Wolves dominated Stoke City at the early kickoff, winning 4-1 with a convincing performance that maintains Cesar Peixoto’s unbeaten streak as Wolves manager.
In classic Wolves fashion, a slow start led to the concession of an unsaveable rocket off the right foot of Sam Gallagher within just 90 seconds. However, this gave the home side a wake up call, and the tide soon turned, as Rodrigo Gomes fired in back-to-back tap ins, allowing Wolves to gain control on the game.
Wolves continued to look convincing in the second half, with Raul Jimenez scoring his 2nd penalty in 3 games, and Jordan James, making his Championship debut for Wolves, created and finished a wonderful team goal to round off the afternoon.
Although Wolves looked vulnerable at times, the performance was well above par for this level, and will do the world of good for building confidence in the team.
With that in mind, here are my match ratings.
Jose Sa – 6.5/10
There was absolutely no saving that goal, but aside from that, Sa had little to do for the rest of the game. He was unlucky not to keep a clean sheet.
Jackson Tchatchoua – 6.5/10
Weirdly for Jackson, he looked better going forward than he did defensively. He put in a few good crosses and linked up well in parts, however, he failed to stay tight to his man at moments and allowed a few crosses into the box himself. He’s growing in confidence but still prone to some mistakes.
Nasser Djiga – 8/10
Wow. What a performance. Djiga played with passion and aggression, but most importantly, he showed a calm touch with the ball at his feet, something that his counterpart, Toti, needs next to him. Questions regarding a new centre back are slowly diminishing with these performances from Djiga.
Toti Gomes – 7/10
Toti played well, but wasn’t a stand out. Not much else to say.
Hugo Bueno – 7/10
Same goes for Hugo.
Andre – 7.5/10
Dictated the pace of the game well and cleaned up Stoke’s counter attacks. Played a few lovely long balls too. My captain.
Marshall Munetsi – 6.5/10
Made some good runs in behind, however, this made us vulnerable at times. Jordan James showed us levels to Munetsi’s game when he came on.
Rodrigo Gomes – 10/10
Two quick goals and a relentless energy in the press. Man of the match. A great performance from our little Portuguese winger.
Fer Lopez – 9/10
Although he gave the ball away for the first goal, Lopez was as lively as usual, bringing most of the creativity to the game, and continuing on his path to becoming POTS. Our main concern should be ensuring that we keep hold of him come September 1st.
Mateus Mane – 8/10
Mane seemed a lot more interested in tracking back this game, which was much appreciated by Bueno. Going forward, he showed some magic to create the second goal, even having to escape the man marking of Munetsi. A good performance from the youngster.
Raul Jimenez – 8/10
Took his penalty well, as per usual, and showcased good hold up and link up play throughout.
Substitutes
Boubacar Traore – 6.5/10
Although he wasn’t amazing when he came on, thank god Boubacar is staying. He’s a great asset to have as a backup to Andre. Let’s hope he can stay fit.
Adam Armstrong – 6.5/10
Had a couple of chances and linked up well with those around him.
Jordan James – 8/10
Wow. What a goal. What a player we have on our hands. Hopefully he will be ready to start ASAP.
Tommy Doyle – 7/10
Doyle seems to suit the 10, or at least for short periods of the game. Tidy player.
