Wolves under-23s put themselves on the verge of securing a Premier League 2 Division 2 play-off place as Hugo Bueno and Luke Cundle both found the net twice against Newcastle United at Molineux.
With an experienced line-up at his disposal, head coach James Collins would have been more than expecting a comfortable evening for his Wolves side, as first-team stars Ki-Jana Hoever, Toti, Cundle and Chiquinho stepped down to the development side.
It was the latter who was having the fair share of possession in the early stages of the game, with Chiquinho using his pace and skill to cause disruption within the Newcastle defence and almost found the opening with a clever turn before firing into the side netting from a tight angle.
Playing out of position as a false number nine, Cundle was next to test the Newcastle rear guard and Max Thompson as he was played in on goal by Chiquinho, and having turned to make room for the shot, pulled a decent save from the visiting goalkeeper. While Wolves’ stopper Andreas Sondergaard made a comfortable save to deny Dylan Stephenson.
Thompson was the savour for Newcastle with just under 20 minutes on the clock with the keeper making a crucial double save to firstly keep out Taylor Perry’s long-range effort, and then a point-blank shot from Campbell, who had created space for himself in the box, but his goalbound effort was well saved.
Within four minutes, both sides had found the back of the net. Firstly, the impressive Bueno went on one of his trademark runs down the left before cutting inside and lashing a low shot inside the far post. But Newcastle then went straight up the other end from kick-off and equalised as Lucas De Bolle was picked out in the centre of the Wolves box by Joshua Scott before sliding calmly past Sondergaard and into the bottom corner.
Having found themselves caught out despite controlling much of the game, Wolves fought to get back in front and almost found what they were looking for when Campbell curled an effort just wide of the post from the edge of the penalty area. Thompson was at his best again to deny Chiquinho who was played in behind the Newcastle defence by Harvey Griffiths.
But there was nothing the Magpies keeper could do to stop Wolves regaining the lead just before the break as Hoever’s burst of pace down the right was followed up by a pinpoint cross into the six-yard box for the onrushing Cundle to fire into the roof of the net from close-range. Moments later, Thompson was tested by Chiquinho on the volley but got down low to smoother his goalbound effort, before Perry curled wide of the post.
In the second-half, Thompson continued to be the thorn in Wolves’ side, as the Newcastle keeper single-handedly kept his side in the game with several stops to deny Campbell and Perry, but he was eventually beaten for a third time just after the hour mark.
Campbell worked the ball down the left and with wing-back Bueno moving inside, the winger found his teammate unmarked in the box, who diverted the ball into the bottom right corner. But similarly to Wolves’ first, Newcastle scored within two minutes of the gold shirts finding the net, as Isaac Westendorf hit a neat first-time shot past Sondergaard as he was found inside the box by a counter-attack led by Ryan Barrett.
It was Wolves’ turn to turn a counter-attack into a goal with ten minutes remaining as Collins’ side regained their two-goal cushion. Dexter Lembikisa was found on the right by Campbell, who picked out Cundle in the centre of the Newcastle box, and having taken a touch to control the ball, Wolves’ number nine for the evening fired a powerful shot past Thompson.
Lembikisa almost scored the goal of the evening late on as he curled a speculative shot from 20 yards out narrowly over the crossbar, but it was not needed as Collins’ men held on for another three points to cement second place in the PL2 Division 2 table with just two matches of the season remaining.
COMING UP
James Collins’ side are back in action next Monday evening as they return to Molineux for another clash with a Premier League 2 Division 2 play-off rival in Stoke City, kick-off 7pm, knowing a point would be enough to put them into the post-season competition. Season ticket holders and members can watch the match for free but must claim their free tickets here.
NEXT THREE
25/04 Stoke City (H)
29/04 Norwich City (A)
TBC Premier League Cup semi-final
TEAMS
Wolves: Sondergaard, Hoever (Lembikisa 46), Tipton, Marques, Toti, Bueno, Griffiths, Perry, Campbell, Cundle (Hesketh 82), Chiquinho (Harkin 74).
Unused subs: Hubner, Birtwistle.
Newcastle: Thompson, Wiggett, Scott, Brookwell (Wilson 68), Barrett (Oliver 84), Savage, Allan (Stanton 68), De Bolle, Stephenson, Turner-Cook, Westendorf.
Unused subs: Brown, Munoz.
