Wolves Fans' Verdict v Preston: One point closer

Rob Cartwright

What's your verdict on the match? This is always one of the fixture highlights of the season for me, though we haven’t won at Deepdale for almost 10 years now.

I like Preston. Good stadium, nice people and some fabulous hostelries nearby. All that was missing was the win!

This was your typical Championship “blood & guts” style match. Plenty of hard and late challenges, but nothing to get too upset about. (Note to Wolves fans:- other teams are allowed to tackle our players. With Cavaleiro and Jota in full flow often this can look far worse than it really is).

It was an even first half, with the attacks from both teams being snubbed out around the box and therefore both keepers having little to do.

Both teams went close to scoring. Neves hit another screamer, on 30 mins which went just over the bar and Preston found room for a free header inside the box, which went wide. This was a warning to Wolves of what was to come.

I expected Wolves to come out all guns blazing in the second half, but it was Preston who got on top in the initial stages. They had a couple of chances before taking the lead on 52 mins. This was another header, from a corner, with Douglas being out jumped at the back post. A poor goal to concede.

A few minutes later, Welsh walked for his second yellow, after fouling Cavaleiro in full flow. Much debate on TV last night, but I think both fouls were deserving of a yellow card, so right decision made by the ref.

It was pretty much one way traffic after that. We must have had 80 per cent possession in the last half hour. There was some great cross field passing, good runs and movement but it didn’t quite all come together, apart from our equaliser, which was top class. Cavaleiro ran, dribbled and somehow ghosted through three defenders to put Costa through. He went past three more defenders before scoring. Great goal.

We huffed and puffed but couldn’t get clear on goal. Neves almost stole victory with a 30 yard shot into the corner, which the keeper pushed wide.

I wouldn’t have changed formation, as we were so on top. Afobe didn’t really make an impact in his half hour. A little frustrating, though I feel this will turn out to be a big point gained.

The result from Craven Cottage was celebrated. Let’s hope it is next weekend, too.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Best players were Cavaleiro and Costa, followed by Neves and Jota.

Cavaleiro is having his best run in the team and deserves his starting place. Costa is looking better with every game he plays.

Boly was the pick of our defence, who all generally coped well.

I didn’t feel Doherty and Douglas used the space they were allowed to good effect. Not sure that was all their fault though, as they were in position but didn’t get the ball enough.

Clive Smith

What's your verdict on the match? It felt quite disappointing at the end not to have won. Not so much because we were against ten men, but because we had so much possession in their half in the last 30 minutes.

All that possession resulted in too few goal attempts and not enough work for their keeper to do.

PNE started best in the opening 20 minutes, passing well and forcing us to defend deep. Our passing was either long, where we lost out on headers, or loose and lacking accuracy. From then on though we improved and looked the better team.

Neves passing spread the play and the wing backs started to compliment the front three. Cavaleiro was the busiest while Jota and Costa were more patchy - threatening at times, but wasteful also.

The ref did us few favours. Two yellows by the break could easily have been more. Cavaleiro, Neves, Jota and Costa all spent time on their backside after some heavy fouls.

The second half did not start well as we went behind. PNE had got on the end of a far post corner in the first half, they did it again and this time scored from it. Douglas being easily out jumped.

A few minutes later PNE collected their third and fourth yellow cards which resulted in a dismissal. From then on there was only one team in it. Costa quickly scored the equaliser after good play from Cavaleiro, and a winner looked just a matter of time.

Douglas and Doherty were often wasteful with their passes and others overplayed when well placed to shoot. Afobe had the best chance, played in by Doherty, he shot low when a chip would have provided the winner.

Bonatini had some game time but of all our forwards only Cavaleiro looked on his game. Too often we lacked numbers in the box as Doherty and Douglas revelled in the space they had. We were failing to trouble the keeper however as he spent as much time telling the ball boys to slow down as he did making saves.

An away point was the least we deserved.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Ruddy did everything well.

Boly, Coady and Bennett looked strong, resilient and reliable as ever, protecting our goal in the way we have come accustomed to.

Doherty and Douglas should really have provided some goal assists. They both got behind their defence several times but wasted opportunities. Doherty looked scared to shoot when he had a clear sight of goal while Douglas tried to pass first time when more composure and a second touch could have made an assist easier.

