Wolves Fans' Verdict v Millwall: Point taken

Russ Cockburn

What's your verdict on the match? We will look back at yesterday’s hard-fought point at the end of the season and think that was a very good result.

This may go against the grain of popular opinion judging by social media after match, but I think our fans have forgot that we are six months into a project and are not the Brazil team of the 1970s. Having said that, I doubt Pele would object to Willy Boly starting in the back four.

When you are top of the league teams are going to raise their game against you and Millwall did just that yesterday, playing with intensity, purpose and to the strengths of the excellent Gregory up top.

The Den on Boxing Day at 1pm isn’t exactly what you would ask Santa for in your Christmas stocking, especially seeing they’d already beaten a number of the early pace-setters. However, as someone who gets a bit bored of soulless identikit stadiums, there is still a certain charm to walking down Zampa Road and – better still – getting out without taking a shoeing.

Despite being half empty, the ground still has an edge to it that can put a player under pressure and I thought our foreign lads acquitted themselves very well. Not a quarter was given and effort was there for all to see.

Where we let ourselves down was having ‘another sloppy start’, a few players being out of touch and some poor defending off set-pieces.

The old boy curse struck again with the usually anonymous Jed Wallace picking out a sublime through ball to put the hosts one up. His celebrations in front of the away end kind of summed up his time at Molineux...he sort of went to have a pop, then decided against it and then pretty much hit the first man with a sort of ‘nothing’ gesture.

This sparked us into life and we quickly grew into the game, with Neves pulling all the strings. Unlike previous matches, Saiss was having a poor match with the ball and was increasingly leaving the former Porto lad isolated in the middle of the park.

I noted on Saturday against Ipswich that Saiss pulls quite wide and I think it works at home as it moves the opposition around and allows us to overload on Doherty’s side. Not sure it has the same effect when under pressure away from home.

After some promising moments we scored another well-worked goal, with Costa’s clever turn and cross giving Jota the chance to cooly flick in. Some ‘football experts’ in the media are suggested he needs a break, I think they need to leave off the Christmas Sherry before 1pm on Boxing Day or the Express & Star needs to cut expenses!

I fully expected us to take control second half and even more so after Saiss despatched one into the top corner. It was a decent striker but old ‘teflon wrists’ Archer should have done much better. How he saved Doherty’s earlier effort is beyond me as anything on target looked like it would go in or be spilled out.

However, fair play to Millwall. They came back at us and a series of our own mistakes and misplaced passes led to a corner and their aerial threat paid off with a pretty routine goal. It may be a bit harsh, but I thought Ruddy could have done better with the first cross in and not sure why our lads didn’t jump at the back post.

Oh well 2-2 it was and, with Barry the Docker and Clive the Pie Man promoting the virtues of a cheeky Nandos or KFC from the stands, we did well to see out the last 20 pretty much unscathed.

Eight points clear after Boxing Day is a fantastic achievement for Nuno, his backroom staff and the players. On to Bristol City for the Jason Jefferies derby and copious amounts of cider at the Apple or the Orchard!

Who played well – and who didn't impress? I’m sounding like a broken record, but Neves and Jota were my pick yesterday. Both are class above most players I’ve ever seen in a Wolves shirt and can also mix it up when needed.

It was also good to see Costa return to the fold with two assists, although I still think he’s lacking confidence in front of goal. The one-on-one he missed from Ruben’s pinpoint pass could have proved costly and there’s no way he’s missing that last season.

Boly was the pick of the back three and Doherty put in a proper shift at wing back, similar to the one Big Dog did in getting the poker bus down to London and parked up at 10.15am for just £3! Arguably his best performance since Sticky Fingers in Middlesbrough.

Natalie Wood

What's your verdict on the match? All in all a very good point earned at a very tough venue.

Millwall came out fighting (literally) in the first half and it was only a matter of time until they took the lead. There is no doubt they are a good team with Jed Wallace especially looking very sharp.

However we kept a foot in the game and almost had to let Millwall tire themselves out slightly. Our goal at the end of the first half was deserved after we had started to get the upper hand. Another lovely cross from Costa and a great clinical finish by Jota.

Second half started slowly for both teams. Millwall probably had the better start but as so many times this season it only took a few seconds of sheer brilliance to change it round...Costa again doing very well before Saiss releasing a screamer.

After that it seemed to be becoming a bit of a standard Wolves victory, Millwall started to tire and Wolves danced around them. That was until the exit of Mr Boly. Within the first few minutes it was clear that Miranda was going to struggle, constantly giving the ball away and getting beat time and time again.

