Following a 7-1 loss at Chelsea in their first game back in Premier League 2 Division 1 after promotion, the development side were in control at Lancashire County FA on Sunday afternoon as they claimed a 1-0 win against Rovers to get their league season up and running. Although Wolves left it late for Dexter Lembikisa’s strike to decide the outcome of the match, head coach Collins was more concerned with keeping it to zero at the other end of the pitch.
On the first win of the season
“We felt it was important after conceding seven in the first game of the season that we tightened up and kept a clean sheet, so it was pleasing that we were much tighter, much more compact and harder to get through. But throughout, I felt we deserved to win the game and possibly didn’t take our chances when they came.
“I was thinking that maybe it was going to be a draw, so to get the winner at the end, I thought it was deserved and nice to get the three points to get us off and running – especially after our first game.”
DEXTER LEMBIKISA PUTS US AHEAD!! pic.twitter.com/09z9LV7qn7
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) August 14, 2022
On a night to forget in the opener
“This season, the league is much harder and higher standard, and teams will be putting varied teams out each week. Sometimes you can play against a Chelsea team who are quite a young under-18 team and sometimes you can play against a Chelsea team who are a strong team, full of youth internationals, and this is the same case with a lot of other clubs.
“We were quite an inexperienced group at that level and they had an experienced group out, and it showed on the day.
“Although I thought some of our in-possession work was very good – which sounds strange when you lose seven – but we were far too open and defended poorly on transitions, and at this level, against a team with nine internationals playing, you get caught out and you get found out, and that’s something we’ve got to learn quickly from.”
On bouncing back at Blackburn
“After Chelsea, what we looked at specifically was being more secure behind the ball. We felt in the first game that we weren’t secure enough, and although we had some nice spells on possession, every time we lost the ball, we looked vulnerable.
“What we wanted to make sure against Blackburn was that we rectified that, which I thought we did. We looked much more secure, we looked much safer, but we also had large, controlled spells of possession, which allowed us to have some good attacking moments and thoroughly deserved to win the game.”
➕3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/eRezvT0qgm
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) August 14, 2022
On creating chances
“It could have been easier for us if we’d have taken one of our earlier chances, but also Andy [Sondergaard] made one excellent save for us, but other than that, it was probably the only thing he had to do.
“He was excellent with his feet, but in that situation, he made a terrific save, but there’s always going to be moments in this league and this division when you’re going to have to do that.
“But without peppering their goal with loads of chances, we did enough to have taken the lead before Dexter scored, but then you do wonder if it’s not going to be our day. But with all the possession we had in the game, we wore them down in the last ten minutes or so and that’s when we got our goal.
“I don’t think that’s a coincidence – that’s what happens when you’re on top in games. But after a good hiding, the most important thing the next game is to come out defending better and end the game with a nil, so I’m happy we could do that.”
On facing Brighton next
“Every game this season is going to be a tough test and I feel that the mixture of group we’re going to have this year is going to tell very differently in different games. One week we might be very experienced and we may come up against a really inexperienced team, and then the next week, we might by the inexperienced side.
“Brighton have got two or three players that they’ve spent £10 million on, and although in wording they aren’t a Chelsea or a Manchester United or a Liverpool, they’re developing players, they’re signing good young players, and they’re going to be a tough test for us.
“The interesting thing will probably be in regards to the next night, as both first-teams will be playing in the Carabao Cup and for that competition managers will often blood youngsters. That decision probably hasn’t been made at either club yet, but we could be expecting different 11s which could affect our teams the night before.
“We’ve just got to prepare the best as we can, but it’s going to be a tough test, as all games will be this season.”
