'We showed soul' - Cesar Peixoto hails Wolves after dramatic win

A delighted Cesar Peixoto felt Wolves showed their soul in Sunday’s last-gasp win at Sheffield United.

Raul Jimenez’s 90th minute winner snatched victory and provided Peixoto’s men a timely boost heading into a week which concludes with next Sunday’s Black Country Derby.

Wolves had appeared destined to make it three matches without a win as they toiled for much of the afternoon at Bramall Lane.

But Peixoto took heart in the manner his team battled through some rocky periods, particularly in the second half, before eventually emerging with the victory.

“They showed soul,” he declared. “Today I saw the big soul the team has.

“It is not only today we need it. We have to be consistent in this kind of behaviour.

“In the Championship quality is not enough. We need soul to win games like this, which are very different.”

Jimenez, who had been left out of the starting XI for the first time in the Championship, pounced after Tommy Doyle mis-kicked Kieran Trippier’s cross into his path.

All three players had steadied Wolves after coming off the bench in the second half.

Prior to then, Peixoto’s team had survived some nervy moments, with goalkeeper Jose Sa twice escaping calamity after dropping the ball.

Eventually Wolves held on to secure their first clean sheet of the season and Peixoto considered the performance a step forward from that seen the previous weekend’s 2-2 draw at Blues, when his side twice let slip a lead.

“I talked with the players and explained how today we had to manage the moments of the match better,” said the boss.

“We stayed more combative today to win second balls, which are difficult for us sometimes.

“Today we had a team, not only the players who start but those who came from the bench with the same effort, fighting until the end. They believed to the end we would score and we did score.”

Wolves climbed to seventh in the table, just three points behind rivals Albion heading into next week’s hotly-anticipated meeting at Molineux.

“It is important. The win is important for the confidence of the players,” said Peixoto.

“We play three or four games away. We lost to West Ham and then did not play the best second half against Birmingham but it was important not to lose twice in a row.

“We drew and today won again. It is important for a team which wants to fight for promotion to the Premier League to win away also.

“I don’t look only for the points. I look to the soul of the team in 90 minutes, the belief of the team and the players, through a difficult game.

“The players who came from the bench were amazing to help the team.

“For 10 minutes in the second half we had instability and the players who came from the bench understood what we needed to improve the team in this moment - Raul, Tommy, Trippier, JJ - they did amazing jobs to improve the team and keep us competitive in the 90 minutes.”