THIS VICTORY IS FOR YOU, MARIO
THE Molineux banner which reads ‘The strength of the wolf is in the pack’ has never seemed more apt.
Wolves shared the goals between Max Kilman, Matheus Cunha and Craig Dawson while Hwang HeeChan was outstanding on his final league appearance before departing for the Asian Cup.
But nobody’s name was sung louder than that of Mario Lemina — so important to Wolves’ revival this season but missing yesterday following the death of his father.
Kilman sprinted to the dug-out after netting the opening goal to collect a No5 shirt bearing Gabonese Lemina’s name which he held up to huge applause.
The fans had chanted the midfielder’s name after five minutes and did so again towards the end of a comprehensive win.
When he hears about the reaction as he mourns with his family in France, Lemina will surely be touched.
Purely in terms of a football game, this was no contest. Wolves strolled to a third win in a row during which time Everton have lost all three, leaving them only a point above the relegation zone because of the 10 deducted for financial breaches.
The final result did not flatter Wolves, who probably deserved even more. ‘My favourite performance so far,’ said their manager Gary O’Neil. ‘As close to being complete as we’ve had.’
Everton boss Sean Dyche did not want to bury his players after a hectic fixture list but admitted: ‘We lacked fizz and energy.’
The Merseysiders had shown respect by setting up with a back-five supported by another bank of four in front of them.
But they still had no answer to the speed and mobility of the Wolves front three, in which Hwang seemed capable of tormenting the entire defence on his own.
The South Korean set the tone in the opening minutes, running in behind the Everton defence and coming close to breaking the deadlock.
Cunha then bent an effort just wide as Wolves probed and pushed.There were signs of creaking in the Everton ranks when Nathan was booked for barging into Joao Gomes and Wolves deservedly went ahead after 25 minutes.
A recycled corner was played back wide to Pablo Sarabia, whose cross had enough bend and dip to cause mayhem in the box.
Jarrad Branthwaite’s outstretched boot forced Pickford to make an outstanding reflex save, with James Tarkowski stopping the ball from spinning over the line.
Unfortunately for the Everton captain, his touch rebounded gently to Kilman, who stabbed home from four yards.
It was the defender’s first goal for two years — his last also against Everton — and his first thought was to collect the old gold No5 and parade it in tribute.
Wolves maintainedmomentum until the end of the first half. Tarkowski desperately wrestled Hwang to the floor and Pickford did well to hold onto the Korean’s cross. Everton’s only bright moment came when Dominic Calvert-Lewin broke forward. But he could not dribble around Jose Sa and might have been offside, anyway.
A scuffle then broke out seconds before half-time, when Dwight McNeil and Tommy Doyle were booked for shoving each other.
Any hopes of an Everton revival were snuffed out after 53 minutes. Sarabia and Hwang sliced the Everton defence apart and, from the right, Hwang rolled in a centre that Cunha could not miss — the forward also parading a Lemina shirt afterwards.
From there, Wolves went through their repertoire. Dawson stretched out a leg to convert Cunha’s cross to make it 3-0 just past the hour.
The home side could have added even more. Pickford made a brilliant save to deny Hwang, who also struck woodwork and was denied by an offside flag.
Everton failed to land a shot on target, though McNeil struck the woodwork with a rare foray near the Wolves goal.
Blues’ captain Seamus Coleman came on in the second half to equal goalkeeper Tim Howard’s record of Premier League appearances for the club, but this will be one of the least favourite of all of his 354 games.
It certainly was for Dyche’s goalkeeping coach Billy Mercer, who was booked for throwing down a bottle of water in frustration. It was about the most dynamic thing anyone representing Everton had done all afternoon.
WOLVES (3-4-3): Sa 6; Dawson 8, Kilman 7, Toti 6; Semedo 6.5 (Doherty 84min), Gomes 6.5 (Traore 84), Doyle 7, Ait-Nouri 6 (H Bueno 73); Sarabia 8 (Bellegarde 80), Hwang 9, Cunha 8 (Neto 80). Booked: Ait-Nouri, Doyle. Subs (not used): Bentley, Kalajdzic, S Bueno, Hodge.
EVERTON (5-4-1): Pickford 7; Patterson 5 (Coleman 63, 5.5), Tarkowski 5.5, Keane 5 (Gome s 63, 5), Branthwaite 6, Mykolenko 6; Harrison 5.5, Onana 6, Garner 5, McNeil 6 (Danjuma 74); Calvert-Lewin 5.5 (Beto 74). Booked: Patterson, McNeil, Tarkowski. Subs (not used): Virginia, Godfrey, Chermiti, Dobbin, Hunt.
Referee: T Bramall (South Yorkshire) 6.