Wolves under-18s were beaten 4-1 by Nottingham Forest at Compton Park as Detlef Esapa-Osong inspired the visitors with a hat-trick.
James McPike’s young squad struggled to gain any real momentum as they were pinned back by a commanding Forest side.
An early goal in the second half from Fabian Reynolds was not enough as Esapa-Osong put any Wolves comeback to bed with a powerful strike in the 65th minute.
Nottingham Forest began the match with a flurry of early chances and were rewarded inside five minutes with a penalty. Justin Hanks clipped a ball across the area before the Wolves defence handled the ball. Esapa-Osong stepped up and smashed the ball neatly into the bottom left corner to give the visitors the lead.
The hosts warmed into the half and started to command the possession following the early opener and they soon created chances of their own.
Reynolds darted down the left wing before floating in a cross from the touchline. Josh Esen, unmarked, rose and headed the ball back across goal, as his attempt narrowly sailed wide of the left post.
Forest replied with a chance of their own. Esapa-Osong charged into the Wolves half with the ball before laying off Danny Anijsko. The winger jinked his way into the area before striking an effort from the left. Fil Mabete used his body well, sliding low to block the shot from close range.
The Wolves skipper was again called upon minutes later from a point-blank position. With the ball dropping from high up, Jack Nadin struck a deadly volley goalward. Mabete threw himself at the ball, blocking with his chest and clearing Wolves’ lines.
Despite their best efforts, the old gold would be on the receiving end of the next goal as they failed to clear their lines from a corner. The ball fell to Kyle McAdam on the edge who struck a low shot, which deflected off Mabete and wrong-footing Jimmy Storer to double the Forest lead.
Wolves’ frustrations continued and soon after they conceded another penalty. Marvin Kaleta brought down Anijsko with a late challenge in the area. Esapa-Osong stepped up and buried his penalty into the same corner as his first.
Half-time | Wolves 0-3 Nottingham Forest
Wolves started the second half a lot stronger with three inspired substitutions at the break. Attacking the Forest goal, the hosts soon reduced the goal deficit.
A brilliant cross-field ball from Temple Ojinnaka from defence found Dominic Plank wide on the right. The second half substitute set up Kaleta who whipped a cross from deep into the area from the right. Reynolds was waiting and glanced a header low into the bottom left corner, rounding off a well-worked goal.
The same man went close to doubling his tally minutes later, narrowly missing the ball as he slid to get on the end of a low-drilled cross from Plank. The winger did well to get his cross into the area after capitalising on a misplaced touch from the Forest defence.
Forest cancelled out Wolves’ efforts with Esapa-Osong grabbing his hat-trick. He hit the home side on the break after getting on the end of a cleared ball, before driving towards goal and rifling a shot into the top right corner, leaving Storer with no chance of saving.
Full time | Wolves 1 – 4 Nottingham Forest
REACTION
Following his team’s second loss on the bounce, McPike admitted the under-18s were second-best to their opponents.
He said: “It was a difficult contest, I thought we struggled to match their intensity early on. They were right at it from the kick-off. They ran a bit harder, they landed on the second balls a bit quicker and played at a high intensity.”
On conceding a penalty early on
“It followed on from the momentum. They were relentless early on and they got their rewards. There was a little bit of lazy footwork and lazy defending to give away the penalties but they had a real lesson in what the game is fundamentally about today.”
On what was missing from his side
“I think we had a real lesson in the importance of running back, running forward, landing on second balls and being competitive in transition. It’s no excuse but the boys have had a tough week with international travels and playing a similar team in Leeds last week so it really has stretched them this week. It’s great for their development but ultimately, it’s tough to keep going for three games in a week.”
On the triple substitution at half-time
“We said to them at half-time you need to up the intensity. We wanted the substitutions to implement the things that we’ve focused on in previous weeks like the hard yards and change their approach to it mentally and physically, which they really did. I gave them a bit of stick at half-time and they received it well and then improved early on in the second half.”
COMING UP
Wolves face a trip up north to Newcastle next week in an attempt to return to winning ways. With his players in mind, McPike believes that his side has the character to bounce back from two losses.
“We need to look after them, recover as well as we can and manage the boys carefully so they’re able to go again against Newcastle with the travel up and then a game. We have good characters in the group so hopefully they’ll pick themselves up and work hard this week leading into the game.”
NEXT FIVE
- 26/11 Newcastle (A)
- 30/11 Rugby Town (A) BSC
- 03/12 Manchester City (A)
- 17/12 Sunderland (H)
- 07/01 Nottingham Forest (A)
TEAMS
Wolves | Storer (Amos 75), Kaleta, Mabete, Ojinnaka, Voice, Igbinoghene (Carson 75), Esen, Scicluna (Plank 46), Salmon (McLeod 46), Ashworth (Harper 46), Reynolds.
Nottingham Forest | Bott, Sinclair (Gbopo 82), Hanks, Hammond (Robinson 60), Thompson, McAdam, Perry (Whitehall 60), Gardner, Esapa-Osong (Brown 75), Nadin, Anijsko.
Unused sub | Willows.
Report by Tom Alston
