James Collins was pleased with a number of individual performances as Wolves under-21s drew 2-2 with Newcastle United.
Tom Edozie caught the eye with two goals on his first Premier League 2 start and Collins says the opportunities coming the way of the attacker are a reward for his performances in the under-18s. After conceding late on to go away with one point rather than three, the head coach has also tasked his players with flourishing and seeing the game out well when they’re in a winning position.
On the performance
“I thought the performance was good. It’s always disappointing when you concede a last minute equaliser because I thought we’d done enough to win the game at that point.
“I felt we weren’t being courageous enough with the ball. The boys were happy to hold on as opposed to flourish and be good with the ball, and that cost us.
“After the 90th minute, we had two or three good chances because we went again and possibly could’ve won it.
“I thought the performance was really good in parts. We played some really good stuff and there were some really pleasing individual performances as well.”
On Tom Edozie’s impact
“Tom’s done really well when he’s played for the 18s which means he’s earned the right to train with us.
“When he’s trained with us, he’s looked a real spark. He’s got so much ability, lovely balance, lovely feel and touch.
“There’s lots he needs to add to his game. He can be a little bit laid back at times and he needs to sharpen that up, which he is doing.
“I thought he worked really hard tonight and he’s got some good quality. It was a really pleasing first start for him to get the impact.
“You get judged by goals and assists if you’re playing in those positions and he’s started really nicely which is good for him.”
On not seeing the game out
“That was probably the one disappointment. When we got to 2-1 we’d really worked hard and earned that.
“I want them to flourish at the end of the game and see the game out well. I want them to handle the football and play out where it’s tight. If they make a mistake, they make a mistake and we concede – that’s not the end of the world.
“It is the end of the world when you concede and five minutes before that you’ve been clearing and whacking the ball forward a little bit aimlessly.
“That doesn’t take away from a good all-round performance.”
On other individual displays
“I’m delighted with Harvey (Griffiths). We’ve put a bit of pressure on him to become tougher, more aggressive. He’s showing signs of really trying to do that.
“I thought Leon (Chiwome) up front caused them problems all night and he’s really starting to look like an under-21 forward now, which is progress. He held the ball up well for us and caused a threat in behind.
“Alfie (Pond) had a really good go after getting booked early. He had to defend sensibly, but did.
“Marvin (Kaleta) was excellent and has been good for a few months now. There were some really good performances but, as always, areas to improve on.”
