OLDEN GOLDIES SEE ANOTHER HIT PARADE
Class of ‘74 witness Wolves punch above their weight again despite battling with huge injury list
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WITH perfect timing, the Wolves class of 1974 who overcame the odds to beat Manchester City in the League Cup final witnessed Gary O’neil’s side defy football logic.
Some of the golden Wembley oldies, watching on as guests of the club to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their success, must have believed the current side were on a loser with the talismanic Pedro Neto succumbing to another hamstring injury.
With the hosts already shorn of main strikers Hee-chan Hwang and Matheus Cunha, Jeanricner Bellegarde hobbled off after 10 minutes and 19-year-old Nathan Fraser came in for his first start.
Wolves appeared to be set up for the kill, but right from the moment he walked through the Molineux door as an 11th-hour replacement for Julen Lopetegui, O’neil has introduced an indomitable spirit which sees a side once expected to dice with relegation knocking on the European door.
According to O’neil, the choice before kick-off was simple – ease back in the knowledge that Wembley was within touching distance or keep the accelerator pressed to the floor.
Goals from Rayan Ait-nouri (below) and Nelson Semedo proved that the players went for the second option, Alex Iwobi scoring a late consolation for Fulham.
O’neil, whose side meet Coventry in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, said: “It would have been so easy for us to think we’re on 38 points.
“We probably won’t go down and there’s a big FA Cup game coming up so maybe this game isn’t important. But they all are. We have to fight now.
“We can wait until we’re in a mess again and we’re fourth from bottom at some point then we can start fighting or we can continue to fight now and see how far up the league we can finish. That’s the challenge to the players.
“Can we not feel comfortable? Can we not drop our level at all? Can we keep fighting for every single point and see where we can get to?”
Fraser, whose ambition at the start of the season was to progress with the Under-21s, is learning quickly about the demands of his manager.
He said: “As a club we are definitely exceeding expectations from last season. We know we’re in a good position right now but we’ve still got quite a few games to go, so we can’t stop.
“Europe? We’ll just see what happens. When you have injuries it’s definitely not ideal but it has given me an opportunity. Even so, I don’t like to see players getting injured. It was a difficult situation losing Jean-ricner and Pedro early on.
“As a team we have to keep fighting. At half-time we knew it was going to be hard, but it was about keeping a clean sheet because we then have the ability to score.
“It was great seeing Wolves players here today who have won trophies. Everyone wants to win things and to see them can only be an inspiration.”
Tommy Doyle replaced Bellegarde on Saturday and now has the FA Cup visit of Coventry in his sights.
Last season he scored to help his loan club Sheffield United reach the Wembley semi-final, but could not play because the Blades were drawn against his parent club Manchester City.
Again on loan, he smiled: “It was tough missing out on playing at Wembley last season, but that’s football.
“We’ve got another chance to get there and that’s the only thing on my mind now.” WOLVES (4-2-3-1): Sa 6; Semedo 7, Kilman 7, Bueno 6, Ait-nouri 7; Lemina 7, Gomes 7; Sarabia 7, Bellegarde 5 (Doyle 11, 7), Neto 6 (Toti 45, 7); Fraser 6 (Doherty 77)
FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno 6; Castagne 6 (Broja 79), Tosin 6, Bassey 7, Robinson 7; Reed 7 (Cairney 61, 6), Lukic 6 (Palhinha 69, 6); Wilson 6 (Traore 69, 6), Pereira 7 (Willian 61, 6), Iwobi 7, Muniz 6