Going into the game – knowing nothing other than a win would seal the title – Wolves were indebted to an own goal, coupled with a strike from Niall Ennis and an injury time winner from Sadou Diallo to be crowned champions.
Following full-time, Wolves TV spoke to four of the key players in the under-23s’ victorious team, including scorers Ennis and Diallo, as well as defenders Maximilian Kilman and Ryan Giles.
Niall Ennis
“This is why we love football. Moments like this, last minute goals, fighting back – it’s about coming back from a two-nil deficit and it shows character.
“We’ve had a good, long season and it’s worth it. I’m just proud of the team, really proud of the team and all the fans who have come to watch us. This is what it’s all about, so thanks to the fans and everyone.
“It’s not about me. I said before the game to some of the players that I don’t care if I don’t score; I just want to win. It’s about a winning mentality, so I’m just happy we got the win – that’s what it’s all about.”
Maximilian Kilman
“We deserved every bit of it. The sheer desire to win the game at the end and the performance from everyone the whole season has been outstanding. I’m very proud of everyone – all the boys.
“In the first-half we had some chances and knew coming into the second-half that it would open, and that showed with how many chances we created, but we definitely deserved it.
“The fans gave us so much throughout the game, they are always here to support us, even for the first-team games, they’re always there to support us – they’re the best.”
Sadou Diallo
“I don’t even know what’s going on! We were 2-0 down and now we’re here. The lads showed great character to come back from going 2-0 down and to score three goals in the last few minutes was unbelievable.
“I felt I was being too deep all the time, but the ball went to ‘Gilo’ and I thought ‘just get in the box’ and it was set, so I thought ‘stay calm, and slot it in’.
“We deserve this. All year we’ve been great. It’s brilliant.”
Ryan Giles
“The way the lads dug deep towards the end was an absolute credit to themselves. We’ve done it all the way throughout the season, and we’ve proven that again today.
“We’ve shown our identity, with 21 games gone we were top of the league and were there for a reason, and we showed that against United, especially in the last ten minutes.
“We’ve worked extremely hard all season for these moments. Even when we were down at half-time, the message was that we’re still in this game, we’ve had chances, get the ball back and attack, attack, attack. We kept going, we dug deep, and it paid off.
“We’re absolutely buzzing for everyone at the club.”
