Always Wolves
Always Wolves
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Carabao Cup Chelsea Wolves by Always Wolves 46 seconds ago
WOLVES FANS TALK: WOLVES 3 CHELSEA 4
WOLVES FANS GIVE THEIR TAKE ON EXIT TO CHELSEA IN THE CARABAO CUP
JOHN TARAS
First shock of the night was a complete team change from Sunday. On the bench, there was no André or Arias. It looked like Wolves were playing 5-4-1 at home.
Chelsea scored from their first attack after five minutes. After 15 minutes, Wolves were 2-0 down and it was damage limitation. Calamity struck on 41 minutes when Wolves were caught in possession 30 yards out. Chelsea advanced to the edge of the box and Estêvão chipped Sá for the third goal. Wolves hadn’t had an attempt on target yet. I can’t fault the players’ efforts. They are 11 individuals, not a team, without a game plan. Second half to come, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see the score double.
You can probably tell I wrote the first half at half-time. The second-half script you couldn’t have predicted, apart from the usual 90th-minute goal against Wolves. But for the other 45 minutes, Wolves were a different side compared to the first half.
Tolu flashed a volley past the post from 20 yards. On 48 minutes, Hwang picked up the ball and charged forward before timing his pass to Tolu perfectly. Tolu took one touch to set himself, then blasted a shot into the corner, giving Jørgensen no chance.
Confidence filled the gold shirts and they came again. On 73 minutes, Möller Wolfe finished off a long throw that took two flick-ons before reaching him on the corner of the box. He volleyed it past Jørgensen and it was game on.
Then Vítor made another of his strange decisions. On 81 minutes, he took Tolu off, bringing on Bellegarde. It didn’t make sense. Tolu had won every duel; he’d bossed the defenders.
Then, from a Wolves throw-in, fate struck again. The ball ricocheted to Gittens, who hit a speculative 20-yard shot that struck the left angle of crossbar and post before flying in behind Sá.
4-1 was an injustice. Wolves came again straight away. A long ball into the Chelsea box was flicked on, then dropped in the six-yard box, where Wolfe reacted quickest and lifted the ball over the advancing Jørgensen to make it 4-3. That’s how it finished.
Compared to a potential 6-0 at half-time, Wolves regained some pride after a dismal first half. At the end of the season, this may be the match that turned Wolves’ season. They go to Fulham away on Saturday, and no doubt it won’t be the same eleven.
Where were André and Arias tonight?
Mentions:
Hwang, who played his heart out for 60 minutes.
Möller-Wolfe, who scored two good goals.
Tolu, who scored a brilliant goal.
On Saturday, they should get some game time.
DAVE
You know what — for all the chaos and the anger in that first half, the lads showed some serious fight after the break. At 3-0 down, it looked like another miserable night at Molineux, with fans rightly venting their frustration at Pereira and the owners. But credit where it’s due — the second half was a completely different story.
The changes at half-time made a huge difference. Wolves actually played with intent, pressed higher, and went at Chelsea. Arokodare’s goal right after the restart got the crowd back onside, and from that moment you could feel the energy shift. David Moller Wolfe was outstanding — two brilliant finishes and a proper example of the fight and desire we’ve been crying out for.
Yes, we still went out, and yes, the first-half performance was nowhere near good enough, but for once there was spirit, there was belief, and there was something to get behind. Chelsea ended up clinging on, throwing on half their first team just to see it out.
If Wolves can bottle that second-half fight and play with that same courage from the first whistle, there’s still hope. We might be down, but we’re definitely not dead yet.
CRAIG HICKEY
Well, what just happened…
The first half, we were absolutely dire, gifted 3 goals and went off to a few boos, I don’t like that and never have but everyone has a right to vent. It was men v boys and the boys won, Chelsea’s youngsters ripped us apart, however they only had 3 shots on target and scored 3, that’s the reality.
The second half, what a difference after two changes, Munetsi on and Krejci and lift off. I really was really proud of them at full time, we had enough chances to actually win the game and a draw would have been a fair result.
We showed fight, spirit, hardwork, guille, bravery and passion. Play like that at Fulham and we WIN!! There’s a glimmer of hope if we do, but we have to be consistent.
Some great 2nd half performances, João Gomes (Pitbull spirit) Tolu (great finish), Krejci, Agbadou, Mosquera, Toti, Hwang and my man of the match – Wolfe, two goals, the first a great strike, who would have thought that. Chelsea have some nasty players, they deserved more cards than they had.
Onto Fulham, let’s have it!
karl & Lesley Whitehouse
We both went to the game to see our team play and were surprised by the lineup. It was a guess what the formation was to start with.
For the first 15 minutes, we were completely out of it. Chelsea’s press was better than ours. They pushed us deep, forced mistakes in our back line, and scored. And we were the home side.
We allowed Chelsea too much space, and they exploited our issues and frailties. This was against a second-string team. Imagine their first team; it could be worse, if we’re guessing right now.
Coming toward half-time, we made another mistake. Our back line let us down again. It’s heartbreaking to see after so many highs and lows supporting them. There’s a mountain to climb to sort these issues out, and right now it’s hard to see how.
The second half had to show a much better unit. We needed to prove we could still make a game of it after that bad first half.
The second half started much better. We showed more intent and got a goal back, helped by Vitor’s tactical substitutions.
We had Chelsea on the rack, putting in more tackles and keeping the ball better. It was harder for them to play, which was a pleasing part of the half.
With the momentum building, you could feel another goal coming. We got it, and it made for a tense finish. Chelsea tried to slow things down and waste time, but we gave it a real go.
We both think Vitor made a mistake taking off Tolu. His hold-up play was improving, and he could be a candidate to start the next game.
Near the end, we had a lapse and allowed them to score. We could have done better, but we held them to just one shot on target in the second half. We still had another goal in us, which made for a frantic finish. We can hold our heads high. We competed well despite the bad start. It might be small things, but there’s an air of optimism. We can play well; now we need to bring this into other games. Let’s hope this is the start of putting two good halves together.
Match rating: 7.5
Player of the match: João Gomes
WOLVES FANS TALK: WOLVES 3 CHELSEA 4
Pukka