Wolves Fans' Verdict v Southampton: A deserved three points

Clive Smith

Phew, we can now go on the beach. Just for two weeks though, there is still work to be done, do the maths.

Rare for us to go into an away game as favourites but we passed the test and the win was merited. It was not always pretty on the eye but with a game plan based on counter-attacking that was implemented well enough.

Most of the play had been from box to box until, on 20 minutes, Bellegarde put in a perfect cross for a number nine. Larsen might not have smiled as much as Munetsi had last week, but his joy was clear and a delight to see. It had been a while coming.

Any tension we had evaporated. The quality might have been better but our work rate, out of possession, could not be faulted and there looked an air of confidence when we had the ball.

Andre and Gomes put in their regular shift but they were well supported by Munetsi too. Defensively we were strong too with Doherty in particular winning some key heading duels.

The second half opened with another strikers finish. Ironically it was Bellegarde with the assist again despite him looking more sluggish than in recent games. 2-0 and time to relax in the stands.

Southampton had nothing to lose so threw everything forward. We sat back, content with them having the ball, and protected our box well. When we did gain a turnover we had chances to seal the game. Gomes should have scored. A Bellegarde break saw Doherty and Ait-Nouri sprint 80 yards only to see the cross fly over their heads. Guedes had come on and he led another break away. Ait-Nouri had again sprinted the length of the field but was ignored. He could not get back as quickly and it was then that we conceded a goal. 

So much for relaxing in the stands, with still 15 minutes to see out. We held firm even with six minutes added on for our numerous outbreaks of cramp.