Chem Campbell’s hat-trick and Yerson Mosquera’s first goal in gold and black gave the development side a comfortable 4-1 lead at one point, before two late strikes for the Royals reduced what should have been a large winning margin. Despite the finish, Collins was full of praise for his players, having produced one of their best performances of the season in the opening 80 minutes.
On a third league win on the bounce
“I thought for the majority of the game we were outstanding. On a difficult pitch – which they all are at this time of year – we played some outstanding football, got ourselves into a deserved position and then gave them a goal which got them back to 4-2 and even then you think we’ll be alright because we had control for most of the game and then they had a right go in the last 10 or 15 minutes.
“I thought we had played too many passes out of the back and then they score from a corner and you’re starting to get itchy because it’s 4-3 and there’s still seven or eight minutes to go. I’m relieved we won the game, I thought we deserved to win the game, but I’ve seen so many times in football that happen and if I was standing here at 4-4, I would’ve been gutted.
“I’m delighted for the players and a great learning experience, because at any level of football, you’re never safe and secure because there’s talent there. They’ve come and had a right go in front of a new coach and never gave up and it nearly got them something at the end.”
On an impressive performance for 80 minutes
“I thought our football was excellent throughout the night. We looked like we had excellent players on the pitch, which we did. We were an experienced team tonight, which doesn’t happen very often, but it fell just nicely after the Youth Cup that the [first-team] boys just needed a game.
“But I’ve seen so often that players drop down and it never quite works out how you think it will, but I thought tonight, the professionalism they showed, the football they played, they competed, they put their bodies on the line, and it was a real good performance.
“The last 10 minutes almost soured it, but I thought for the majority, they were excellent.”
On first-team players dropping down
“The most impressive thing about them is their professionalism. They’re first team players who have played in front of 30, 40, 50,000 fans this season, Toti recently, and then to come here when it was the first-team’s day off, they’ve come back from London, trained with us and put in a professional performance.
“They were keen to do what we’ve asked for them to do, listening, encouraging the others and were committed to it. That’s great credit to them and the recruitment of the players that the club have brought in.
“I’ve seen it a lot of times were players drop down and stroll around, but the boys that dropped down from our first-team make me very proud by how hard they work.”
On Chiquinho’s penalty appeal
“I thought it was a penalty, the fourth official said he thought there wasn’t enough, but he wouldn’t have gone down when he was 12 yards out and about to score the goal of the season. I don’t think he’d have gone down if he wasn’t pushed, but the referee was consistent. He didn’t give anything soft, he let things go, so that was part of it.
“But there were bits of the performance from all of them that impressed me. Chem [Campbell] getting a hat-trick was great to see and all the boys that dropped down played admirably and properly, and that’s a good lesson for our boys who played with them.
“Harry [Birtwistle] and Dexter [Lembikisa] played 45 minutes after playing in a big game two days ago, so I’m delighted. My heart was going a bit at the end because at 4-1, it looked as though we were going to have an enjoyable last 15 minutes, but it didn’t work out that way.”
Luke Cundle whips in the corner and Yerson Mosquera gets his first goal in Wolves colours!
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) February 28, 2022
📺 https://t.co/Zfh12drO96 pic.twitter.com/xJA7apDANW
On a first appearance for Joe Hodge
“What a kid he is. The work he’s done, the attitude he’s shown, is second to none. He’s an unbelievable professional and a great leader, and I think he’ll be a really good addition to the group. I was absolutely delighted to get him on and give him 10 minutes today.
“He’s been pushing to the physios to let him, because it’s slightly earlier than it might have been, but that’s how hard he’s worked. I thought at one point it might not happen because somebody might pick up an injury and I wouldn’t have been able to do it as he wasn’t allowed more than 10 minutes.
“I was delighted to be able to do it and really delighted to see him back on a football pitch for the first time in a long while. Hopefully that’s the first of many and it’s onwards and upwards for him.”
On closing in on the play-off places
“We said to the group at the start of this month that we have Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Reading tonight, and it gave us a chance to get some points and put ourselves right in the mix to see what happens.
“I keep saying it, that it’s not the be-all-and-end-all, and at the moment the Youth Cup is the really important one and a lot of our boys will spend a lot of time in that group, and rightly so because what an achievement that is.
“Great credit to the under-18 staff and the players for going on that run, so that will take priority, but we’ve given ourselves a chance for the exciting games at the end of the season, which is what we talk about.”
