It's been ages since my last away game so woke up ridiculously early feeling rough with a head cold
Doesn't sound much I appreciate but you have to study the logistics carefully - firstly, I'm today's designated driver for Eloise, Matt and Marco and secondly, when you have a nose the size of mine, one sneeze can wipe out the visibility of an entire windscreen.
We reacquainted ourselves with Cherwell Services en route which meant the day was back on track with our usual game of Matt-baiting
Well, if you go to footy and spend 7 quid on sushi for sustenance then quite frankly you get what you deserve
Traffic was kind to us though (except for an old guy riding a mobility scooter in the middle of the road) and we parked up at the Civic Centre (home of the tightest car park spaces in the world) and after we'd escaped through the sun roof we walked into town
This week all my pub plans were in uproar as every time I thought I found an away fan friendly pub, I received a tweet saying "I wouldn't try there if I were you"
Surely a place the size of Wolvehampton doesn't shepherd all away fans into 1 pub - what is this, the 1980's ??
Sure enough though, each pub we passed had signs for home fans only and although we weren't wearing colours so could have probably passed the surly looking bouncers, we feared once we had to ask for a pint, the veil of secrecy would be shattered
One thing we've learned in the past - locals DON'T appreciate you having a go at the accent - which is fair enough, now I think of it...
So off to the Stonehouse we went to be greeted by airport like metal detectors / scanners
The beeping from that door thing must have driven the locals mad because who now DOESN'T carry change or a phone or a nine inch blade...
Now I like being roughly frisked as much as the next man but to me, this did seem a little over the top
I figured, though, that at least inside this magical, mysterious, difficult to enter place there would be wonders beyond my wildest dreams
No, no there wasn't
In a Basil-esque moment I wasn't expecting herds of wilderbeast sweeping majestically through the plains of Wolvehampton but a soul-less, windowless bar which refused my mate entry because he'd had the audacity to travel to the game with his 13 year old son (this IS the only pub we were allowed in) was, in fairness, a little disappointing
They did have a red and black upholstered ceiling, which was a nice touch, but I'm pretty sure that was incidental :-)
Yes I guess Robbie could have left his son at home, but he was wearing his lucky socks so that just wasn't an option - and oh yes, this is meant to be a family friendly event ...
So first impressions weren't great but that could not be said of the stadium
As we descended into the bowl in which it sits I have to say it looked really impressive
I do like the newer bowl type stadiums but there is something to be said for having 4 f*** off big stands where the corners aren't filled in
The only slightly weird thing was that we were given the lower tier of what was the equivalent of our East stand, so we were right on the half way line which is usually the expensive bit of the ground
That though, wasn't the really weird bit - it was the fact that the home executive boxes were above us (not ideal for them I can imagine) and then the upper tier was home fans
I think I can only think of QPR where away fans were above home when I've before wondered why everyone else separates the fans so much
There was no trouble - how every match should be
I'd also like to mention that the stewards were excellent and having stewards specifically to look after our fans with special needs was superb
They really looked after our guys and were a credit to the club
After a rather excellent steak and ale pie we found our seats in Row A
Brilliant
I blame Matt, because it was his fault
I did however gather a small amount of amusement as someone with the tallest wheelchair on earth sat right in front of him although having to restrain him from giving the guy a little "nudge" did become a little tiresome :-)
We had a good chat with Robbie who rose further in my estimations by pretending to be interested in NFL for Matt and I saw Neil from the North stand and the guy/son I speak with in the local chippie, post home games so I was starting to feel at home
The players came out to warm up and remarked that Ritchie's hair obviously didn't like the cold as it wasn't standing to attention as usual
The teams were announced and Pitman was in for Kermorgant
I had a good think about that and decided it was tactical genius
Normally we start games like a train and finish poorly
By starting him, we are guaranteed a good finish by dragging him off near the end and replacing him with, well, anyone :-)
It was starting to get cold now - I blame the flag bearers causing a draft
The game kicked off and Pugh immediately had a go at there tall left back, Lorfa
I thought Pugh was going to have a field day as the gangly number 33 looked like Bambi on Ice but I had badly underestimated him
Not only did he have blistering pace to make up for falling for any tricks but going forward he was so comfortable on the ball and when he attacked we wet ourselves
The problem for us though, was that all the home side looked great on the ball and when you couple that with a hard pressing game you get a torrid first half for the travelling Cherries
In the first 5 minutes it was obvious that Wolves had a point to prove as they poured forward and both wingers were rampaging
On 8 minutes thankfully I was blinded by the sun as it appeared between the stands - it was God's way of saying "Don't watch Elphick fanny about with the ball and give it away"
My eyes just recovered enough to see Boruc fly spectacularly to his left to save a fierce drive from just outside the box
We then ran down the other end and a smart move down the left had the ball rolled to Ritchie who had a low shot well saved near the bottom left corner
Wolves were harrying well and as we'd obviously decided not to challenge in the air, Wolves were taking a grip on the game
On 16 minutes (shortly after a Pitman shot to row Z) Lorfa cut in from the left and his low bobbly shot was fumbled by Boruc and their striker ran in, took the ball and fell over putting the ball into the side netting
Just 3 minutes later it was Arter giving the ball away and it was yet another fine save from a fierce strike that kept the teams level
I can't remember ever saying this - but we were being out-footballed
On 21 minutes Elphick went from hero (cutting out a low right cross) to zero as it was his turn to give the ball away and rely on a poor shot to be picked up by our overworked keeper
Our midfield was sitting way too deep giving Wolves space and time to power forward so every tackle we made looked last ditch, the pressure was pretty relentless
When we did get an attack going we suffered from our usual shot-itis and wanted to walk it in but these attacks were few and far between
It seemed only Arter was prepared to roll his sleeves up and get stuck in but when he got his yellow after 30 minutes for a poorly timed tackle in the middle, even he had to start reining it in
A goal for the home side seemed inevitable and on 41 minutes it came
To me it seemed an inswinging cross from the left seemed to just sneak in the far post but I heard later that Graham had got the faintest headed touch
No more than they deserved
All too often teams that perform this well are overlooked as a result of the other team being "under par"
True we looked tired but our play I believe was as a direct consequence of how well Wolves played
As half time was blown I sighed with relief - thank God it was only 1
HT 1-0
The second half started and the hair dryer treatment had obviously worked
We looked much brighter and when Pitman was felled just outside the box the ball was nudged to Ritche he smashed the ball low and the keeper made a fine save to his right
On 53 minutes Elphick decided on a play from the same decade as his haircut by jumping at a corner and bundling the keeper into the net
The ball did go in.....
