James Collins has suggested that moments of overplaying early on set the tone, as Wolves under-21s were defeated at Stoke City.
Two first half goals gave Wolves an uphill battle at St. George’s Park and although Nathan Fraser’s header got the visitors back into the game, a red card for Harvey Griffiths quickly extinguished any momentum and hopes of levelling. Head coach Collins believes that his side were punished for their mistakes and therefore forced to take more risks in the second 45.
On the 90 minutes
“It was frustrating, particularly after last week’s game where I thought we controlled the game, were 2-1 up with three or four minutes to go and lost 3-2.
“We came into tonight hoping to start the game well and we didn’t. We felt we played a bit direct last week and this week we probably did the opposite – we overplayed early on in the game which maybe drew some pressure.
“When we were overplaying we made some mistakes and we were open when we made those mistakes. They looked dangerous in the first half and punished our mistakes with a couple of goals.
“Towards the end of the first half we kept the ball better and got in a few times at the other end. With better quality, we might’ve got one back.”
On looking better after half-time
“We had to take some risks, play with more intensity, on the front foot and put them under some pressure. I thought we did that and got the goal.
“At that point, I thought we were going to get back into it. There was plenty of time for us to win the game or draw and come away from home with a point.
“The referee sent Harvey (Griffiths) off. It’s difficult to referee the modern game – it’s quick and high-paced, but Harvey’s won the ball way before the man.
“We were down to 10 men which then makes life difficult for us for 25 minutes.
“We changed to 3-2-3-1 which gave us a bit of hope. Bruno (Jordao) had a chance with some good movement, however they had chances with the extra man.”
On Nathan Fraser getting off the mark
“We felt Nathan was doing really well last year but wasn’t getting enough goals – part of that was him and part of that was the balls weren’t coming in there.
“That’s something we’ve worked on and towards the end of last season going into this season, it’s paid dividends for him.
“It’s alright getting behind them and being patient, but that’s when you want to get a cross in and a ball in the box.
“I thought he did that well for his goal. It was a terrific little cross and a good header.”
On facing Middlesbrough on Friday
“We’re going to have different players at different times. At the moment we’ve got Chem (Campbell) and Bruno. We’ve got no Josh (Esen), no Harvey for the next game.
“On paper, it’s probably going to be a younger, weaker group that goes to Middlesbrough but that sets another challenge.
“Can we go there and be hard to beat? Can we play our football still, make it a game and get a result?”
