Joining Mikey Burrows was co-commentator and Wolves Hall of Fame full-back Andy Thompson, as well as play-off final hero Lee Naylor as they analysed the gold and black’s opening cup clash of the 2022/23 season.
The trio also spoke about using the competition as a way of kickstarting their season, Bruno Lage putting out a strong side to show he’s taking the competition seriously and Wolves’ positive first-half showing before allowing Preston back into the match after the break after Raul Jimenez handed over penalty duties to Hwang.
On taking the cup seriously
Thompson said: “He’s put out a strong team, the bench is strong as well, so it just shows what he wants from it. At this stage of the season, when it’s early, you’ve got to give people opportunities, but you need your strength in there as well.
“He’s not playing the kids, he’s playing players who will have an opportunity. The front three are the ones who came on in the second-half at Tottenham.”
Naylor added: “For those teams outside the top six, this competition is a chance for some silverware, so why not go for it? Why not give other people who have not been playing every week a chance to show what they can do.”
On using the cup as a springboard
Naylor said: “Games like this can really kickstart your seasons. I remember a game against Newcastle when we beat them 3-2 [in 2003] and it gave us a massive lift to get in the play-offs and win the play-offs.
“Games like this can do that and for players like Jimenez, he could get two tonight and it makes him full of confidence going into the weekend. The manager’s intent is for them to go and give a good account of themselves in this competition, and he’s put a really strong team out there to do that.”
Thompson added: ““What are the chances that we’re going to win the league? Probably none at the moment, so the FA Cup and League Cup are opportunities for us to win something. We’re there or there abouts and we’re a team who can challenge for the cup competitions. Teams are going to make changes, they’re going to put weakened sides out, so it’s a great opportunity for us.”
Thank you for your support inside Molineux this evening 👏
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 23, 2022
We move on to Sunday 🐺 pic.twitter.com/biKi0A57IG
On a game of two halves
Thompson said: “The two goals that Wolves got, especially the winning goal from Traore means we probably deserved it a little bit, but we’ve got to try and make these games more comfortable for us.
“I thought in the first-half, the way that we passed it, the way that we kept the ball, the two goals of course, and then we were a little bit sloppy at the start of the second-half. Preston changed their formation a little bit and tried to nullify the threat of Wolves and they stopped our players getting beyond their back line and made it difficult for us.
“We’re happy for going through, we got two goals, which is important as well, and I’m sure the manager will be happy for going through, but he’ll be disappointed with the second-half performance.”
Naylor added: “I’m leaving the game feeling a little bit frustrated. There was a lot of goals there for us, and I think Jimenez should have taken the penalty. If Jimenez goes and scores a minimum of two goals – if he takes the pen, he’s scoring the pen – and he gets a minimum of two goals and that breeds confidence.
“But he’s put pressure back on the team by us only winning 2-1. Preston came back into the game the second-half and made it difficult for us – they probably should have gone to 2-2, and we ended up seeing the game out, but Preston had a right good go.”
On Jimenez offering the penalty to Hwang
Thompson said: “I think we have to be professional, and when you’re professional, your normal penalty taker takes the penalty. It doesn’t matter what the score is, who you’re playing against or what the situation is, you get into good habits and the good habits are that you win the game comfortably.
“You make sure you make it as difficult as you can for the opposition players and, unfortunately, we can be our own worst enemies sometimes. For a centre-forward to have the ball in his hands and then to give it to somebody else, he gave it to Hwang who unfortunately missed it, it puts that pressure on you.
“Then when you concede within the first five minutes of the second-half, suddenly confidence comes to Preston and all the confidence seemed to be sucked out of Wolves. From being comfortable and playing well in the first-half, having runners, picking your pass, causing problems for Preston, Preston then got comfortable in the second-half and had some good chances.”
A stunning strike from @AdamaTrd37 💥 pic.twitter.com/mmA6XCA2l6
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 24, 2022
On needing to be ruthless
Naylor said: “Obviously you’re looking for your players to keep their concentration and to grind results out because you need to do that in the league, but in games like this, the manager would want everyone to be at it.
“He wants his philosophy to be put out on the pitch because we’re still building a new system. He’ll be wanting to build on that while playing good football at the same time and when you’ve got a chance to put the game to bed in the first-half, he would’ve wanted that so we could relax and play the way he wants.
“You need that freedom, without nerves and with positive passing and movement, which we could have done. But when you miss the penalty, and then you invite pressure, then you get a goal against then you feel a bit under the cosh, then those passes come a bit more nervous, then you don’t make the passes, then you don’t make the runs, and everything becomes a bit more nervous.
“I just thought we made it difficult for ourselves when we didn’t need to.”
You can watch Matchday Live Extra 45 minutes before every Wolves kick-off this season, on Twitter and on Wolves TV, before heading over to the Wolves App following full-time for all the post-match reaction.
