Doh.. Matt shows O’Neill he’s not a dunce

MATT DOHERTY was not particularly impressed with Martin O’Neill’s assessment of his attacking prowess last month.

Not enough forward thrust for a wing-back, was the general view from the Republic of Ireland manager.

Doherty respectfully disagreed with his international boss in interviews soon after.

And here at Selhurst Park he rammed his viewpoint home, this time letting his feet do the talking.

His right foot in particular, as he ended a delightful build-up from Wolves by slotting home the only goal of the game inside Wayne Hennessey’s near post.

And no doubt he’ll have a wry smile when he meets up with O’Neill ahead of Ireland’s games with Denmark and Wales.

Hennessey had made a fine save to deny the impressive Raul Jiminez in the first half but he couldn’t escape the blame for Doherty’s goal.

Not that Wolves cared who was to blame as they continued their thrilling start to life in the Premier League.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: “What others want from Matt, I don’t really care. What I want is what Matt has been giving me and giving his teammates. Not only on the offensive part but defensive set-pieces – he’s a very, very important player.”

There were few clear chances at either end in the first half, with Jiminez having the best as he dragged a shot wide on a counter-attack and then saw Hennessey doing well to block another effort soon after.

A Ruben Neves effort early in the second half was never troubling Hennessey but then Doherty beat him all ends up. Wolves moved the ball quickly and when Doherty picked it up he played a sharp one-two with Jiminez before beating the Eagles keeper.

Palace boss Roy Hodgson said: “It’s not just the goalkeeper, we didn’t defend the one-two very well and, as a result, the guy gets into a shooting position and is able to take the chance.

“I would have been expecting us to take that chance if one of our players had got in that position.”

Nuno added: “We didn’t start so well, Crystal Palace were stronger in the beginning and caused us a lot of problems.

“The moment that we adjusted some details, the team was better.

“And then in the second half we were really, really good.”