Neves often looked a class act on the ball. A couple of decent long shots should have made the keeper struggle if on target.

N'Diaye worked hard doing a lot of the graft when we did not have the ball. There was plenty of running in him again, his fitness is much improved.

Cavaleiro was the pick of the forwards and our best player. Great energy, fleet of foot and more accurate passing than usual suggested he was always likely to create goal opportunities. His upper body strength means he is harder to push off the ball.

Costa on the other hand only looked involved when he had the ball. Other times he was ball watching when he needed to be more proactive. Far too often he was eased off the ball. He needs to be much stronger.

Jota, not for the first time recently, seems on the periphery of the game. He has scored from 20 yards out in the past but is rarely able to get good shots off these days. Yet, when he dribbles with the ball he looks super.

Afobe came on against the 10 men. Whether it is lack of game time or confidence but he looks a man well out of form. Although he has only played briefly in the three games, he just does not look likely to score.

Saiss and Bonatini only had a few minutes on the pitch.

Russ Cockburn

What's your verdict on the match? Preston are no mugs, having lost just six games so far this season so I think we were all expecting a tough game.

And that’s exactly what we got. We started sluggishly and never really got going in a first half that offered very little in terms of clear cut chances. In fact, the highlight was watching five young lads try and work out what row they were on; my money was on them residing from Bilston.

Cav aside, the front three didn’t look on their game, with too many wayward passes and personal battles being lost. It was arguably Jota’s quietest game (he’s probably due one) and Costa is still lacking that belief he had last year.

Alf also didn’t have a very good game, often chasing shadows and not having the same influence as the Predator look-a-like in midfield for Preston.

The second half saw them fly out the traps and for 15 minutes we were on the ropes more than Audley Harrison in a big fight. Ruddy, who has so many clean sheets to his names, got caught under the ball and was left powerless to stop the towering header from Browne.

It’s not the first time the normally dependable goalkeeper has looked a bit shaky in recent weeks, but I can’t see Nuno changing to Norris at this stage of the season.

Thankfully this Wolves team aren’t used to losing and the sending-off was quickly followed by a Costa equaliser. It was a decent finish after we got lucky with a few ricochets and really set the game up for us to go on and win it.

Sadly, for all the possession we had, we couldn’t find the breakthrough with an over enthusiastic Afobe missing the best opportunity when slipped through by his old mate Doherty.

Preston were more stubborn than my wife on a bad day and restricted our wing-backs from going forward, making the middle of the pitch more cramped and confusing than a Taxi Ride with the Sandwell Town joyriding quartet.

A point is not a bad result especially with Villa getting back to normal with a limp 2-0 loss, mind the gap you seals!

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Coady was a rock again at the back and is such an influential figure in getting our attacks started.

He was probably just pipped to the man of the match award by an on fire Cav. Last season, I thought he flattered to deceive, this year he’s like a man possessed and arguably our most menacing players.

Time and time again he turned the Preston defence inside out and was instrumental in starting the move that led to the Costa goal. He’s playing himself into contention for player of the season.

Chris Hughes

What's your verdict on the match? There’s something satisfying about providing a third of the attendance at an away ground. We turned up in fantastic numbers to back the lads again and the noise was brilliant from start to finish, even if the result ended up being somewhat underwhelming.

The first half was nothing to write home about. Neither keeper had a save to make and there was very little quality on show. It was like a couple of divorce lawyers negotiating a settlement for their clients. Neither wanted to give an inch or overstretch in what they wanted.

Preston came out after half-time looking like a different side and put us under early pressure that culminated in them going ahead after sloppy marking from a corner.

They may have had a chance at taking three points had they not reverted to the game plan they’d used at Molineux earlier in the season and started to try kicking lumps out of us. Absolutely no arguments about the sending off. Anyone stupid enough to make a challenge like that when already on a booking deserves the early bath.

After the sending off an equaliser was inevitable and it was frustrating that we couldn’t grab a winner.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Despite not winning it was hard to single out anyone as having underperformed. We worked hard as a team, moved the ball well, and got into decent position. Our final ball wasn’t great at times though and was the key factor in us not coming home with three points.

