Raul Jimenez scored his latest comeback goal to help Wolves step up their pre-season campaign with a 1-1 draw at Stoke City.
Backed by a bulging away end in full voice, Bruno Lage’s men added another 90 minutes to the legs, and, as Jimenez followed in Nelson Semedo’s parried effort to equalise, the head coach saw his number nine make another step forward.
In what felt an increase in intensity for pre-season, both Wolves and Stoke started lively, and Adama Traore headed wide with the away side’s early opening, while Ruben Neves and Steven Fletcher both dragged efforts wide of the target for their respective teams.
Fletcher wasn’t the only ex-Wolves man on show for the Potters and it was the old gold’s former captain who put them behind, as, after a series of penalty box pinball, and an impressive Jose Sa save, Batth converted in off the post.
Three minutes is all Wolves were behind for, however. Throughout the opening period Semedo had got forward and, on this occasion, once Joe Bursik parried his shot, Jimenez was on hand to gobble up the rebound and continue his comeback.
Half-time | Stoke 1-1 Wolves
Morgan Gibbs-White was one of three introductions at the break and was hungry to build on his goal against Las Palmas, producing a number of surging runs and nearly putting his side ahead when running in behind, before being denied by Bursik.
For much of the second period, Wolves controlled the tempo, without regularly testing Bursik in the Stoke goal. Fresh striking pair Fabio Silva and Patrick Cutrone did almost combine for a winner with ten minutes to go, but the former’s pass was cut out before the latter could shoot, as the game finished level.
Full-time | Stoke 1-1 Wolves
Stoke | Bursik, Smith, Fox, Allen, Batth, Vrancic, Fletcher (Clucas 71), Tymon (Chester 71), Wilmot (Doughty 71), Brown, Powell.
Unused sub | Davies, Thompson, Macari, Jones, Goodwin, Norton.
Wolves | Sa, Semedo (Hoever 81), Mosquera (Kilman 46), Coady, Saiss, Marcal (Ait-Nouri 81), Moutinho, Neves (Dendoncker 46), Trincao (Cutrone 73), Traore (Gibbs-White 46), Jimenez (Silva 73).
Unused subs | Ruddy, Marques, Bueno, Campbell, Cundle, Estrada.