Cooper for Millwall looked so dangerous in any set piece for them so it was really only a matter of time before he buried one home.

At 2-2 it really could have gone either way. It appeared Jota had a shout for a penalty but I couldn’t really see it well enough to say either way. I think 2-2 was a fair result in the end. It was a great game for the fans and a good performance by both sides.

One thing I would say is I think perhaps the EFL should have another look at their so called family club of the year...there were some very disturbing chants coming from their terraces that did put a slight dampener on an otherwise great day.

I still think Wolves are quite far off their performances in recent months – it has been a while since I really saw us take full control of a game and keep it. Hopefully they can find some of that killer instinct in time for what will be a very tough match at Bristol!

Who played well – and who didn't impress? It was great to see Costa getting a start and I thought he played well. He was quick, physical and made some good crosses. Saiss also looked very sharp and managed to hold off a bombardment of dodgy tackles from Millwall.

As always the real star for me was Neves – he creates everything we do and produced some sublime passes.

Clive Smith

What's your verdict on the match? A Boxing Day potential banana skin for Wolves didn't take long to look our greatest challenge for a couple of months. Millwall started the game at a frantic pace and kept that tempo up for 30 minutes. That, combined with a no nonsense approach to tackling, made life difficult.

Our first scare was from one of our corners. We tried one where we had two players in the corner to set up the cross. The ball was crossed but their clearance set them up on a fast counter attacking break. We were short of numbers and Coady tried to foul then Cav did successfully end the move at the cost of a yellow.

Our second scare was...from another of our corners! This time our cross was punched clear and a similar break again saw us short at the back. We never even got close enough to commit a foul.

Our response was typical of us this season. Neves showed his full range of passing, Doherty constantly over lapped down the right while Costa, Jota and Cav kept their defence on their toes.

Neves played a 60 yard ball out of nowhere that set up Costa for a one-on-one that the keeper saved. The pass of the half though – a 80 yard flat drop kick from Ruddy to Jota, straight to his feet.

The tone of the half time team talk was changed just seconds before the whistle went. It was Costa, not Doherty, this time working the right side, his quick feet got him to the byline and the cross brought a neat finish from Jota.

Millwall probably felt aggrieved to go in level.

A couple of half chances and a couple of headers could easily have added a second goal. Wolves could argue that they too had chances and enough possession in the final third to deserve a goal.

Wolves continued on the front foot after the break, helped by Bonatini replacing Cavaliero who had been injured. His central movement gave more room to Costa and Jota and their link up play looked smoother than with Cav in the first half.

It was that link up that provided Saiss the chance to score with a shot from outside the box. You would have expected us to win from that point but Millwall found their second wind. They won a string of set pieces and looked a threat from them all. None were wasted, none hit our front man, most impressive.

They continued to tackle tenaciously and our usual composure was tested. It was not helped as Boly went off injured to be replced by Miranda.

A Millwall corner resulted in the equaliser. A far post header was played back and nodded in from a couple of yards.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? I though Ruddy should have done better with the equaliser. Initially with the cross, then with the header back that was in the air a long time. His busiest game for a while. That pass though – amazing. His distribution overall was good.

Douglas was poor. He seemed off the pace when we were defending a counter attack. He had a good free kick that forced the keeper to make a save late on.

Doherty, man of the match, he had a fine game. Looked to have the beating of his man every time and played with a lot of confidence on and off the ball.

Bennett was not at his best. Lucky not to cost us a goal when he let one cross pass him in the box and they shot wide from two yards. Second best in too many physical challenges.

Coady was again good. Strong on the ball while mopping up danger on a regular basis. Boly looked to enjoy the physical tussle. Lost too many headers but was strong in possession. Hopefully he will be fit for Bristol.

Most goals conceded you think should be avoided. It was most disappointing to let in the first today. We had a warning earlier in the game so it was collectively poor to get punished in such an obvious way minutes later. We did at least stop using two players to take corners from then on.

Neves, on the ball he was excellent. He has put in a run of good games after being a bit sluggish in October. He did look off the pace and behind the ball against the counter attack which does leave us exposed if Saiss is also ahead of the ball.

Saiss played well. His confidence must be high at the moment - helped no doubt by another goal, after missing chances in the last two games.