Special mention goes to Cavaleiro, who again proved that he is a key player in this side and made us tick over before he was replaced. We looked much less potent after his withdrawal.

Russ Evers (Hatherton Wolves)

What's your verdict on the match? A point gained or two lost? Must be the former as Preston don't lose many at home which is not surprising on this performance, with a tactic of kick everything that moves.

We still overplayed and overacted at times but had the beating of Preston especially when they joined the lengthening list of 10 man teams after another red card.

We just didn't or couldn't turn the screw far enough to get all three points despite dominating possession especially for the last 25 minutes.

So to gain a hard away point when being someway below our best bodes well and seats us up nicely for the two games coming up next week.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? No one had a bad game worthy of mention and I would say Cavaleiro would have been the pick of the bunch for us.

Natalie Wood

What's your verdict on the match? In hindsight it is a very good point on the road against a good team in tough conditions. Another point closer to promotion.

First half we were well on top but just missing that killer instinct up front. Preston were quite clearly targeting Jota and Cavaleiro, wiping them out whenever they got the ball.

This just continually stopped any opportunities we created. I had hoped that we would come back out in the second half fast and really take control but it was the opposite.

Losing the ball easily, all creativity disappeared and it was a deserved lead for Preston. The sending off didn’t massively change the game in the long run – if anything it just made Preston even tighter.

It did however give us a chance immediately after to pounce while they were trying to get themselves in order.

Another great goal from Wolves, excellent skill by Cavaleiro and brilliant composure by Costa. After that it was clear by bringing on Afobe and later Bonatini we were really going for the win but it wasn’t to be, the final ball was always missing and any time we could get a ball in the box there were five or six defenders waiting!

Who played well – and who didn't impress? It wasn’t the best performance but it was okay. I wouldn’t say anyone had a disastrous game but there wasn’t many stand out performances.

Cav was probably the best player for me, Costa also looked sharp, it is great to see him growing in confidence as the games go on.

Adam Virgo

What's your verdict on the match? Great day out, just a shame we couldn’t get the three points to top it all off. The PNE Police were fantastic as well, if only more were like that and realised most away fans just want to enjoy their day out rather than cause any trouble.

Tough game, I would have been content with a point before the game, especially with Preston pushing for a playoff spot. Definitely a point gained though, I know they had 10 men but we were 1-0 down at that point.

We also may have had 30 mins to get a winner but playing against 10 men can sometimes be more difficult if the team sits a lot deeper. That’s what Preston pretty much did once they had the red but we just didn’t do enough in the final third to win the game in the end.

The first half was a very tight affair and neither team really created a good opportunity. Coming to Deepdale though, Preston were always going to have a game plan and make it difficult for us.

Both goalkeepers had nothing to do which is a normality for John Ruddy. I think we should ask the league if we can play an outfield player instead of a goalkeeper and just do rush backs.

Preston came flying out the blocks in the second half and we were on the ropes, surprisingly. If we didn’t realise we needed to step it up once they hit the post, we certainly did after they had took the lead.

Obviously them receiving a red card changed everything, which then meant the play swung in our favour. We controlled the game from then on but just didn’t do enough to get a second goal which was a little frustrating.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Ivan Cavaleiro was our man of the match by a mile. Second half he was taking the game to Preston on his own at times. The spearhead for most of our attacks and Costa’s goal was largely down to Cavaleiro’s work leading up to it. The only way to stop him was to foul him, on his day he’s unplayable and maybe the £7m we paid for him last season wasn’t so bad after all.

Coady was solid at the back, like he is near enough every game. The way he drops off and covers behind Boly and Bennett in case the goes past them is a great skill he possesses, mopping everything up over and over.

Costa has bagged himself two goals in two now, he’s seriously getting back to how he was again. Got a bit lucky with the ricochet back to him but he still had to take the opportunity, something he struggled to do when he first came back.

Every point now until the end of the season is a point gained, teams below us aren’t going to win every remaining game so as long as we keep picking up points, we haven’t got anything to worry about. If we can win our home games and at worst draw our away ones, especially with some tough away fixtures remaining.

Anyway, mind the gap.