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Aug 2004 Sept 2004 Oct 2004 Nov 2004 Dec 2004 Jan 2005 Feb 2005 Mar 2005 Apr 2005 May 2005 |
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Next matches: Mon Mar 26th England U17 v Northern Ireland U17 (15:00) Sat Mar 19th WW 1 (Cort 93) v Stoke City 1 (Noel-Williams 41) Cort out! Well that’s what many fans wanted for a very poor performance by Carl Cort. only for his to catch Stoke out in the 93rd minute with the equaliser. Instead it was hard working Kenny Miller and Kennedy who were replaced by Leon and Rohan Ricketts in the 63rd. These two certainly caused more pandemonium in the City penalty box, than Kenny and Carl had managed, Kenny suffering from fairly poor service.
The local derby added 4,000 to the gate, and the atmosphere was much better than January and February Al A long range pass from Jody picked out Seol and Simonsen was forced to save. Minutes later another Seol corss got right through to Rob Edwards whose cracking shot was well collected by Simonsen. Rob had another great attempt later. Not long after that Brammer’s shot is easily saved by Oakes. Noel Williams was put through but miscued his shot that it went our for a throw-in, much to the South Bank’s amusement. But only a minute or two later, after Carl’s shot at other end went wide, Noel-Williams had the last laugh. Kenny was distraught and left holding his head in his hand after a clearance bounced off his shin back towards Clint Hill. Hill went on a run, and for the first time in several matches the much-improved Craddock had a Craddock moment. Backing off too much left Hill with a pass to the unmarked Gifton Noel-Williams in the box. He made no mistake this time, and Oakes was nowhere near it. Probably the most improved performance came from Rob edwards, who had two cracking shots saved by Simonsen, and his distribution was much improved. He made several timely interceptions but went totally AWOL for the Stoke goal. Nayls, Rob Edwards and Olofinjana all had chances during the match well saved by Simonsen. Overall our set piece play could have been better, even with Incey taking the corners. Noel-Williams had a couple of other chances, one following a Craddock slip and was through on Oakes but shot wide. This was bizarrely given as a corner with the ref pointing at his foot. Presumably he meant he’s shot himself in it, since Oakes didn’t get a touch. Ref Andy D’Urso went to Old Trafford and left us again with Mr Foy. We certainly didn’t get much from him apart from the free kick which led to the goal. He failed to penalise blatant time wasting, a whole series of fouls by the Stoke full backs - the number of body checks on our left should not have gone unpunished, a penalty for Kenny and he bizarrely gave Stoke corners when there was no Wolves player close enough to touch the ball. Unfortunately, according to the press, the injury to one of the time wasters, Michael Duberry was because of a coin thrown at him by the South Bank. After our equaliser he was surrounded by Stoke players, especially the impressive Steve Simonsen, now somewhat more threatening. Stoke had two very long injury treatments (more than the 4 minutes of extra time) but, sadly, Duberry was the target of coin throwing. Here he is after a long long treatment facing up to the South Bank
If you want to see the goals a Stoke fan has them here. Stoke goals.
Tue Mar 15th WW 2 (Miller, Ince) Burnley 0 A very poor Burnley team, with only two Burnley shots on target, both no problem to Oakes. If it hadn’t been for Paul Ince’s inspiration though, Wolves would have easily matched down to them. Boredom was almost the keyword for a first half enlivened only, until Kenny’s goal by an outstanding free kick from Lee Naylor in the 8th which demanded a good save from ex-Baggie Jensen in the Burnley goal.
and it’s in the net After Ince, probably our most impressive players were Nayls, in spite of a few “Nayls moments” but which gave nothing away, and Craddock, certainly doing much better against the weaker opposition. Playing a bit behind Joleon as last man.
And towards the end a great run from Nayls threatens the Burnley goal, until McGreal decides to trip him from behind. A secong yellow and a sending off, Incey takes the free kick but it goes well over the goal
But we also saw the debut of on-loan Rohan Ricketts. His crosses looked useful, as did his speed and control. His diving was pretty poor though! He won’t get free kicks like that in the Championship. Unfortunately it was Kenny that Glenda removed rather than the less effective Cort or Olofinjana or Kennedy, and Kenny didn’t look happy!!! Who will lose their place to Ricketts? Man of the Match then - there’s only one Paul Ince. Runner up jointly Craddock and Nayls.
