The head coach felt his development side were worth more than just their one-goal lead at the break, which was handed to them by Dexter Lembikisa’s early strike. Having fallen behind with 20 minutes to go – after Lembikisa inadvertently turned the ball past his own goalkeeper – a barrage of Wolves attacks saw those in gold and black claim the three points once again, as they look to make it seven from seven when they face Nottingham Forest on Friday evening.
On another three points
“I thought in the first-half, it was the most controlled I’ve seen us perform. We were by far the better team, got the early goal and totally controlled the first-half, but that was the worry about only going in 1-0 up.
“You do worry about what might happen because we knew they were definitely going to respond at one point. They started the second-half very well and we probably started it a little bit off. They changed the shape to what we thought they would play before the game, they put us under pressure and we were a little bit lethargic and got caught out.
“But great credit to the boys, they dug in and got the equaliser quite quickly, which helped, and then we went on and won the game comfortably. By the end of the game it was a comprehensive performance, but during 20 minutes at the start of the second-half, it looked like it might not happen for us.”
⚽️ Lembikisa
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) March 28, 2022
⚽️ Perry
⚽️ Harkin
⚽️ Cundle
Full highlights of last week's 4-2 win over Southampton.
🎓🎥 pic.twitter.com/D7lqoYkerA
On turning it around
“It’s always there in the back of your mind, but we’ve been on such a good run of results that sometimes the football gods do that to you. We try everything in our power to win every game of football, but sometimes, that bit of luck, that decision, a strange own goal like Dexter scored – which is not like him – you do sometimes wonder.
“But we felt at that point that we still had enough players on the pitch with high quality that if we calm down a bit and regain our focus, we could get something out of the game. We got ourselves going again, got the equaliser quite soon after, and that gave us the spark we needed.
“In the end, the boys got what they deserved because they would’ve been very hard done by had they not won that game.”
On sixth win on the bounce
“It’s the million-dollar question that all football coaches and managers would like to have the answer to – how do you keep winning games of football? In truth, we feel like we’ve prepared very well for all the games we’ve had throughout the season and this is probably the best run we’ve been on for a long time.
“The players have really brought into what we’ve been trying to do, the players who have dropped down from the first-team have all been committed to the cause, which certainly helps, the younger players have had a good run in the FA Youth Cup, so they’re playing full of confidence, and the players who are in our core under-23 group have got a lot of experience at this level, so we’ve got a great mix at the moment, and we’re playing with belief and confidence – which always helps.”
Six PL2 wins in a row!
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) March 28, 2022
🎓👏 pic.twitter.com/iTliFJJnyI
On preparing for Nottingham Forest
“Like ourselves, Forest have been on a good run of form recently having not started the season as well as they probably would have liked. I’ve been to see them play twice in the last few weeks, when they demolished Reading 7-0, and they were very, very strong in that game, and then I went to watch them beat West Brom 5-0, so I’ve seen them score 13 goals in two games without conceding, so I know just how good they are.
“They’re a strong side, they’re physically strong, well organised and will put us under a lot of pressure. They’re also quite a senior group, which in this under-23s league gives them that little bit of an advantage.
“But if we can keep playing as we have been, stick to the game plan as we come up with a way of combatting them, then hopefully we can continue the run.”
