Wolves 2 (Chirewa pen 21, Whittingham 85) Sparta Prague 1 (Schanelec 90+3)
Wolves under-21s recorded back-to-back victories in the Premier League International Cup following success over Sparta Prague B at Molineux.
Tawanda Chirewa’s first half penalty gave the Old Gold the lead at the interval, before the visitors from the Czech Republic were reduced to 10 men early into the second period. Matty Whittingham doubled the lead for the hosts on 85 minutes to all but secure the three points, however a late Sparta Prague goal made for a nervy last few minutes of stoppage time, but the youngsters stood firm to see the game out.
The visitors enjoyed the majority of early possession without threatening the home side too much, although Ondrej Lilling did manage to jink his way into the penalty area before shooting straight into the gloves of Joe Young.
However, Wolves weren’t going to let their visitors from the Czech Republic have it all their own way and a high press resulted in a penalty on 21 minutes. Bruno Jordao raced to close down a pass out from goalkeeper Jakub Surovcik and got to the ball before Lilling who brought the Old Gold midfielder down inside the area. A penalty kick was the clear outcome and Chirewa duly converted into the left corner from 12 yards, despite the best attempts of Surovcik who got a glove to the ball.
Tawanda Chirewa opens the scoring at Molineux 🎯#PLIC pic.twitter.com/nQXECxupl3
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) November 24, 2023
Wolves breathed a sigh of relief when a restart, which seemingly got back underway with neither team ready, resulted in Daniel Rus latching onto a loose Temple Ojinnaka header before cutting inside and hitting the inside of the near post.
Half-time | Wolves 1-0 Sparta Prague
The Old Gold were dealt an early blow minutes into the second period when Ty Barnett, who recently returned from a period out injured, was unable to shake off a knock and was subsequently substituted, as Enso Gonzalez took his place out on the left.
However, Wolves were boosted when Prague were reduced to 10 men as Lilling was shown his marching orders for a foul on Jordao which earned him his second yellow card. Moments after, a corner was cleared only as far as Jordao but his rasping effort was always rising and cleared the crossbar.
The hosts were looking to make the most of their man advantage and after going close through Aaron Keto-Diyawa’s driven effort from the left, substitute Gonzalez then tried his luck following some neat and tricky footwork from Jordao but the Paraguayan saw his fierce attempt tipped over the top by Surovcik.
Chirewa then went close to goal number two as Leon Chiwome blocked a route out for the visitors which sent Chirewa on his way. The attacker opted to go early with his strike across goal, but Surovcik got down well to turn the ball around for a corner.
Wolves finally doubled their advantage with five minutes left on the clock and it was Whittingham who showed there was still life in the legs late on. The midfielder made up ground as he made an off-the-ball run from inside his own half before being played through by Chiwome and having the composure to slot the ball past the goalkeeper for number two.
Whittingham in front of the South Bank 🙌#PLIC pic.twitter.com/jcPyGPO7u2
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) November 24, 2023
It wasn’t all plain sailing, though, as Tomas Schanelec poked the ball beyond Joe Young, who had made a superb save from a free-kick minutes before the second goal, in the third minute of stoppage time to keep Wolves on their toes, however it was too little too late for the Czech Republic outfit as the hosts held on for victory.
Full-time | Wolves 2-1 Sparta Prague
COMING UP
Wolves under-21s are back in International Cup action on Wednesday evening as they host Nice at Aggborough.
NEXT FIVE
- 29/11 OGC Nice (H) International Cup
- 04/12 Leicester City (A)
- 11/12 Norwich City (H) PL Cup
- 18/12 Blackburn Rovers (H)
- 12/01 Norwich City (A)
TEAMS
Wolves | Young, Kaleta (Okoduwa 90), Keto-Diyawa, Ojinnaka, Kandola, Hubner, Chirewa (Hesketh 77), Jordao, Chiwome (Farmer 90), Whittingham, Barnett (Gonzalez 53).
Subs not used | Storer, Voice, Rees.
Sparta Prague | Surovcik, Hodous, Vecerka, Penxa, Vydra, Okeke (Tosnar 46), Mokrovics (Tesar 69), Rus (Hranos 69), Lilling, Sevlnsky (Michl 85), Schanelec.
Subs not used | Kolar, Osmani, Vana.
