Season 2010/2011 – Match 3

Date: Saturday 28th August 2010
Kick-off: 3:00pm (BST)
Venue: Molineux
Attendance: 27,745 including a sold out away end of around 1,8000
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)

Teams
Wolves: Marcus Hahnemann, Jelle van Damme (Ronald Zubar, 56), Jody Craddock, Karl Henry, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Stephen Ward, David Jones (Adlene Guedioura 72), Christophe Berra, Matt Jarvis, Kevin Doyle (Steven Fletcher 72), Kevin Foley.
Subs: David Edwards, Richard Stearman, Wayne Hennessey, Michael Mancienne
Booked: Kevin Doyle, Jelle Van Damme, Matt Jarvis, Ronald Zubar, Adlene Guedioura, Christophe Berra, Karl Henry

Goals: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake 43

Newcastle: Steve Harper, James Perch, Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini, Jonas Enrique, Wayne Routledge, Alan Smith, Joey Barton, Jonas Gutierrez, Kevin Nolan, Andy Carroll (Shola Ameobi 81)
Subs: Tim Krul, James Tavernier, Tamas Kadar, Haris Vuckic, Peter Lovenkrands, Nile Ranger
Booked: James Perch, Joey Barton, Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan

Goals: Andy Carroll 62

Manager Chris Hughton spoke afterwards:

“I thought we were the better of the two teams so we’re disappointed not to have capitalised on that. We had the better of the chances over the 90 minutes, we started the game very well but you know when you come here, particularly how Wolves fared last season, it’s going to be a tough game. We probably gave away a few too many free-kicks in that last period which made it much more difficult than we would have liked. I’m a little bit disappointed but a point here is always a good point. He’s a tough boy, Andy, he played through an ankle (injury) that he sustained a few days ago and hasn’t trained for four days. He put himself right up for the game and that’s the type of individual he is and we just had to make sure that he was OK towards the end (by substituting him). Arguably, it wasn’t one of his better games but he has shown that, even in a performance that hasn’t matched his last two performances, he’s always a threat. The delivery for the goal was a top class delivery and at the moment there’s nobody better to have on the end of it than Andy.”

Match Report
It was a fiery encounter at Molineux yesterday with Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers playing out a 1-1 draw which included eleven bookings, seven for Wolves and four for Newcastle. Referee Stuart Attwell at times struggled to contain the match that was witness to a series of crude and cynical challenges, with Joey Barton especially taking the brunt of the Wolves aggression.

From an Australian fans perspective the first-half was especially disappointing with Foxsports having a ‘Break In Transmission’ on their viewers choice feature which meant both our game and Blackpool v Fulham were not streaming any picture. This left fans scrambling to find a live internet stream or following the progress of the match via BBC/Skysports text commentary updates. A very frustrating experience indeed given the fact that Newcastle apparently started off where they finished against Aston Villa and dominated Wolves for the first 20-30 minutes or so.

When the live picture finally did start streaming (about 10 minutes after Blackpool v Fulham) we were instantly greeted with the sight of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake scoring in the 43rd minute of the game. Great timing thanks Foxsports! 1-0 Wolves at half-time.
Wolves took their momentum into the second period but the second goal also came against the run of play as Andy Carroll powered home a header from a Barton free-kick. Barton’s inswinging centre picked out Carroll, whose powerful header flew past Hahnemann for his fourth goal in the last two games. 1-1.

Things could have been different for Newcastle though when not long into the second-half right-back James Perch appeared to trip Wolves Matt Jarvis in the box but referee Attwell compounded his poor game by waving away the home sides appeals.

Newcastle looked the most likely to snatch a winner late in the game with wingers Jonas Gutierrez, and in-particular Wayne Routledge, finding plenty of space to run at the Wolves defence. Kevin Nolan had a excellent first-time shot from a Routledge cross saved by Hahenmann and substitute Shola Ameobi almost made an instant impact when his lopping header was cleared from under the Wolves crossbar with Nolan ready to bounce.

Beforehand manager Chris Hughton would no doubt have taken a 1-1 draw, but perhaps in a sign of how far we have come already this season, he will be slightly disappointed we didn’t take all three points. Wolves only had one shot on target compared to Newcastle’s five, and given the fact Newcastle had the possession and territorial advantage this just goes to show that the bottom half of the Premier League should not be feared.

