An Important Victory

Nuno Espirito Santo hailed his players’ character and organisation to see out a battling 2-1 victory over play-off chasing Middlesbrough, despite Wolves playing with a two man disadvantage for a long period of the second half.

Ruben Neves and Matt Doherty both saw second yellow cards in a high-octane encounter, but the Championship leaders defended resolutley to maintain the six point gap over second place Cardiff City.

“It’s a very important victory”, Nuno told WolvesTV. “A massive result for us at a tough place to come.

“In the first half we controlled the game and were the better team. We scored twice and had possession, were totally in control of the game and showed that clearly. The approach was good and we showed that we were the better team on the pitch.

“In the second half, everything changed but we showed the character that we should and the organisation we must have in all the games.

“Even with two men less, the boys did really well. They stuck together and helped each other trying to control a difficult team with a lot of offensive players and I think it was a deserved win.”

The hard-fought victory marked the first time that Wolves have beaten Boro on their travels since 1951, and the significance of ending a remarkable run of 25 matches in 67 years without victory was not lost on Nuno.

“The boys made history,” he continued. “Throughout the season they are making a lot of important moments in the history of the club, but we want to keep on going and keep on improving.

“History and records are made to be broken and this team has all the qualities to do it.

“We work for our fans. I was looking at them and seeing them celebrating what they saw - a team that fights for the ball every minute of the game.

“The victory is for them, we work for them, and the celebrations with them were very, very important.”

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