Wolves fired by Traore the rocket man
THE STORY of this third round will be one of chaos and confusion, written by kids and the contagion of coronavirus.
It was reassuring, then, that at least on one side of the midlands, a shred of familiarity remains.
Here we were treated to a rare sight — two top-flight squads, both flush with options. Palace boss Roy Hodgson had the luxury of making wholesale changes by choice. And Wolves’ Adama Traore will hope this marks the resumption of more normal service, too.
After 11 months without a goal, the winger was back to his devastating best, settling this game with a trademark run and a ferocious first-half finish.
And so Wolves move into the fourth round for only the third time in the past nine seasons. The omens, though, are good — the last time they made it that far they reached the semi-finals. And after just one win in seven before this, Nuno Espirito Santo will be glad for some joy at last.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, exit at the first time of asking for a second straight season and Hodgson’s team selection — he made nine changes — suggest he will not lose much sleep over a slightly less congested calendar.
The raft of Palace changes meant a debut in goal for recent signing Jack Butland. At the other end, John Ruddy was making only his second start in more than a year. Together the two former England internationals have been consigned to mere spectators this season and during the opening stages, their role continued in kind.
Though both sides began with energy and intent, neither could make anything stick in the final third. That was until Pedro Neto worked some space down the left and curled a delightful cross on to the head of Fabio Silva. Butland could only watch as the 18-yearold directed a free header at goal from seven yards out but somehow, he managed to miss the target.
Palace went straight down the other end and Michy Batshuayi drove towards the byline before clipping a cross to the back post for Eberechi Eze. But he, too, fluffed his lines, blazing well over.
Suddenly this tie had opened up. Traore cut inside his man and fired just past the near post; right back Nelson Semedo followed suit and stung the palms of Butland from distance.
So by the time the Wolves opener arrived, 10 minutes before the break, Palace could not say they had not been warned. Again, it was down the Wolves right that the opening came. Again it was Traore who did the damage.
The winger was given too much space to come inside, and too much time to pick his spot. From the edge of the box, he unleashed a rocket which flew beyond Butland.
It was some way to end 38 games without a goal — and probably what Wolves deserved. By then, they were making most of the running, even if Palace had shown flickers of promise on the break.
By the hour mark, this tie should have been over. A few minutes into the second half, Silva worked himself another headed chance. From a corner, the teenager muscled himself into space but could only waste another free header. As in the first half, his miss briefly woke Palace from their slumber. But soon it was Wolves who came close to the game’s second goal once more.
Traore skipped into space down the right and cut the ball back for Leander Dendoncker, whose effort was well saved by Butland.
Palace sent for reinforcements. Wilfried Zaha was among those summoned from the bench but even though he added some spark to their attack, Wolves held firm. Ruddy was rarely troubled and at the other end Neto fired wide when set free on the break. Palace rarely looked likely to make him pay.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS (4-2-3-1): Ruddy 6; Semedo 7, Coady 6.5, Saiss 6, Ait Nouri 6; Dendoncker 6.5 (Hoever 85min), Neves 7; TRAORE 8 (Gibbs-White 69, 6), Moutinho 6.5, Neto 7; Fabio Silva 5.5 (Cutrone 78). Subs not used: Patricio, Kilman, Richards, Otasowie, Vitinha, Corbeanu. Scorer: Traore 35. Booked: Ait Nouri, Gibbs-White. Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo 6.5. CRYSTAL PALACE (4-4-2): Butland 6.5; Clyne 6, Tomkins 6, Sakho 6.5 (Kouyate 46, 6), Van Aanholt 5; Ayew 5.5, Riedewald 6, McCarthy 6 (Mitchell 70, 6), Eze 6.5; Benteke 5 (Zaha 70, 7), Batshuayi 5 (Townsend 85). Subs not used: Guaita, Ward, Kelly, McArthur, Milivojevic. Booked: McCarthy. Manager: Roy Hodgson 5. Referee: David Coote 6.