Sat Mar 12th Preston North End 2 (Cresswell 3, Alexander 53 pen)v WW 2 (Craddock 10, Seol 73) A more difficult challenge then at fifth placed Preston with whom we drew at home way back in August. Andrews was out for Rob Edwards to regain his place. Paul Jones returned to the bench, with Cams, Leon and Coops. 2 minutes gone and Preston win a corner - “must be careful not to concede another sloppy goal” short corner back by Cresswell, Lewis crosses and Richard Cresswell scores in front of the Wolves travelling fans. A good response, Olofinjana turns the ball across and we win a corner which comes to nothing. 9 minutes and Seol wins a free kick on the left edge of the box. Ince and Nayls line up for the free kick, Naylor crosses and Jody Craddock stabs it home from the 6 yard line for the equaliser. Straight back down the other end for another Preston corner, and Cort clears over our bar. 1 minute later, Sedgwick forces Oakes into an excellent save for another corner. An end to end game. WM are streaming the game today so at last a commentator who knows the players’ names. Well, until it cuts off after 35 minutes! Eddy Lewis has a great chance after guess who (Olofinjana) loses the ball; Edwards is being given the run around with no support from Olo. Bring on Rohan Ricketts!! 35th minute and Cresswell claims that Craddock catches him with an elbow. Lucketti shoves Miller but the ref books Kenny. Commentary missed Naylor’s booking earlier in the game. Our new centre half “Joleon Craddock” clears the ball (!). Ince is blocked 15 yards out by on the right hand side of the goal but again it comes to nothing. Ince pushes and wins a corner as we come up to 43 minutes. Ince takes it, Cort can’t reach it to get it to Kennedy and PNE break. Nayls covers back. Ball gets to Olo who of course gives it away. Nayls seems to be having a good match. Kenny Miller gets Lucketti’s hand in his face and this time the free kick goes to us. Good header down but again Preston break. Second half. Preston have a bright start - Wolves back off and Nugent has a great shot hitting the woodwork and another shot from Cresswell well saved by Oakes. Down to the other end and Naylor crosses but Cort can’t get onto it. Ball played into the area Lewis jinks, Joleon sticks his foot out and Lewis goes down. Alexander converts the penalty. Another Wolves attack gets nowhere, and every attack results in a Preston counter. We aren’t tackling back either. Nugent is looking particularly dangerous. On the hour, another save by Oakes from gives Preston their sixth corner. A great break down the left hand side by Seol, inside to Kenny who has a great chance to score but hits the bar and blazes the rebound over. Commentary stops for 20 seconds! Nayls who’s been playing well is replaced by Coops with 20 minutes to go. A pass from Joleon goes to Kenny with his back to the goal but his shot goes over the bar. Then Cort gets into the area but his shot is well wide as he is pushed away from the goal. 73rd minute - Seol moves into the centre, goes on a solo run then, a great shot and we’re level. Preston immediately go down the other end and our defence leaves Oakes stranded. Another great save by Oakes. Then we’re back down the other end with Coops and Seol in action. Seol’s final unselfish ball goes just behind Cort. Game peters out in the last 10 minutes. 6 to go and Leon is about to be given the chance to make a difference. But it takes 4 minutes ti get him on. Last few minutes and a good shot by Paul Ince well saved by Day in the Preston end, and Leon finally gets on for Kenny. Leon wins a chance in the last minute but there’s no one in the middle on the 6 yard line to take it. Where’s Cort gone? Ince is booked for a challenge on McKenna. Clarke creates another chance but the three minutes of extra time is frittered away. A draw perhaps fair or even lucky given the fragility of our defence but it . One point drops us back to 14th after Burnley win 10 points and 6 GD away from 6th place ie 11 points, with 9 matches to go. Glenda seems pleased with a draw and 16 unbeaten matches and even thought we could have stolen it! He coudln’t have seen their 9 shots on target with only Oakes keeping us in it. He agreed it was a poor first half. Says Ricketts will add pace and variety to the midfield. Sat Mar 5th Crewe 1 (Lunt 11 pen) WW 4 (Cort 13, 46+2, Miller 35 pen, 60) One change then from Wednesday, with Keith Andrews standing in at left back for Rob Edwards. Play backwards and forwards for the first minutes. One cross from Edwards doesn’t get beyond the first defender. Vaughan beats Andrews who should have just put the ball out for a thrownin leads to a Crewe corner in the 9th minute.
 But 2 minutes later Carl Cort replies. A hard low cross from Seol on the left, Carl evades his marker and scores from three yards.. Almost immediately, another Crewe break when Kenny tries to release Olofinjana, but Andrews’ cross again not good enough.
