Wolves early season form was dealt a blow after suffering their first defeat of the season at promotion-chasing rivals West Ham United. Off the back of three successive wins, two of which in the league, Wolves fancied themselves against a West Ham side yet to win a game prior to kick off.
The opening 20 minutes were largely dominated by the visitors, who came close to opening the score on numerous occasions. The closest strike from Wolves’ early flurry came when Mateus Mane’s deflected effort rattled the crossbar before being thumped to safety by the hosts. Wolves were eventually punished by a 30-yard screamer from youngster Divine Mukasa despite controlling the early stages of the game. After failing to recover, they were further penalised when Andre’s over committal to a challenge handed Jarrod Bowen a penalty to mark his first goal of the season. A brilliantly battled pair of Munetsi and James goals did little to bring Wolves back into the game properly, with West Ham seizing complete control to add a third and fourth goal in the second half.
After how well Wolves started the game, the already poor result will sting just that little bit more. Both games I’ve written articles for this season have ended up with Wolves avoiding victory, which I’m trying not to take too personally, so with that being said let’s delve into the 2 good and 2 bad from a Wolves perspective.
Good: A Bright start against strong opposition
West Ham at the London Stadium was a fixture noted by many supporters as one of the trickier games on the calendar for any team in the division this season. Heavily tipped as the favourites for the title, West Ham had started the season poorly after failing to win any of their opening three league games. Perhaps a lack of confidence from a West Ham perspective could be seen in the early stages here as Wolves looked lively and almost capitalised on numerous sloppy mistakes from the hosts. Rodrigo Gomes and Raul Jimenez both had early efforts alongside Mane’s crossbar hit. Jackson Tchatchoua found himself in multiple favourable positions out wide and swung in some stellar crosses for the Wolves front line. While it petered out after falling behind, the visitors started the game with a palpable intensity that West Ham struggled to deal with. Notably, the West Ham defence seemed rattled by the high press of Gomes, who were forced to launch the ball several times.
Good: The impact of Jordan James (again)
Unlucky not to start the game after impressing and scoring on his league debut for Wolves, Jordan James again came off the bench with a good display. Shortly after coming on, he found himself in the box to help turn in a scrappy Wolves second. Prior to his substitution, Wolves looked flat and uninspired, having conceded two incredibly poor second half goals. James’ ball carrying ability helped spur the visitors up the pitch, even if the end product was sorely lacking in the final third. Despite getting on the scoresheet in his own right, Marshall Munetsi will surely be replaced in the starting eleven by James in the coming gameweeks after offering more on the ball.
Bad: Incompetent defending
It’s no coincidence that Wolves have conceded rockets in three of their last games, having failed to adequately close down their man before the shots inevitably flew past Sa in goal. To some degree though, you could argue conceding multiple goals of that calibre in quick succession is the product of misfortune. However, the same cannot be said for the other goals conceded by Wolves tonight. Wolves never looked comfortable after trailing in the first half, with Toti’s backline scrambling on numerous occasions and lacking composure under the pressure of West Ham’s attack. Several short passes failed to find their man, further compounding pressure on a Wolves backline already struggling with the quality of Jarrod Bowen and Divine Mukasa to name just a few. While a penalty is always hard for a Goalkeeper, it doesn’t feel particularly harsh to suggest Sa could’ve done slightly better with Bowen’s spot kick. Wolves defence have been the major negative standout over Wolves first 5 games and will need to be addressed sooner rather than later.
Bad: Lack of quality in the final third
If Wolves had shown even remotely the quality they displayed in Saturday’s victory over Stoke, the first 20 minutes could’ve told a very different story for the rest of the game. Wolves looked dangerous in the opening stages, yet some poor decision making and dreadful end product meant early pressure fell on deaf ears. While possessing the necessary goalscoring talent, the likes of Raul Jimenez really struggled to make their mark on the game, with Jimenez spooning multiple good chances to give Wolves the lead (one of which came impressively close to going out for a throw in). The squad’s lack of depth was also exposed, with Tawanda Chirewa and Adam Armstrong being able to provide very little after their arrivals from the bench. With the transfer window coming to an end shortly, you can’t help but feel that perhaps Wolves haven’t got some of the reinforcements necessary to make a difference with substitutions and squad rotation.
