Wolves secured their place in the Asia Trophy final, comfortably moving past Newcastle United after four goals without reply. Diogo Jota bagged either side of a curling Morgan Gibbs-White finish to assert Wolves’ dominance in the opening period, before a late Thomas Allan own goal made it four.
In the first official pre-season outing of the summer, and their first ever in China, Wolves showed no signs of cobwebs. It was Leander Dendoncker who carved out the first opening, charging down the right and, after Gibbs-White dummied his pass, Joao Moutinho curled over the bar.
The opening goal came from the opposite flank, however. Jonny progressed down the left and slipped the ball across to Jota, who opted to continue on his left foot and managed to squeeze an effort between Karl Darlow and his right-hand post.
Despite the pace of the game at no point electrifying, often due to the humid conditions, Wolves gained further control of proceedings on 33 minutes. Dendoncker wrestled possession from Jota’s forward ball and, once Jonny picked out Gibbs-White, the youngster whipped an impressive finish into the bottom corner.
Rui Patricio was then forced into a routine save to keep out Matt Ritchie’s speculative effort. However, Wolves responded quickly and further extended their lead before the break. The goal was typical of Dendoncker and Jota, with the Belgian carrying his team up the pitch and the forward robbing Isaac Hayden of possession, before firing underneath Darlow.
Half-time: Newcastle 0 Wolves 3
After the break, the first of a series of substitutes John Ruddy made a routine save, before Ruben Neves dragged narrowly wide. Soon after, a duo of Wolves Academy stars combined to almost devastating effect. Niall Ennis bullied his way down the right and squared for Taylor Perry, but his effort was cleared off the United line.
Ruben Vinagre tested Freddie Woodman from a tight angle with time running out, before a series of substitutions, including Terry Taylor and Hong Wan. In the closing stages, there was still time left for Wolves to grab a fourth, as confusion inside the Newcastle box led to Allan heading the ball into his own net.
Full-time: Newcastle 0 Wolves 4
Wolves: Patricio (Ruddy 46), Traore (Sanderson 65), Bennett, Coady, Boly, Jonny (Vinagre 65), Neves (Taylor 81), Moutinho (Cundle 81), Dendoncker (Hong 81), Gibbs-White (Perry 65), Jota (Ennis 65).
Unused subs: Norris, Kilman, Miranda, Francis, Marques, Samuels.
Newcastle: Darlow (Woodman 46), Clark (Watts 58), Lascelles (Fernandez 46), Murphy (Allan 62), Shelvey (Ki 58), Ritchie (Aarons 58), Muto (Sorensen 62), Hayden, Colback (M Longstaff 62), Sterry (Manquillo 46), Lazaar (Bailey 62)
Unused subs: Dummett, Schar, Harker, S Longstaff.
