Wolves Fans' Verdict v Middlesbrough: Breathtaking win

Rob Cartwright

What's your verdict on the match? There will be no British referee at the World Cup this summer, for the first time in 80 years. From what I’ve seen this season, that is about right. Attwell is right up there with Steve Martin. Both men completely out of their depth in charge of a game of football.

It had been 67 years since Wolves last won at Middlesbrough and I am pleased that my complete faith in Nuno to sort that one out was fully justified.

Middlesbrough have been hard to break down since Pullis took over. It appeared as though he had instructed his team to kick Wolves players at every opportunity. Attwell rose to this challenge beautifully, by ignoring everything in the first half and then later in the game, as Wolves started giving the same back brandishing cards like confetti.

In between, Wolves showed the gulf in class between the teams. With Doherty and Douglas finding freedom on the wings, we had an attacking threat each time we had possession. Cavaleiro and Costa were also finding space and looking lively. It was a matter of when, not if, we would score.

Time after time, Middlesbrough went through Wolves players with no intention of playing the ball. Leadbitter could have seen red on 11 minutes for a challenge on Cavaleiro and Shotton should have seen yellow for same on Douglas two minutes later.

Neves was running the game and Wolves were slowly turning the screw, then Neves - Doherty - Costa produced the first goal on 32 minutes.

The second was five minutes later, with a Douglas corner being headed by Bolly to Cavaleiro to head in...game over! We were now coasting, with little knowledge of what was to happen in the second half

It was all fairly routine until Costa was put clean through on goal, by Neves once more. Friend clipped him on the edge of the box. An accident, but a foul. Attwell waved play on.

Attwell had completely lost control of the game. Inexcusably, so did Wolves.

When Neves then fouled Friend, a yellow card was shown. I hadn’t even realised Neves had already been booked. The best player by a country mile left the pitch.

Yellow cards galore followed. The rule seemed to be Middlesbrough foul you wave play on; Wolves foul and you show a card.

The big positive from all this was proof that these players, foreign and British do really care and they were prepared to go rough and fight to keep the three points.

This was a massive performance from those nine players. It was 12 v 9 for sure.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? The nine men played like Trojans and left nothing on the pitch at the end. Saiss flat out summed up this the last half hour...the work he did after Neves walked!

Neves was class. Head and shoulders the best player on the pitch.

Doherty and Douglas enjoyed more space than of late and used it well.

The central defensive trio were excellent. Boly was a brick wall and as he played a massive part with nine men gets my award for man of the match.

Nuno chose his words carefully, after the game..."Everything went crazy, but we won."

Russ Cockburn

What's your verdict on the match? And that ladies and gentlemen is why we follow Wolves! Never do it easy do we? I can remember saying at half time ‘let’s see the game out now, nothing silly’…that went well.

That performance and result psychologically gets us promoted. The chasing pack know it, we know it. Cardiff Barbarians, the pink and cyan seals and the toffs from Putney will have expected us to drop points here, but no, the Nuno and the boys stood firm and delivered.

What a performance. Guile, class and skill for 55 minutes then commitment, shape, defensive excellence and heart. Forget playing football on the beaches of Vilamoura and Praia da Rocha, these boys have got the guts and attitude that comes from being brought up in Gornal, Bilston and Sedgley.

The attitude that if the world doesn’t like you, who cares. We’ve bottled that spirit and the chap from the Hangover movie, the Italian idiot from Leeds and Derby’s bottlers can suck it up and enjoy.

Scenes at the end will live long in the memory. Nuno racing across the pitch, Saiss more vertical than Katie Price and Boly…well, just Boly.

Coady’s smile tells you everything you need to know. Lost our soul? Sold out? No way, this is a team that believes and connects with the fans and I can’t remember the last time it felt this good to follow Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In terms of the actual game, we bossed the first half after an even first 15 mins, with Neves again pulling the strings and Cav looking dangerous.

The first goal was a joy to watch with the rejuvenated Costa turning the full-back inside out and then having enough composure to arrow the ball into the top of the net. It was no surprise when the second went in after Boly’s header led to a simple nod in for Ivan.

Second half started pretty much the same way and if Attwell had done what he’s paid to do then we would have been 2-0 up and coasting against 10-men. In typical fashion, the ref chose to ignore the blatant trip and then decided to become the centre of attention by sending off two of our players.