With the signing of Hatem Ben Arfa, and maybe Robbie Keane, to come into the team our attacking options and ability could mean the team can push onto the next level.

Andrew McTernan – Row ‘S’ Army

Wolverhampton Wanderers (a)

Date: Sunday 29th August 2010
Venue: Molineux
Kick-Off: 12:00am (AEST), 11:30pm (SA), 10:00pm (WA)
Referee: Stuart Attwell
Australian TV: Live on Foxsports 3 viewers choice (See our Live Pub Guide for possible bars)
Forum: Match Thread

Team News:
Manager Chris Hughton has Steven Taylor, Dan Gosling, Danny Simpson and Leon Best all sidelined through injury, while Sol Campbell is still not fully fit and will look to the Blackpool game next week. Xisco and Danny Guthrie are also both out injured after missing the Carling Cup tie at Accrington Stanley in midweek, while new signing Cheick Tiote now has a work permit but didn’t travel with the squad.

For Wolves new signing Michael Mancienne goes straight into the squad after joining the club from Chelsea for a third loan spell this week. Steven Fletcher and Karl Henry are expected to recover from foot and groin injuries respectively.

Last 5 Form:
Wolves
CC2 – W – 2v1 – Southend (h)
PL – D – 1v1 – Everton (a)
PL – W – 2v1 – Stoke (h)

Newcastle United
CC2 – W – 3v2 – Accrington Stanley (a)
PL – W – 6v0 – Aston Villa (a)
PL – L – 0v3 – Manchester United (a)

Match Stats:
All time – Wolves 38 wins, 21 draws, Newcastle 28 wins

Odds:
Brought to you in association with…

Wolves $2.40, Draw $3.20, Newcastle $3.00

Did You Know?
In 1953 Molineux became one of the first grounds to install floodlights and the first ever floodlit game was held on 30th September 1953 when Wolves beat South Africa 3-1. The addition of floodlight at Molineux meant Wolves were able host a series of midweek friendlies in the 1950s against some of the leading teams from Europe and around the globe. These friendlies were played before UEFA started the European Cup meaning these games were highly prestigious attracting large crowds and were often shown on the TV by the BBC.

Match Preview
Newcastle United go into their third Premier League game of the season away to Wolves buoyed by their sensational 6-0 win over Aston Villa last weekend and progression to the 3rd of the Carling Cup in midweek. Wolves too are in good form and are unbeaten this season following home wins over Stoke City and Southend in the Carling Cup, and an encouraging away draw at Goodison last weekend.

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy will be looking to continue his sides good home form this season after only winning five matches, and scoring only 13 goals, at Molineux last season. McCarthy will be boasted by the return of defender Michael Mancienne from Chelsea, the 22-year-old England U21 international has already played over 40 games for Wolves during two previous loan spells.

Looking to score the goals for the home side are Irish international striker Kevin Doyle and the effervescent Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Ebanks-Blake opened his account for the season last week with a vital late equaliser away to Everton and the 24-year-old will be looking to add to his 40 goals for the club.

Manager Chris Hughton knows it is vital to curb any raised expectations at the club.

“We had an exceptional result at home to Aston Villa last weekend. We know that type of scoreline is generally reserved for the likes of your Chelsea’s, your Arsenals and your Manchester United’s so we’re very conscious of that. They don’t come around too often but when they do you’ve got to make the most of the feeling that they can create within a football club. At the moment, it’s about keeping everybody’s feet on the ground going into a very, very difficult game at Wolves.”

Hughton is expected to restore the same starting XI that lined up in the first two league games. The focus will again be on Andy Carroll with the Geordie striker hitting national headlines with a stunning performance and hattrick last Saturday. Carroll will require more support in attack then he received at Old Trafford, so the onus will be on Jonas Gutierrez, Wayne Routledge and Kevin Nolan to get into the game more and supply a better quality of service to the big man.

Wolves will be a big test to see where this Newcastle team is at. With Wolves finishing 15th last season these are the teams that will have been identified as teams Newcastle need to match or if possible better. Away form was one of key reasons why Newcastle were relegated in 2009/2010 and Hughton knows he needs to come up with a winning formula and imbed a steely reserve into the team away from St James’ Park.

So can Newcastle United get a positive result at Molineux? I think so.

HOWAY THE LADS!!!

Andrew McTernan – Row ‘S’ Army