Crewe looked to beat the offside flag but Mark Kennedy had made a great clearance anyway, almost immediately. Plenty of possession, but poor crosses let us down. 20th minute and Joleon is venturing forward in to the inside left position. Seol holds possession well, passes and a much better cross by Naylor,. Kenny flings himslelf at it but his header goes just wide. We have 61% possession at this stage. Kenny has a chat with referee Miller picked up by the commentary as Crewe have a penalty appeal for backing in turned down. Jones goes down too easily 4 minutes later for another appeal to be turned down. K An On 40 a Crewe free kick hits the wall winning a corner, but Carl clears it from the left back position, and a period of Crewe pressure fizzles out. Wolves are giving the ball away too easily which brings a chorus of Black Country (“foight foight”). Andrews gets a lecture after conceding another free kick which helps to take the pressure off
Into the second half now. Kenny forces a corner from Moses. Again Incey takes the corner, it’s cleared, but Wolves win it back and look sharp with a Kennedy shot which Joleon just can’t get a touch on. Plenty of creativity. Another attack with a good move by Olofinjana but Kenny’s falling and can’t get his shot away. 10 minutes into the second half and a weak clearance leads to a Crewe attack and Oakes saves at Jones’ feet then Rivers and then sub Higden with a great save. 1 minute later and another excellent save from Oakes. Wake up Wplves. Kenny’s back in defence and picks up a knock, but a foul on George relieves the pressure. Kenny’s working very hard. Another chance smothered by Williams in the 70th. We’re still on 60% possession, with 8 goal attempts and a 7-2 count on corners. Andrews gets into a shooting position. More chances. Kenny comes off to be replaced by Coops on 73. Williams again saves from Olo. Another Seol run and excellent cross, interchange between Coops and Cort. More attacking and an eighth corner. Lee’s cross is stabbed over the cross bar (so high it’s over the stand) by Joleon. Another attack and good passing to Seol but the keeper again smothers it. Leon gets a few minutes in the 82nd replacing Seol who has enjoyed so much more freedom today than he has for a long time. The Crewe fans start streaming away for the last ten minutes as the game runs down Three excellent points then.and our highest league position for eighteen months (13th) still eight points off the playoffs with 10 games to go. Wed 2nd Mar 7:45 Derby 3 (Iniakez 9 Idiakez 7 pen Reich 93) v WW 3 (Miller 12, Lescott 72, Cort 90) This match was rearranged from February thanks to Derby’s FA Cup prowess. We went into the match on a run of 4 draws and less than impressive performances against the team in 4th place, 15 points ahead of us Kennedy, Olofinjana and Cort were brought back with Leon, Keith Andrews and Cams out. Glenn has said this is his preferred side.
Then it’s Derby’s turn to be frustrated - Junior stabs the ball home from Raziak’s cross but is also ruled out for offside. Last seconds of the half and Cort is just beaten by a whisker (ok hand) The second half started with early pressure from Derby, including shots from Pesky solido, Bolder and Taylor. 9 minutes in and Kenny Miller’s maginficent shot was palmed out by Camp, and Seol blazes the rebound over the bar with an open goal while Camp was still on the ground - right in front of the 1978 Wolves fans out of a 24,100 crowd. 107.7 reckons Joleon misses the game against Crewe for a 5th yellow (although Glenda said the amnesty had kicked in in the E&S a couple of days ago). Joleon tapped Camp’s heels as he was clearing the ball, unnecessarily. Two quick corners come to nothing, although attacked by Joleon, the first ending up in that booking. Finally they checked it and realised the amnesty kicked in yesterday. (Both Joleon and Craddock were on 4 yellows.)
Pesky breaks into the box and Rob Edwards’ challenge brings a penalty. It looks on the replays as thopugh Rob got something on the ball but referee Wiiliamson doesn’t want to know. Rasiak scores, but he stopped in mid-run and there was encroachment (and the ref makes him take it again. Oakes saves it and the follow-up. Then, somewhat belatedly, ref disallows the save, booking Oakes for moving forward too early. Rasiak of course scores this time. 2-2 On the replay Oakes barely shuffled his feet on the line, and it really looked as though the ref was trying to even things up under the new focus
A much better match, then, but Seol disappoints, and Olo plays much better. Both defences were awful for the goals, and the dubious penalty and retakes show Glenn isn’t a lucky manager.
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Stoke-born Bill McGarry, who led Wolves to the EUFA Cup Final and the League Cup win over Man City, died earlier this week and was honoured with a minute’s silence before the match. Click here for more on Bill.
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though Stoke had forced several corners early on Oakes hadn’t really been troubled, until Incey was penalised for a foul on Hill and Dave Brammer’s free kick just clipped the bar with Oakes well beaten. The first Wolves effort came from Seol, but his long range shot was well off target.
Olo was penalised for upending (in the air) Brammer - shades of Nayls last season - giving a totally unnecessary free kick away on the edge of the box.
