Reading 0 Wolves 2 – player ratings

John Ruddy

A shaky start when he fumbled a shot onto the post and had a clearance charged down but thereafter he was a crucial component to this hard-fought victory. Produced a truly outstanding save from Mo Barrow when Reading were piling on the pressure with the score at 1-0. That'll be one of the saves of the season. 7/10

Ryan Bennett

Wolves just don't concede goals when Ryan Bennett plays. That's three clean sheets in a row since Bennett came back into the side at Norwich away and six clean sheets since Wolves conceded their only goal this season with Bennett on the field, in the last minute at Hull in August. A big test against the electrifying pace of Barrow and he did struggle at times, like when he took a booking for the team when stopping Barrow on the counter. Overall though he's a commanding presence. 7/10

Conor Coady

A captain's performance. Wolves had their backs to the wall for long spells in the second half and Coady relished the challenge of leading the defensive rearguard. 8/10

Willy Boly

His best performance in a Wolves shirt. He was absolutely everywhere, making an endless succession of headers, interceptions, blocks, tackles and clearances including one off the line. Literally threw himself at the ball on a few occasions too. And then on the offensive he can stroll the ball past halfway with the class of a seasoned central midfielder. One of a few Wolves players who are putting themselves in the 'too good for the Championship' bracket. 9/10

Matt Doherty

Scored his first goal of the season, a clinical left-footed drive that to be honest was overdue given the amount of times he pops up in the box. Showed his usual boundless energy, as witnessed by the fact he ends up being the furthest forward to score his goal two minutes from time after patrolling that right flank for 90 minutes. Earned rare praise from Nuno afterwards for his mental and physical exertions in what is such a demanding role. Showing increasing maturity in what's becoming a great seasons for the Irishman, who remains bafflingly uncapped by his country. He can't do much more for his club. 8/10

Romain Saiss

A defensive shield when he needed to be but in possession Saiss lacked composure at times. Not at his best but still got the job done. 7/10

Ruben Neves

Not a classic Neves display but still came up with a couple of superb passes and got through a big workload in what were testing conditions against good opposition. 7/10

Ruben Vinagre

His youthful exuberance in attack and naivety in defence were both apparent. Bombed forward to great effect with a couple of dangerous balls into the box including one for Cavaleiro who shot into the side netting. But then inexplicably tried to take a Reading player on inside his own box when Wolves had their backs to the wall in the closing minutes. Fortunately it wasn't a costly error. 7/10

Ivan Cavaleiro

At the top of his game for the opening half an hour, during which he showed some serious chutzpah when rolling the ball past Vito Mannone for the first goal (after ghosting into the box with a superb run). Thereafter his game was mostly about defending from the front and to be fair to Cavaleiro he put a big shift in. 8/10

Leo Bonatini

Began the match full of confidence as he went in search of scoring in a seventh consecutive league game. Bonatini would have become only the fifth Wolves player in history to achieve that feat but sadly he couldn't get on the scoresheet, with a 20-yard drive just before he was substituted being the closest he came. The usual high work rate but otherwise this was a quiet day for the striker. 6/10

Diogo Jota

A sublime pass for Cavaleiro's opener and Jota was generally Wolves' best hope for something special, particularly on the counter attack. Always a threat. 7/10

Substitutes

Bright Enobakhare (for Bonatini, 72)

A couple of touches here and there but Wolves were on the ropes for most of his 18 minutes on the field. 5/10

Alfred N'Diaye (for Cavaleiro, 79)

Good energy as he defended from the front. 6/10

Helder Costa (for Jota, 85)

It's taken six weeks or so but we finally saw the Helder Costa of old in one sensational run down the right flank which led to Doherty's clinching goal. Hopefully that'll give Costa the confidence boost he perhaps needs. N/A

Subs not used: Norris, Batth, Miranda, Price.