A Good Workout

Matt Doherty described Wolves' 1-0 win over Peterborough United as 'a good workout' and hailed the side's second half performance.

Nuno Espirito Santo's men were victorious in their fifth friendly of the 2017/18 pre-season campagin as Austin Samuel came off the bench to net in the 70th minute.

Speaking after the game, Doherty explained that Tuesday evening's result was a good way to respond to defeat at Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.

He said: “It was a good workout confidence-wise.

“On Saturday we took a bit of a beating, which isn’t nice in pre-season, especially against a side like Shrewsbury who are quite local.

“In the first half tonight I thought we were a little bit off it still and I’m not sure why.

“In the second half I thought the boys really played well. The formation started to really work and they got a deserved goal."

“Results do matter in pre-season. You don’t want to lose every game going into the first game of the season.

“We came here to try and win and that’s obviously better than a loss.

“We feel solid defensively. We’re very hard to break down.

“I’ve played against three at the back before when a team’s played it well and you just don’t know where to go.

“From the back now we just need to build our way forward and try and get some goals to win us games.

“Second half I thought they played really well, really gelled, really worked and it was great for Austin to come off the bench and score."

16-year-old Samuels recently returned from the Under 18s' pre-season tour in Holland to be involved with the senior side for the first time on Tuesday.

And the full back explained how delighted he was to see the youngster net the winner.

“The best part was the celebration," he said before adding: "John Ruddy, who was sat beside me, said that was his favourite bit.

“You could see how much it meant to him.

“Normally in pre-season you might score and just walk back but he ran off hitting the badge, and he may have even kissed it in front of the fans, so that was really nice.

"You see the passion that he has for scoring in that situation.

“If he had just walked back then we would probably have just clapped him but seeing him run off like that got us all excited."

Wolves now take on Leicester City in their final pre-season friendly before the 2016/17 Sky Bet Championship season begins against Middlesbrough the following weekend.

“One more game, a big game as well with Leicester coming to Molineux, so that should be a tough test," explained Doherty.

“That’s what we need. A nice game at Molineux in front of the home fans and ready to go next week.

“Your whole pre-season is preparing for the first game of the season so we’ve thought about it.

“You just can’t wait to get going and get back into the season – it’s just a different season altogether."