Doherty steps up into the limelight
FOR ALL the big money spent and the eye-catching foreign captures, Wolves’ unsung heroes remain just as important.
It has not been easy to get your name in lights since the influx of star names began following Wolves’ 2016 takeover. Yet this latest win for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side owed much to two players from closer to home.
Captain Conor Coady did not put a foot wrong and marshalled a well-drilled defence that kept a sixth clean sheet in seven.
And their fourth Premier League win was secured by Matt Doherty’s second-half goal.
The duo were key figures in last season’s Championship win and could easily have been washed away when the latest wave of imports arrived. But they have stayed integral to Santo’s plans.
“That is a massive source of pride,” said Doherty. “They could have just wiped me out, but I am still here. Long may it continue.”
Santo has named an unchanged side from the start of the season for eight games – a new Premier League record. Doherty added: “It goes to show we’re all playing pretty well. If people weren’t pulling their weight he’d probably make changes. Everyone’s confidence is sky high.”
Doherty scoring a first Premier League goal will have surely been noted by Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill, who has said he does not get forward enough.
Doherty said: “If anything, the problem has been going forward too much. It feels good to get my first Premier League goal as it’s the best league in the world.”
Palace have won just one league game since the opening day of the campaign. Manager Roy Hodgson said: “We knew this season was going to be a fight and the fight continues. We haven’t made that fight easier for ourselves by losing at home to teams that we think should be around us in the table.”