Wolves Fans' Verdict v Leeds: Not pretty, but effective

Matt Cooper (Talking Wolves)

It was another uninspiring first half for Wolves at Elland Road which we have seen time and time again recently.

Wolves struggled to get a grip of the game and perhaps rode their luck in spells but arguably should have gone in at the break a goal to the good with Daniel Podence missing a gilt-edged opportunity.

The second half was much better from Wolves and they really flew out the blocks and got at Leeds. It's a little frustrating that we can't start games like that and put teams to bed but I think the game was managed well against a good Leeds side.

Max Kilman and Conor Coady were superb at the back and despite a shaky first 15 minutes, Romain Saiss did his job at left-wing-back and was unlucky not to have got himself a goal.

Nelson Semedo looked really poor though and was caught napping too many times. He will have to improve next time out.

It wasn't pretty and this win sends Wolves up to sixth, which just shows how poor the league is this season as I can't help but feel Wolves haven't even got going yet. A good three points on the road.

Clive Smith

That's the way we like it, we like it, we like it.

A rearguard action from minute one. Given Leeds were flying high it was no surprise, but Wolves took the sting out of the game by defending their box really well. Too many crosses were coming in, but our three central defenders were solid, leaving Rui Patricio with little to do.

Any concerns regarding Kilman starting were unfounded and after an uncertain opening, an out-of-position Saiss looked more settled than our other wing-back.

For all the first half huff and puff from Leeds, it was Podence who had the best opportunity which was well saved. Ironic then that a far less convincing shot proved our match winner.

MOTM was Kilman, with our England captain a close second and probably Willy Boly third. Leander Dendoncker was the pick in midfield while Podence was deceptive in his work rate and effectiveness. It was a shame Adama Traore was not on the ball more once he came on.

Three wins and three clean sheets is a decent start and we know there is plenty more to come. Improvement in our ball retention and being more effective in the final third is required and the performance of Semedo was disappointing.

Adam Virgo

Very big win against the best team in the world with the greatest manager to ever grace this earth.

A tale of two halves like usual with us, first half was terrible and the second half was much improved. We couldn’t even string two passes together in the first half and completed 84 successful passes in 45 minutes which tells you how poor we really were.

After the break our players were pushed up a lot higher and pressing much better from the front. Of course VAR had to play it’s part too for a wonderful Saiss goal. A bit of luck for the Raul Jimenez goal but we’ll take it all day and I guess he made his own luck with the run he made and taking on the effort.

Kilman was absolutely fantastic all evening and deserved his man of the match award. In the two games he’s played this season he looks the real deal and he’s nailed that left sided centre back role down for the moment.

Podence and Pedro Neto played very well too, especially in the second half. Was a shame to see Podence go off as he was causing major problems for Leeds in the second half but one of him or Neto had to make way for Adama. Neto chased absolutely everything and defensively he was constantly getting back to help out which was great to see.

Leeds play with a very high intensity throughout and they caused problems for Man City, so it’s brilliant to get the three points and clean sheet which makes it back-to-back 1-0 wins after the 4-0 defeat against West Ham.

Still a lot to work on but the fact we’re sixth place while nowhere near where we can be performance-wise is surely a good thing, right?

Rob Cartwright

No doubt about it, this is a great result against the Sky Sports 'love child' that is Leeds United.

As for the game, well I won’t be rewatching it on playback, but it’s worth noting that this is Wolves' best ever start to a Premier League season.

For all the doom and gloom, we have won three of our five games. This puts us above Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham. We’re level with Arsenal and just one point behind Liverpool. Not so shabby then!

I don’t have much interest in league tables until Christmas. More so this season, as we are integrating new players into the squad while trying to change our game plan. This may take time, especially with so many away from Compton on international duty (16 in the last two weeks). It is likely we will not see some of the new players for quite a while; remember Dendoncker in his first season?

It’s fair to say, Leeds were all over us in the first half, though we did have the best chance of a goal right at the end with Podence’s shot being saved. Wolves had Leeds on the ropes for the whole of the second half. It was never comfortable, but if Saiss’s great strike wasn’t discounted by VAR it may have been.

I think we were due some luck and we got some with the deflection which gave Jimenez his goal. The clean sheet was looking likely with Coady, Boly, Kilman and in particular Patricio looking increasingly rock solid, as the game went on.

The biggest issue was the gap between midfield and Jimenez. With Podence and Neto also further forward, the three looked isolated. We saw little of Dendoncker

My Man of the Match was Coady, with the England manager watching from the sidelines once more. I agree Kilman also had a great game.

A couple of winnable games ahead now and we will need to find better rhythm for the tougher matches in Nov/Dec.

Russ Evers

Another win, another clean sheet and a win at our biggest rivals outside our own living space (again).

For more than half an hour it wasn't pretty but second half we were the better side and started to resemble the team performances of the last two seasons.

No slip ups from the defence, Kilman deservedly winning man of the match and a dogged midfield display matched by a forward three full of running. For every heartache such as Saiss's disallowed goal there is silver cloud in a deflected Mexican strike that wins it. Sweet, oh so sweet.