, In Your Heeeeeead…
How can you not love him?
Mateus Mane once again delivered a great performance, capped off by a beautifully composed finish to equalise today. The 18 year old has been such a bright spark for Wolves and has brought life that has been infectious across the whole team and fanbase.
Against a physical Everton team, Mane more than held his own, constantly trying to drive the team forward and make something happen. I think most fans would agree with me that he has been the single biggest catalyst for Wolves’ improved performances. An absolute joy to watch week in week out.
Bad: Failing To Kill the Game Against Nine Men
With Everton down to nine men, it felt like a real missed opportunity not to have won the game. Decision making was poor at times, movement slowed and there just wasn’t enough urgency for me in the dying minutes of the game.
We came agonisingly close through Hugo Bueno, whose effort would have been an absolute worldie if not for an unbelievable save from Jordan Pickford. Aside from that, Everton did well to dig in and see the game out. It just didn’t quite fall for us in the end.
All things considered, this is by no means a bad result – especially as we weren’t against nine men for that long. Wolves ultimately walk away with a well-deserved point ahead of their FA Cup clash with Shrewsbury on Saturday.
