1 day Ago
The Premier League season has not started well and now Wolves are out of the EFL Cup. A 3-2 defeat at Brighton was not unexpected given the 10 changes head coach Gary O’Neil chose to make and the patched-up nature of his defence. But in some ways the negatives from the night were more worrying than the scoreline suggested, despite a good second-half performance.
Will Wolves fans see Jose Sa again? If there was any lingering debate about who is Wolves’ No.1, Jose Sa put an end to it — and not in a good way. The Portugal international made his first on-field appearance since losing his place in the first XI following the signing of Sam Johnstone from Crystal Palace .
And within 31 minutes, he had done enough to leave fans wondering whether he would ever be seen in a Wolves shirt again. Advertisement For both Carlos Baleba ’s 14th-minute opener and Simon Adingra ’s second goal 17 minutes later, Sa appeared to do the hard work by getting his hand down to the long-range shots but failed to keep the ball out of the net. And he was also culpable in the build-up to Baleba’s strike with a risky decision to play out from the back.
Add in several other questionable decisions in possession and the result was a performance that was well below Sa’s best level. Only he will know his own state of mind he but he appeared to currently be lacking the focus required for first-team football and, while he was much improved in the second half with some solid catches under pressure and more decisive distribution, there was still a suspicion that he could have pushed Danny Welbeck ’s shot to safety instead of to Ferdi Kadioglu to score Brighton ’s decisive third goal. “There’s always a lot of people involved in goals,” said O’Neil as he attempted to protect Sa.
“We know how good Jose can be between the sticks and there were a couple of good hits. “I haven’t seen them back looking at it from a goalkeeping perspective. I was looking more around the team structure and how they got to those positions, but it’s never just about the goalkeeper.
” Regardless of O’Neil’s diplomatic words, Sa’s hopes of a first-team recall now appear remote. The bigger question is whether he can retain his spot on the bench ahead of Dan Bentley , fresh from signing a new contract. What has happened to Hwang and Sarabia? Both Hwang Hee-chan and Pablo Sarabia were key figures in Wolves’ most successful spells last season with Hwang bagging 13 goals in all competitions and Sarabia emerging as one of the Premier League’s best chance creators.
Yet this season they have faded out of the starting line-up, with Sarabia yet to start a league game this season and Hwang dropping down to the bench for the last two league games having started the campaign in the team. Advertisement Last night they had a chance to further their prospects of minutes in the league but instead the game went the other way. Hwang was especially disappointing with just 21 touches according to SofaScore — the fewest of any of Wolves’ starters at the Amex Stadium.
He did not register a single shot on target and had just one shot overall and the Korea international, who spent part of his summer in limbo amid interest from Marseille. He looks way short of his best form and a first-team recall looks a long way off. Sarabia, meanwhile, lost possession 18 times, more than any of Wolves’ other attackers, and completed just 21 of his 30 attempted passes.
For a player who relies on technical proficiency to make up for his lack of physical stature, he was a long way short of where he needed to be. Both players have more than three months to change their fortunes but, if they cannot reclaim first-team spots, expect fresh discussions about their futures in January. Is Guedes Premier League ready? The man who a few months ago appeared to have no prospect of a Wolves career is now pushing harder than anyone on the fringes of the first team for a Premier League spot.
Goncalo Guedes was not known in his previous stint at Wolves for his workrate but it was his industry and tireless running that stood out last night in his new central attacking role. The Portugal international led the line with real industry and scored his side’s opening goal, although he should have added another in the second half when he wasted a huge chance. “He showed an excellent attitude,” said O’Neil.
“His work, his willingness to work for the team, his moments of quality, his brightness, I was really impressed. I’m pleased for him because obviously he’s had a tough journey, some injuries, and been unsettled here. “His performance was very good, for me.
” Advertisement Against the odds, Guedes has already moved ahead of Hwang in the pecking order and is on course to push Jorgen Strand Larsen for a starting spot. Not too many other Wolves players enhanced their reputation last night but summer signing Rodrigo Gomes , who has not started a league game since the opening day of the season, caught the eye with his industry and pace while Carlos Forbs gave a useful cameo from the bench. (Top photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images).
