StAr sHoCKEr
IT wIll hurt that little bit more that it was former liverpool man Conor Coady who delivered the decisive goal.
But the real pain could be to come for Everton.
The Blues are in a relegation battle and in real danger of going down without a fight.
The visitors ran the game at Goodison Park for 90 minutes. Coady’s header — from a superb cross from the brilliant Ruben Neves — was the difference but the gap between these two sides couldn’t be wider right now.
When Jonjoe Kenny saw red for two yellow cards in the space of three minutes late on, any chance of an Everton comeback vanished.
But they never looked like getting anything from this game after Richarlison saw an early chance saved by Jose Sa. Wolves got their foot on the ball, Neves dominated midfield and the attacking threat of Raul Jimenez had the Toffees’ defence on edge. Now only goal difference is keeping Frank Lampard’s side out of the bottom three after Watford won at Southampton.
They have games in hand on all their relegation rivals from which they can take a little comfort.
Lampard has guided the Blues to just one Premier League win since he took charge 42 days ago.
If that form doesn’t improve then he could be taking this team down to the second tier for the first time in 71 years. Wolves left with three valuable points which massively boosts their European qualification hopes as they moved up to seventh.
Everton did start brightly with Richarlison alert but it was a dire first half with few chances for either side.
Wolves were the ones who responded after the break. Neves crossed after a free-kick was poorly cleared and Coady’s glancing header gave Jordan Pickford no chance.
The Wolves defender got his third goal of the season, more than he had in his previous six combined.
Trying
Anthony Gordon was trying to make something work, but without the ill Dominic Calvert-Lewin the Blues struggled to have a focal point for their attack.
Richarlison did his best, but he was often isolated or offside.
When Demarai Gray found him with a cute pass in behind the defence his quick shot went just wide.
But if Everton were going to build on that, it all came crumbling down thanks to an eventful three minutes for defender Kenny.
He fouled Jonny to get his first booking, then he fired a shot way over after an ambitious run before his game was ended in the 78th minute when he crunched into Jimenez.
“I thought we were the better team in the first half,” said Lampard afterwards
“We played well, not getting the goal and then their goal changes the game in a big sense because it brought out the nervousness in us.
“We must keep our head up and the important thing now is to remain positive. and we have to stay consistent in our Wolves boss Lage told Match of the Day: “Today I am very happy. That is the way we need to play every game, or try to.
“Sometimes when you lose it is important to continue to focus. We did that and after three defeats, two victories.Very good. On what he said at halftime:
“Lampard has a lot of experience now as a manager.
“They come to be aggressive, they come to press and give a good answer in front of their fans.
“After we controlled that the plan worked well.” Goalscorer Conor Coady was delighted with Wolves’ performance:
“It was massive. We knew there was going to be a reaction. It was important we came here with the right mentality.”