What followed was a masterclass in defensive shape. The BBC were everywhere, shafting the Boro attacks at every opportunity and remaining rock solid when tested by Bamford and Co.

Pulis was left with no idea what to do or how to break us down, reverting to his usual tactic of long throws and diagonal balls into the box. The guy really is a dinosaur of a manager, his footballing style as outdated as the cap and tracksuit combo straight out of Matalan.

So that’s one win down, three to go and we get the (P) by our name. Come on boys we can do it!

Who played well – and who didn't impress? There were 11 and then nine heroes so it’s difficult to single out individuals when the team collectively delivered.

If pushed, I’d have to go for Coady and Boly. One led by example the other decided to get out of second gear to act like the impenetrable dark wall. Saiss was also outstanding doing a lot of the stuff that goes unnoticed with ease and offering the sort of protection Durex can only dream about.

Now we come to Attwell. We all know he was the last to be picked at school, the guy everyone avoids when he walks into the bar, the David Brent of officiating…in short a Grade A weapon.

The failure to send off Leadbitter for the first half tackle was bad, but it got worse when he somehow missed the trip on Costa. Now only him and perhaps the E&S Wolves reporter could miss the clear clip of the heels by George Friend, who somehow managed to top snaring Rachel Riley with getting two of our players sent off as well.

All the talk has been about VAR, but that’s redundant until we get better officials and ones that don’t believe the game is about them. Good refs go unnoticed, Attwell thrives in being the centre of attention.

Natalie Wood

What's your verdict on the match? A huge, huge three points and my god did we work for it.

I’ll be honest I’d written this one off as a loss well before kick off...history says we don’t win at the Riverside and when you look at the number of players returning from international duty there was surely going to be lots of tired legs against a Boro side needing a win.

First half was quite evenly matched with lots of chances for both, as usual Wolves showed their class up front but we did seem to be struggling at the back especially controlling Traore (how quick is he?!). Ruddy looked a bit shaky at times and didn’t look his normal commanding self.

Up the other end in typical Pulis style Boro were taking any opportunity to hack Wolves down with some tackles that were downright dangerous but seemed to go unpunished.

Both Wolves strikes were great team goals with Costa in particular showing great skill. When Nuno's team getting into an attacking opportunity that’s when they really show what they are all about.

Going into half time 2-0 up was definitely not what I expected but it was always going to be a tough second half...I think the only way to describe it is chaos!

There was a sheer loss of control from the ref and from Wolves. The clip on Costa at the edge of the box that was somehow not a foul changed the game and within two minutes we lost Neves, without doubt our most influential player.

No idea if his first yellow was deserved but the second certainly was. He is pretty much a perfect player except for these moments where he puts in quite dangerous tackles, a lot of the time unnecessarily. It will come with time I’m sure as he is still young but when you look back throughout his season it has been an ongoing issue.

Going down to the 10 men at a time when Boro were well on top was a slight issue but going down to nine shortly after was edging on disastrous! I can’t really argue Doherty’s two yellows. His second seemed a tad harsh but he did lead with his arm and if it was the other way round we would have expected at least a yellow.

My frustration with Attwell though was the inconsistency, how Boro got away with a lot of their tackles causes the mind to boggle. It really did feel like 9 v 12 for the rest of the game. Teams are getting wise to the fact at any time Wolves are walking a tightrope between passion and losing complete control....a bit of work might need to be done on composure before our visit to a certain Mr Warnock and his team!

The last 20 minutes or so were pure mayhem...god knows how we survived it. Boly after a below par first half really stepped up and was absolutely magnificent, Coady organised the back eight (!) well and the passion and desire from all really showed. Bodies thrown on the line and Ruddy making some great saves.

As the final whistle went watching the reaction of the players, bench and fans said everything. We survived a test that in any other season would have seen Wolves crumble, this is such a special team and even though there is still a way to go it felt like the defining moment of our season.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Man of the match for me would probably be either Costa or Boly. Costa looked really sharp, back to his old self, quick, skilful and a real game changer. Boly in the second half was a brick wall...absolutely nothing could get past him – superb.

Clive Smith

What's your verdict on the match? Fifty-odd minutes gone, looking comfortable at 2-0 and Costa is fouled when in on goal. What happens next? A red card, a Douglas free kick, 3-0 perhaps. Or.... pandemonium.

