Law’s Devon sent
MATT DOHERTY has revealed he might just get a tingle walking into St James’ Park this afternoon.
The Wolves full-back broke Newcastle hearts there last season when he popped up with a late winner.
Doherty steamed in with only seconds to go of stoppage time and buried a header into the Newcastle net.
The Republic of Ireland international sent the Wolves fans wild as stunned Geordies headed for the exit doors in a state of disbelief.
Doherty, 27, admits it was the stand-out moment for him last season and would give anything for lightning to strike twice.
He said: “Yeah, it was probably the best personal moment for me from last season.
“You always think about scoring a last-minute winner so for that to happen was pretty special.
“We had won at Chelsea in the week on the back of five losses in a row so it really got our season going.
“St James’ Park is a pretty special place because of their huge fanbase.
“It’s always good to have a real atmosphere and as a player that’s what you want. You don’t want it quiet, it’s better when it’s a little hostile – it gets you up for it.”
Doherty, who has scored 20 times for Wolves across a nine-year spell, was swamped by his team-mates when the ball hit the back of the net.
He said: “The team’s celebration when I got that last-minute goal says it all.
“It’s hard to explain what it’s like but it’s pretty special. I was watching the goal the other day – everybody piled on top of me. It makes everything worthwhile.
“You’re not aware of the away fans because they are high up in the stadium. Newcastle always have plenty of fans.”
Doherty would love to send them home cursing him again as Wolves go into the game on the back of a crucial 2-1 Europa League win at Slovan Bratislava.
“How their fans are will, I think, depend on how they are doing at the time,” he said. “If they’re not doing that well I guess it’s good to try to keep them quiet for the first 10 or 15 minutes.
“But they won their last game against Man United so the ground will be buzzing and it’s going to be tough.”
The atmosphere whipped up by the Toon Army will be markedly different to the one Wolves experienced in Slovakia where a “behind closed doors” match was watched by over 20,000 – most of them schoolkids allowed in for free.
Doherty said with a smile: “There was quite a noise. It wasn’t behind closed doors really was it? But the kids were making more noise than the normal fans, so it was nice.”