Ince tried to console Kenny, to little avail, but he also made it clear to Craddock what he thought of his defending. But wh
o was it who tried to get a tackle in to prevent the goal, not our defence but Kenny rushing back. Here’s a shot from Carl going wide, with both him and Olofinjana challenging the strong Stoke defence. Stoke had more chances, but this one was penalised for the Nayls sandwich.
Kenny took a nasty knock on the shin from Gerry Taggert, which may have been part of the reason for his substitution rather than the ineffective Carl Cort.
B
ut the timewasting was to be to no avail. In the 93rd minute Thonas was penalised for a pull on Carl’s shirt (the Stoke players were claiming handball). Lee took the free kick short to Seol to head on in to the centre and Carl bundled his way through to score.
But the game really didn’t get going until the 38th minute, which already seemed like the 138th! A foul by Micah Hyde on Carl Cort some 40 yards out from the South Bank goal in the centre led to a free kick. Sparky backheeled it to Paul Ince who floated the ball on to Carl Cort’s head. It came down to our left and Kenny was just so much quicker than Peter Whittinham on to the ball and he fired it home for his 16th of the season. The team celebration certainly belies all the negative comments about Kenny - our leading scorer again.
we should have also had a penalty when two players shirts were tugged but referee Boyeson didn’t see them.
A torrid ten minutes when Burnley came out fired up by manager ex Saint Steve Cotterill although they never really threatened. A lesson perhaps to our management not to sell the star strikers! Once that was weathered though all of the play was at the North Bank end. But it was a world class goal from Incey that settled it. A long clearance from the Burnley penalty area was headed back towards the centre by Kennedy. Paul ducked under it and ran round, one touch to steady and then shot home from abour 22 yards. An outstanding goal in the 60th. Who’s first to congratulate him - Kenny.
McGreal was deservedly booked in the 73rd when he bodychecked Incey. But ref Boyeson had sort of allowed advantage (until he realised that the advantage was to an offside player and didn’t give the foul, so Incey decided he should deliver punishment. So, of course, he got booked too.
Pushed back in and Carl Cort defending back is clearly handles the ball, moving his shoulder towards it. Kenny Lunt scored from the penalty spot.
enny has a great header turned aside by Adie Moses’ hand, but no penalty just a corner. Our second corner taken by Ince, wins another which Lescott toe pokes and an excellent diving save from the Crewe goalie. Crewe push back but a good stop by Joleon. Seol, in a lot of space, breaks away and wins another corner. Nayls corner breaks out to Kennedu on the right. His left foot shot again strikes a hand, but the ref turns another down.
drews starts more pressure, Kenny is bundled aside on the edge of the box by the big centre half, Moses, but he then trips Paul Ince and the ref awards another penalty. Kenny takes back the penalty responsibility and scores - 1-2.
Another corner won right on half time. Seol gets the ball, Kenny can’t get a shot in so passes to Lee who puts in a great cross to Carl Cort who puts us 3-1 up!
Cort gets a chance from a Sparky cross but Williams just pushes it round. Another corner cleared away by Crewe and Kenny’s fit to resume. On 60, Seol goes down the left. came in without the space to shoot - passes to Kenny in the inside left position who strokes it home! 4-1!
6 minutes and Kenny had the ball in the net, only to be ruled offside. Derby’s first real attack three minutes later, a free kick conceded by Joleon and a powerful long range shot from Inigo Idiakez easily beat the weak wall and Oakes is nowhere near it. 1-0. Two minutes later, Nayls is beaten to the header and Derby’s Tudgay hit the post with Oakes well beaten.
A 
minute later, Cort to Olofinjana, Edwards breaks into the area, great cross back to Kenny Miller who gets a legitimate goal, and we’re level on 13m. Immediately after the restart Junior shoots and Oakes round the post. Olofinjana seems to have been able to identify Wolves players at last and is putting in good passes to them. Quick corber on 25 from Sparky, headed away by Joleon. Some hints that the wings are being used at last. A good half of quick breaks, goal mouth incidents and Wolves at half time have had 54% of possession.
Plenty more attacks. Seol breaks, but his centre goes just goes behind. Then Joleon makes up for his card. Pablo Mills shoves Carl Cort in the back about 25 yards out down on the right. From the free kick, Naylor dummies, Ince takes it to Joleon who heads it home. An immediate chance for Derby down the right and Taylor’s shot goes wide.
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minute to go. Wonderfiul run from Olofinjana to Kenny and a great final ball across the goal to Carl Cort. 2-3! 3 minutes of injursy time. Keep the concentrarion! No - free kick given away by Ince just in our half, Idiakez takes Marco Reich unchallenged by Naylor heads against the post and in 3-3.
