Matheus Nunes’ debut in gold and black was not to have the happy ending he would have wanted as Harry Kane’s header condemned Wolves to a narrow defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Still searching for their first win of the season, Wolves were not short on confidence in the opening stages of the clash with Spurs, but taking their chances appears to be at a premium in the early matches of the campaign, and it was to be the case again, with Wolves not able to turn their dominance into a lead on the scoreboard.
The hosts capitalised in the second-half, coming out of the break strong and made Wolves pay as Kane’s header was enough to see Wolves’ hunt for three points continue.
With just his first touch in a Wolves shirt, it was clear why the club opted to make Nunes it’s record signing, with the midfielder playing several classy passes as the visitors dominated midfielder for the opening half.
Despite Wolves being the more controlling in the first 45 minutes, they were being largely limited to efforts from outside the penalty area, as Ruben Neves let fly from the edge of the box on a sweetly struck volley, but it was straight at Hugo Lloris in the Spurs goal.
Wolves came close to opening the scoring through their two new signings. Firstly, Goncalo Guedes raced at the heart of the Spurs defence before curling an effort wide of the post, while Nunes almost had the perfect debut, with his glancing header falling just the other side of the upright.
The visitors continued to push for the opening goal throughout the half, but in spite of controlling possession, Spurs were never out of the game, and tested Jose Sa with an effort from Dejan Kulusevski, but Maximilian Kilman was able to take the sting off the shot, making it comfortable for the keeper.
But the biggest chance of the half fell the way of England skipper Kane as he leapt above Kilman in the box to plant a header towards goal, but Sa was quick across goal to tip the ball over his crossbar.
Half-time | Tottenham 0-0 Wolves
The hosts came out of the blocks sharply after the break, and put the Wolves defence under immediate pressure, winning several corners which were initially dealt with by those in gold shirts. While Nathan Collins produced a stunning block to deny Son Heung-Min as he was clear on goal.
Wolves were limited to shots from distance after the break, with Guedes and Neves both having good opportunities from outside the box which were blocked away.
While Kane was beginning to have some joy with his head, firstly slamming the ball against the crossbar having seen his side break quickly after Guedes lost control of the ball in a good position.
It was through the head of the striker that Spurs finally broke the deadlock, when Son’s corner was flicked on at the front post and Kane was there to turn home from close range. Kane was then booked after barging into the back of Neves when running past the Wolves skipper.
Wolves tried their hardest to get back into the match and made several changes in their hopes of turning the game on its head, with the introduction of Hee Chan Hwang, Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore.
Those changes almost paid off as Jimenez did well to shrug off his man from a long ball forward from Sa, but having twisted and turned his way into the penalty area, the forward took on one man too many and lost possession as he attempted to shoot.
With Wolves chasing the game, Spurs were finding space in the gold and black defence, but Richarlison and Emerson Royal were unable to add to their goal tally for the afternoon. However, the hosts had done enough to condemn Wolves to their second loss in three Premier League matches so far this season.
Full-time | Tottenham 1-0 Wolves
Tottenham | Lloris, Royal, Sanchez, Dier, Davies, Perisic (Sessegnon 75), Bentancour, Hojbjerg, Kulusevski (Bissouma 86), Son (Richarlison 75), Kane.
Unused subs | Forster, Doherty, Tanganga, Lenglet, Bryan, Lucas.
Wolves | Sa, Jonny, Collins, Kilman, Ait-Nouri (Semedo 71), Neves, Moutinho (Dendoncker 58), Nunes, Podence (Jimenez 59), Neto (Traore 71), Guedes (Hwang 81).
Unused subs | Sarkic, Boly, Toti, Cundle.
Referee | Simon Hooper
