Wolves suffered another frustrating evening at Molineux after a late Portsmouth stunner was enough to see the points shared. The opening 45 was a largely uninspired affair, with neither side presenting any clear cut chances on goal. The closest came when Andre’s outside the box strike whistled past Schmid’s near post.
A brighter second half saw Wolves (temporarily) spring to life, as substitute Jordan James slotted home from close range to add his second goal at Molineux this campaign. Mateus Mane and Fer Lopez also came close to adding to the scoresheet as both had efforts drag just wide of the post.
However, with momentum shifting in the final 20 minutes it was Portsmouth who had the last laugh, as Terry Devlin powered home a phenomenal volley to send 1,900 travelling Pompey supporters into pandemonium. Wolves had a few more chances to steal back 3 points, but ultimately fell well short of the mark as the final whistle blew to a large chorus of boos. To mark another disappointing home result, let’s take a look at those who featured today and rate their performances.
Starting 11:
Jose Sa: 4/10
After making a few massive stops at Turf Moor, it was back to a subpar performance from Sa. Facing a singular shot on target, Sa failed to keep a clean sheet as Devlin’s strike flew well beyond his arms and into the net. While his distribution wasn’t appalling and a step up from previous outings, it can hardly be considered massively positive either.
Jackson Tchatchoua: 7/10
Replacing an injured Kieran Trippier for the second time running has seen Tchatchoua deliver 2 fairly consistent performances at right back. Recovering the ball well on numerous occasions in the first half helped Wolves keep control of the game. The second half was more of the same, as he was rarely beaten down the left hand side. On the ball however, his decision making left a lot to be desired as momentum was killed countless times by playing the ball back to safety instead of driving forwards. For the average fullback, this would be a fairly run of the mill performance in a painfully average game, but for Tchatchoua’s standards its arguably one of his better games in a Wolves shirt.
Ladislav Krecji: 6.5/10
Slotting back into the side after being sidelined at Burnley, Krecji mostly looked at home back in centre half. On the ball you’d be hard pressed to find more composed defenders in the Championship and his quality was on full display in keeping the Portsmouth press at Bay. Defensively he was also solid and didn’t seem at risk of conceding from open play. In the air however, he was outmatched on several occasions and didn’t provide much presence from forward set pieces.
Nasser Djiga: 6.5/10
Had we won this game, both centre backs would be up by at least one number score with both not really putting a foot wrong. Djiga has been solid all season and again looked a step above the level he’s playing at this season. Defensively he cut out multiple passing lanes and remained incredibly strong in the air. While he looked slightly shakier on the ball than Krecji, he didn’t make many mistakes and remained a physical presence in the back 4.
Hugo Bueno: 6/10
Despite bombing up and down the touchline for the better part of 90 minutes, Hugo was largely ineffective from left back. Defensively, he didn’t face much threat, with Portsmouth rarely taking him on. Going forwards Bueno had a few good runs at the Pompey backline but none were able to lead to much. It was a quiet game for Bueno, who didn’t really have all that much to do.
Andre: 7.5/10
Approximately 71% of earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Andre. It was another good display from the man who started the game as Wolves captain, as he again ran the show as the vital spine of the team. No matter how hard he tries, he seems physically incapable of being dispossessed in the heart of midfield. No matter where the ball bounces in midfield, it feels like he’s always there to sweep up and keep Wolves moving. Unfortunately, he did little in the way of changing Wolves attacking fortunes which docks him ever so slightly in an otherwise solid display.
Marshall Munetsi: 5/10
I’m going to be honest, I completely forgot Munetsi even featured in this game. I imagine he did quite a lot of running about and got stuck in a few times alongside Andre in midfield. Sounds about right.
Rafiki Said: 5/10
Personally, I’m a big fan of Said’s playstyle and I think Wolves need more expression in the final third. Unfortunately though, his effectiveness was vastly limited in a game where a majority of the play was on the other side of the pitch. In the brief moments he did have the ball, he looked lively but was unable to make anything happen for Wolves.
Mateus Mane: 4/10
Not since Adama Traore has a footballer raised my hopes and dashed them so expertly. Mateus Mane has the potential to be amongst the best players in the league, but again performed very poorly to add to his goalless games for Wolves this season. On the ball his decision making has been puzzling at the best of times and last night it very well may have peaked. For large portions of the games he was unable to keep up physically and was on the end of very disappointing missed chances. I maintain that Mane is a very talented player, but his form for Wolves this campaign has been woeful.
Fer Lopez: 7/10
Lopez again notched a goal involvement as his through ball found Jordan James to open the scoring. That marks 8 goal involvements in 11 games so far this season, impressive form for someone many thought didn’t want to be at Wolves in the first place Outside of the assist, Lopez was comfortable on the ball but didn’t create much centrally. Drifting out wide saw more success, as he had efforts blocked and drag wide as well laying up efforts for teammates Tawanda Chirewa and Mateus Mane. It was another decent performance from a player excelling in the Championship.
Sean Neave: 4/10
Sean Neave’s first start last week coincided with an assist for Fer Lopez away at Burnley. Against Pompey though, Neave was far less successful and did very very little up top. The few times he had the ball were met with a poor first touch. To add to a largely anonymous performance, Neave found himself in the book for his 3rd yellow card of the season.
Substitutes:
Tawanda Chirewa: 6/10
Off the back of a first club goal last week, Chirewa again got the chance to make the difference off the bench for Wolves. While his time on the ball was limited by a shift in momentum late in the game, Chirewa did see a brilliant effort pushed just past the post by Schmid to deny Wolves a winner. In the absence of two senior strikers through injury, Tawanda Chirewa may be another good option to stick up top until their returns.
Tommy Doyle: 4/10
It was a disastrous substitution from Wolves, with Tommy Doyle’s late mishit cross the icing on the cake of a very bad Wolves performance. Otherwise, he did absolutely nothing to change Wolves fortunes and never posed much of a threat.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde: N/A
Bellegarde’s game time was very short and he had little time to do anything worth talking about.
Yerson Mosquera: N/A*
I’ve put an asterisk next to N/A, because through no fault of his own this was an absolutely baffling change. Having just shipped a late equaliser against a bang average side, bringing on a defender to win the game was a moronic decision to make. Yerson himself didn’t really get chance to affect the game, but the change in the first place is incredibly bizzare.
Jordan James: 7/10
It’s very worrying that a midfielder is our best striker, but here we are. Off the bench James has an undeniable impact in this team. Against Stoke, West Ham and Portsmouth James has made a massive difference going forwards. While his attacking mindset can leave Andre exposed on his own in the middle, James finishing and composure help drive Wolves most confident and attacking football. Back to his best after a disappointing start against Bolton last week.