Cavaliero – hopefully he had a good Christmas Day. Boxing Day saw him; 1) Booked 2) Injured 3) Lying on the floor when we scored and 4) Subbed at half time. 1-2-3-4 Merry Christmas mate!

Jota – this was the type of game when he comes alive. Plenty of space gives him more time on the ball and the chance to run at the opposition. When he is like that he is a real joy to watch.

Costa played his longest game in a while. This season? In the league at least. As with Jota, an open game brings out the best in him and he had two good assists.

I am not convinced the Jota / Cavaliero / Costa formation works as a starting line-up. Although individually talented and quality players they are quite similar players.

Bonatini played the second half and it felt like we moved the ball around better with him in the side.

Miranda replaced Boly and looked nervous on his return. Perhaps trying too hard.

N'Diaye was booed by the home fans with every touch. He had been getting some stick as he warmed up for some reason. Never really had time to settle into the match.

The game was a good challenge and very physical. Millwall were smarting from a 0-3 and playing the league leaders. Although we did not win, it still felt we had passed the challenge.

Russ Evers (Hatherton Wolves)

What's your verdict on the match? Perhaps earlier in the season we may have lost this one against a big – in some cases huge – side who fought, kicked and battled their way through the 90 minutes.

Millwall seemed to have done their homework as they concentrated on lumping high balls into our box at every opportunity for the Jurassic Park-like figures to win 95 per cent of the headers.

On the floor we played well in parts and okay in others, deserving a point but in the cold light of South Bermondsey perhaps no more than that.

But the unbeaten run goes on and proves we have learned a lot about the physical side of the game. Onwards and still upwards.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? We scored two very good goals but a couple of players were well below par, none more so than Cavaleiro who was still lying on the floor as we passed it around him to equalise.

Adam Virgo

What's your verdict on the match? Before the game I would have been happy with a point, especially considering we had won eight of our last nine prior to yesterday so it wasn’t as if we ‘needed’ to win. Millwall is anything but an easy to place to go to but the only frustrating part is the manner in which we conceded the goals.

It was a great game for the neutral though with four goals, tackles flying in and both teams trying to win the game.

Defending, for the first time in a long while, cost us the three points but considering how solid we’ve been in recent weeks there was always going to be a time where we’d be a bit more open and concede a couple.

The first goal was a good counter attack from Millwall but poor how we went about it. The warning signs were already there when they did the exact same but Cavaleiro had to take a yellow card. We should have known better after the first one and left an extra man back potentially.

Costa should have equalised after a scrumptious ball over the top to him but his finish was tame. He certainly made up for it with his fancy footwork just before half time to beat his man and provide the assist for Jota.

Maybe Cavaleiro should have stayed down for the whole of the first half, we played better with him on the floor. In all seriousness though, I hope his injury isn’t too bad, apart from yesterday, he’s been key for us going forward.

Saiss’ goal was something special, every time he shoots it normally flies way over the bar so for him to hit the back of the net was surprising. Even funnier that the guy sat behind me screamed “don’t shoot Saiss” just before he hit it.

I do wonder, if Boly hadn’t had gone off injured, could we have avoided their second goal? Aerially he’s much better and more commanding than Miranda.

The Portuguese defender can be a liability at times, his first touch was a chest down for Millwall to counter attack us. I think it was him who lost the ball, resulting in the corner which Millwall scored from. Maybe he was rusty having not played at all since the QPR game but even then, he was poor in that game too.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Ruben Neves once again put in a top performance. He played in Doherty and Costa in the first half with two brilliant passes, the weight on both of them was inch perfect. Won the ball back a few times well in important positions, always reads the game fantastically well and on the ball he’s always able to create something.

Costa was a bright spark yesterday, even though he missed that clear chance, he was always on the move and trying to get in behind. Like I mentioned earlier, he made up for that miss with a great turn on the defender to get the assist for the first goal. Got the assist for Saiss’ goal too, chased the ball well and did superbly to bustle his way past his man and lay off the Moroccan.

Boly played well, it was a massive shame that he had to go off and I’m sure every Wolves fan is praying he’s back for the massive top of the table clash on Saturday. He’s definitely our best defender and when he went off, you could notice the difference between him being on and off the pitch as Miranda just isn’t as good as him.

Doherty had a really good game too, I felt he was more impressive than Douglas, marshalled up and down that right hand side all game. Very unlucky not to score when we were 1-0 down but credit to Jordan Archer for saving well. Always looking for the overlap with whichever forward player was on the right, one of our most consistent players so far this season.