We were getting much more of the ball but on 55 minutes the away fans decided that we'd given Wolves the advantage for long enough and started singing for Kermorgant
The team was carrying Pitman today
What I don't get is his crossing delivery isn't great and yet he takes corners and free kicks
He's a striker - why isn't he trying to score?
Arter was starting to boss the midfield, spraying the ball both left and right but it was the Wolves striker, van la Parra that changed the game
A long ball was hoofed forward from the back and Cook went to cover it
Van la Parra at no point looked at the ball, just saw where Cook was and jumped up as Cook jumped
I didn't see VLP lead with his arm but he did clash heads with Cook
I don't believe he meant to hurt Cook but you are not allowed to jump into a player which he did as he never looked at the ball and so what he did was dangerous
It gave the ref a decision to make
The blame is entirely with VLP
So, down to 10 men, Wolves committed the cardinal sin against us - they sat back
If they'd studied us they would have known that if they'd carried on harrying and changing to route 1 - this was a game they could still get something from
Sitting back is just like meat and drink to us and we all visibly grew in stature and confidence
So, with them down to 10 it's obvious what we needed - a defensive substitute
Smith came on for Daniels
What???
Well it must be an injury
Nope - what it was was a substitution master-stroke
As soon as he came on we were a force down the left despite Pugh having a very poor game
He was fast and direct and raised the tempo of the whole team noticeably
On 67 minutes it was he that cut in from the left and fired into the side netting - finally someone not afraid to shoot
I wonder if he's put himself in contention....
Wolves now couldn't hold on to the ball and couldn't get out of their half
We were attacking at will from both left and right and Cook almost wrote his name into Wolves' infamy by chesting down a corner and poking it narrowly over
To be fair I'm not sure why he was getting so much - even if you thought it wasn't a foul he WAS still flattened
On 72 minutes the away crowd finally got what they wanted and Yann came on ..... for Pugh
This allowed Pitman to use his blistering pace down the left
On the other hand, they are down to 10, sitting back and we now have 3 strikers on the field - yeah ok - Pugh wasn't having a great game anyway
A minute later Wolves' heroic defence was finally breached
Good play down the right had the ball pin-balling all over the place with shots pummelling the defenders until the ball was slid to Arter who thumped the ball through the crowd and into the bottom left corner, almost under the keeper
The reaction was amazing
He sprinted over to the Afcb fans and knee slid while screaming at the top of his voice 1-1
You could see the Wolves heads drop then - when you are on a run like they are this often happens
They just looked like they were beaten - we just needed to ensure that we were more ruthless than we have been in the past
And so we were
Attack after attack from left right and middle saw some of the best blocking and challenges I've seen to keep the teams level - it was simply whether they could hold out as all ideas of going for a shock win like we did with 10 against Bolton were gone
With 5 minutes to go Yann was involved in yet another clash of heads and while the home players wanted retribution, a corner was given
From this corner I saw possibly the best save from a close range header from Wilson followed by the best goal line headed clearance I've ever seen, as the ball landed to Ritchie 15 yards out
He shin-shot to the far corner and it just had enough power to beat the man on the line to make it 1-2
His celebration was ok, but compared to Arter doing his Nobby Styles jig down the sideline (something I will take to my grave) it was just pitiful
The last few minutes were professionally seen out and even though they had yet another man sent off for a horrible looking lunge on Pitman deep into injury time - it made no difference
Summary : Wolves are a very good side and thoroughly deserved to go in 1 goal up
Good skill on the ball, great work rate without the ball
After the half time b*****king we looked a much improved side but in fairness the red card was the game changer
As much as it raised our confidence, it absolutely crushed theirs
They played the last 30 minutes all wrong by letting us build up a head of steam and when we are at our best, full strength teams are challenged - this game ended as a contest on that decision
Star Man - Arter - he's going to have to get some weights' tips from Supa because he can't keep dragging the rest of the team back into life
Got any spare change?
