It was a dream debut for Nick Woltemade as his first half goal proved to be the difference maker as we beat Wolves 1-0 at St James’ Park.
Heading home from close range thanks to a great cross from Jacob Murphy, who himself was unlucky not to be on the scoresheet, it was a breath of fresh air seeing a high-quality striker line up for Eddie Howe’s side and scoring.
And now we finally have our first league win of the season, it’s given us some excellent momentum heading into Thursday’s huge Champions League clash against Barcelona.
Here’s what Howe had to say after Saturday afternoon’s win, with Woltemade, our overall display and first three points of the season all discussed:
On Woltemade’s immediate impact
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It’s no secret that the absence of Alexander Isak and any real goalscoring threat has greatly affected us for the last few months.
So what a welcome sight it was to see Woltemade, on his debut for the club, so heavily involved in every aspect of the attack, dropping short to link up and bring teammates into play.
Howe had some big praise for the German international, highlighting his positioning and striker’s instinct in particular.
> _“It’s a great goal. Brilliant cross from Jacob Murphy and Nick is where he needs to be._
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> _“I’m delighted he’s in there as one of the challenges he will face is finding himself out of those positions so I am really pleased with the goal.”_
And the former Stuttgart man is already proving to be popular with his new teammates, with Howe adding “There was a lot of love for him afterwards. The players all know those feelings.”
> _“Very humble, very good communicator. No language issues and the players have really taken to him._
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> _“I want them to know how special winning is and how much what they give is appreciated.”_
On Woltemade’s technical quality and intelligence
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In a window which has seen some big fees paid for attackers, such as Isak and Benjamin Sesko, there was some pressure on Woltemade to hit the ground running and justify his own hefty price tag.
But based off yesterday’s performance, we indeed have a special player on our hands, with the gaffer lavishing praise on Woltemade after the final whistle.
> _“I was very pleased with how he played. You saw his qualities, his technical qualities that we’ve been discussing and his intelligence._
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> _“But most importantly for a striker, when the ball comes into the box, you need to be there – and he was.”_
On overall team performance
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Alongside Woltemade and Murphy, the likes of Dan Burn and Sandro Tonali each produced fine displays to see out the win and continue their own respective runs of good form.
But despite the result, the gaffer still feels the game should have been more comfortable for he and his men.
> _“The longer the game was 1-0, you knew that Wolves would have a spell towards the end, and that’s where I was really pleased with the group again.”_
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> _“We showed really good resilience, really important blocks at the end to stabilise the win for us. It doesn’t really matter how you get there, it’s just making sure you do get over the line and as quickly as possible.”_
On a much-needed three points
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Having failed to win any of our first three games of the campaign, where many fans would agree we should have at least seven points from our first nine, winning today was an absolute must.
But we were made to work against Wolves, who threatened to score within the opening seconds of the game.
Reflecting on the win, Howe revealed just how vital it felt to take all three points:
> _“We needed to win today. I think when you’re managing or coaching, you can never put that demand on the team. I don’t think it really helps. The players know, you need to work out how you’re going to do it.”_
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> _“I thought the players delivered a really strong performance in difficult conditions because Wolves were solid and made it really difficult for us.”_
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> _“It was a nervy end. At 1-0 it was always going to be, but I’m just really pleased we got that win, that’s a massive moment in our season.”_
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> _“With the Champions League on the horizon, it wasn’t a story we wanted to continue, waiting for that first win. So it sets us up nicely for that game, and we can go into that one now with a bit more freedom.”_