That was how part two of the game started.

Part one had been ok. Ruddy was well protected by the organised defensive shield and Neves had time and space to play some trademark diagonals. There was no real sting from Boro unless you count a few long throw-ins that Rory Delap used to deploy under the same manager. Throw in a couple of robust challenges and we could easily have been playing Stoke.

I made a mental note that Costa looked off the pace while Boly went through a few careless moments. Thankfully these thoughts could soon be deleted.

A Neves diagonal, controlled by Doherty, ends up with a Douglas assist and a crisp Costa finish. We have seen all those jigsaw pieces before. Add a Boly header from a corner, finished off by Cavaleiro and history beckoned.

Dare I say it, but part one was fairly routine.

Back to part two and the game-changer moment. Did I imagine it? With the ref looking from behind and the linesman at ninety degrees they saw no foul. Over 30 minutes listening to Radio Tees after, and it did not get mentioned once! As an aside, the locals were not happy, they said lots of nasty things about our team on the radio.

We lost our composure after that incident however. The feeling of injustice crept into our play in a rush. In a game where we made thirteen fouls, we collected seven yellow cards. Even taking into account Ruddy's card for time wasting, that seems a little heavy handed.

Eleven became 10, and very soon after, nine.

It was a brilliant display of protecting our goal.

Costa put in a shift like never before - even Mick McCarthy would have praised. Countless headers were won in the box and bodies put on the line regardless of the cost. It made you feel quite proud. They deserved a clean sheet, but they deserved the victory even more. The chant 'you're fit to wear the shirt' never gets sung, but it would be appropriate here.

Around 1,800 of us can now update our CV and tick the box, we won at Boro. And it was emotional too!

Here's a contradiction – it was like Bristol away, but it wasn't. A 2-1 win, two red cards, a late goal – the same but so different. The hoarse voice, the feel-good factor, the fist pumping, the bonding with the players, Nuno, the staff and fellow fans at the end once again, reminds you why you bother. Extraordinary. A privilege to be there.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Ruddy had a couple of nervy moments early on but did well enough when required, making one excellent save late on at the Alamo.

Douglas did well against their speedy main man. Only late on when we were obviously stretched did he come off second best at times. Classy chip to assist Costa.

Doherty played a key role in the Costa goal too. Sadly losing his cool after the later Costa challenge led to two unnecessary cards and a night off against Hull that will leave a hard gap to fill.

Boly/Coady/Bennett looked comfortable for part one, before standing tall, wide and even more solid for part two. Any of the three could be man of the match, but I thought captain Coady deserved it, he seemed to shout the most but in a controlled way from start to finish.

Saiss was an unsung hero. Doing a shift plus overtime once our head count got depleted.

Neves went from sublime passing to ridiculous challenges. His card count all season has been poor, he needs to curb this side of the game. It could have cost us the game. Some passes though, just made you sigh and smile.

Costa started slowly but did great thereafter. Ran himself into the ground. Bet he slept well after that

Cavaleiro was involved in both goals and it was a shame he left the game early. His form looked good all game.

Afobe didn't see as much of the ball as usual. Most of our work was wide or down the channels which excluded him a lot.

Subs – Bonatini replaced Afobe but it did not really work. He failed to hold the ball up when we needed it the most.

N'Diaye had to support Saiss once Neves had gone and he worked really hard, helping all over the pitch.

Gibbs-White only had a few moments even if it did seem ages!

Russ Evers (Hatherton Wolves)

What's your verdict on the match? I spent an hour on Thursday listening to Radio 5 Live where they were debating the lack of British referees at this years World Cup. The debate could have been summed up in two words...Stuart Attwell.

Year after year he is the worst performing referee, making abysmal decisions game after game but being protected by the suits due to the lack of any other capable folk.

Yes its a difficult job but so is mine and if I made that many errors I would soon be out on my ear. To be talking about the pathetic fool instead of the mighty Wolves first win in nigh on 70 years on Teeside is a sad reality.

First half we matched them and were clinical and second half we were on the way to a third but Attwell saw differently and from there the only thing he didn't do for Pullis's kickers was score.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Costa ran himself into the ground whilst Coady was a rock as ever at the back as we defended like fury and fully earned the three points. Mind the gap Aston Villa and mind the gap between acceptable and inept Stuart Atwell