Werder Bremen– 0
Wolves - 1
It was a picturesque setting for Wolves’ first pre-season outing, taking on the Bundesliga side at the Parkstadion Zell am Ziller.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men started brightly and almost opened the scoring after five minutes as Ivan Cavaleiro pounced on a mistake in the Bremen back line and rounded the ‘keeper, but his touch was too firm and couldn’t get a shot away before it ran for a goal kick.
Wolves continued to press and Matt Doherty was next to go close, he was picked out inside the opposition box before forcing the goalkeeper into a strong save from a tight angle.
Barry Douglas stepped up to take the resulting corner, picking out Willy Boly with an accurate set-piece. The defender rose to meet it but missed just over the crossbar with a fierce headed effort.
Ulisses Garcia was the first to test the palms of Harry Burgoyne in the Wolves goal, his shot from range forced the stopper to parry at his feet before Conor Coady brought the ball clear.
Nuno’s men almost doubled their lead on 20 minutes as Jack Price looked to release Bright Enobakhare in behind the Bremen defence but his ball ran just too long for the forward and allowed Jiri Pavlenka to come out and claim.
The game very much settled during the second part of the first half as the sides cancelled each other out, with neither creating another clear-cut opportunity before the break.
Half time: Werder Bremen 0-0 Wolves
The Wolves Head Coach made eight changes after half time as he looked to make use of the squad that has made the trip to Austria.
Again, Wolves started the half on the front foot and it wasn’t long before they took the lead. Connor Ronan picked out Dicko in space inside the Bremen box and the striker composed himself before neatly finishing across goal.
The game continued to be a close affair with neither side able to break the other down. Recent addition, John Ruddy, wasn’t forced into action until the hour-mark as he made a routine save for an effort from the edge of the box.
Another summer addition, Ruben Neves, then had a sight of goal at the other end of the pitch after smartly evading a tackle. He took aim from the edge of the box but saw his effort miss just wide of the upright.
The Bundesliga side grew into the game as they looked to draw level and went close from two Zlatko Junuzovic free-kicks. Both were well struck and beat the wall but, fortunately for Wolves, both came crashing back off the woodwork and the visitors’ lead was maintained.
The game then drew to a close, giving Nuno Espirito Santo his first taste of victory as Wolves’ Head Coach.
Wolves: Burgoyne (Jo. Ruddy 45’); Batth (Ryan Bennett 45’), Conor Coady, Willy Boly (Roderick Miranda 45’); Matt Doherty (Aaron Simpson 58’), Barry Douglas (Sylvain Deslandes 45’); Jack Price (Dave Edwards 45’), Romain Saiss (Ruben Neves 58’); Michal Zyro (Joe Mason 45’), Bright Enobakhare (Nouha Dicko 45’), Ivan Cavaleiro (Connor Ronan 45’).
Goals: Nouha Dicko 50’
