Click on month for reports: 2005-6 Review Apr06 Mar06 Feb06 Jan06 Dec05 Nov05 Oct05 Sep05 Aug05 preseason July 2005  pre-season matches Hednesford, Telford, Wycombe (with Pictures), Kidderminster (with pix), Port Vale, Discovery Cup, Den Haag, Villa. are covered here Pix from Wycombe and Villa (click on team name) Pix Glenn named two separate teams for the first match at Hednesford, which we won 1-0 thanks to a strike by Leon Clarke.   The match was “just for fitness work according to the manager”.   Carl Cort appears to missing among rumours that he is off to Wigan to replace Ellington.  Teams - 1st half Michael Oakes, Rob Edwards, Keith Lowe, Jody Craddock, Jackie McNamara, Seol, Paul Ince, Mark Davies, Rohan Ricketts, Vio Ganea, Leon Clarke. Second-Half: Paul Jones, Martyn Riley, Joleon Lescott, Ralph Little, Lee Naylor, Mark Kennedy, Colin Cameron, Kevin Cooper, Chris Cornes, Kenny Miller, George Ndah. Tuesday’s match against Telford resulted in a 3-0 win with goals by Stewart, Cornes and Kenny Miller. Again no Cort.  Seol, Ganea and Ndah were also missing. Wolves first and second half teams were First-Half: Oakes, McNamara, Rafferty, Ince, Lescott, Riley, Gobern, Ricketts, Clarke, Stewart, Kennedy. Second-Half: Jones, Little, Naylor, Cameron, Edwards, Craddock, Cooper, Cornes, Miller, Davies, Clingan Away to Wycombe we went down 1:0 to an own goal conceded by Joleon right at the start of the second half.  Summary: Not too much to worry about apart from not finding the back of the net. Joleon couldn't prevent the og from 6 inches out and was majestic throughout, especially against the very fast and dangerous Nathan Tyson in the second half. The Wyc goalie (who chopped some toes off in a gardening accident a couple of years ago) Frank Talia was immaculate and so was his second half replacement, and saved 5 or 6 certs each, and when he was beaten their MoM headed off the line. Great to see Vio back in the shirt and looking strong. Seol needs his hair to grow back as he gave a few hospital passes. Jackie McNamara looked very assured. Jody put in some good tackles. Leon looked strong. Rohan was very much in the action and Mark Davies got stuck in the whole match he was on. Nayls was hyper-active. Bearded (and Captain) Mark Kennedy had a cracker of a shot in the 6th minute which fizzed out inches from the top corner. Some of his passing was a bit wayward, but his tackling back on top form. I think Oakesy touched the ball twice in the first half. The Wyc captain (Danny Senda, who had a trial at the Baggies two seasons back) was outstanding containing Lee and Seol on the left. Chris Cornes, Lewis Gobern and Sammy Clingan, all got run outs in the second half by which time Wycombe had got back into the match with that early goal out of nothing really. And it was a Wolves fan who won their prize draw which should pay for his trip to Tannadice next Saturday. see pic  In the meantime, hope this one of Sparky  is scary enough.... Together with Seol’s military haircut and the Mark Davies scalping we can only hope that this was the cause of the defeat!! Team: Oakes, McNamara, Naylor, Davies (Clingan 69), Lescott, Craddock, McNamara (Little 69), Seol (Cornes 83), Ganea (Gobern 54), Clarke, Ricketts.<BR>Unused subs: Hennessey, Rafferty, Riley. Wolves fans attending 297.     MORE PHOTOS FROM WYCOMBE: Row 1: Jackie McNamara, Seol with haircut, Jo, Vio, Mark Little, Chris Cornes Row 2 Goalmouth+Jackie jumps high, save from Lee Row 3: Jackie & Sparky, Wayne Hennessey, Vio, Rohan, Row 4 Half time coaching & Rohan magic    Many thanks to Pete Darricott reporting from Telford Wolves on Kidderminster 2 Wolves 1 Wolves went down to neighbours Kidderminster at Aggborough today to make it two defeats in two days.  The starting line-up featured none of the players who had played the night before with Glenn Hoddle trying to give his players the chance to be on the pitch for a longer run out.  In a lack lustre performance Wolves found themselves two down before Carl Cort pulled one back with a glancing header.  The second half wasnt much of an improvement with a dissapointed Glenn Hoddle admitting that Kidderminster probably deserved their win. WOLVES: Jones,Little,Rafferty,Cameron,Edwards,Riley,Cooper,Clingan,Cort,Miller,Olfinjana. SUBS;Hennessey,Davies,Cornes,Ndah,Gobern,Ganea. Port Vale 1 WW 2 (Cort, Clarke) Glenn said he was very unhappy with a first half where we dropped behind in the 4th minute.  He said we only wanted to play when we had the ball and didn’t tackle for it. Carl Cort equalised after a terrific pass from Olofinjana and through ball from Rohan Ricketts. Rohan again got an “assist” when his pass found Leon on the edge of the box and he hammered it home. Hungarian triallist Gyepes was reported not to have had a great match. Team: Wolves: Oakes, McNamara (Edwards 78), Naylor, Gyepes, Lescott, Olofinjana, Ricketts (Cooper 61), Kennedy (Ince 61), Clarke, Cort, Seol (Cameron 61).Unsed subs: Jones, Craddock, Lowe. Wolves 0 Sheffield Wednesday 0 (pen missed 8m Kenny, lost 4-5 on penalties (miss Cooper)) Wolves turned out with the first team, and dominated the game but lost out in a penalty shoot out. Kenny missed a penalty after he was brought down by Simek.  Seol could also have won a penalty. Coops missed the first shoot-out pen.  Glenn decided not to take a look at Gyepes, but did play Camara. Match report on the Wolves site is here: http://www.wolves.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10307~689826,00.html Wolves: Oakes, McNamara, Naylor (Kennedy 45), Olofinjana (Cameron 45), Lescott, Craddock, Ricketts, Ince (Cooper 74), Cort, Miller (Clarke 51), Seol.<BR>Unused subs: Jones, Edwards, Gyepes. Dundee United beat Dundee 3-0 so Wednesday play United for the cup and Wolves play Dundee for third place Dundee 0 Wolves 4 (Cort 57, 75. 85; Edwards 87) to win 3rd place Wolves mauled Dundee but the game was marred by a serious injury to goalkeeper Paul Jones. Jonah was stretchered off in a neck brace and the match was held up for 7 minutes. The club revealed that he has a fractured cheekbone.  George Ndah was on fire for the first half until he was replaced by Carl Cort, who scored a hat trick in the second half - here scoring his third - when Wolves made their dominance pay. Triallist Gabor Gyepes was siad to have played well. WoW report here http://www.wolves.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10307~690001,00.html. TEAM:  Jones (Oakes 25), Edwards, Kennedy, Cameron, Lescott (Lowe 45), Gyepes, Cooper, Cornes (Gobern 60), Clarke, Olofinjana (Ricketts 69), Ndah (Cort 45).<BR>Unused subs: McNamara, Seol. Following Wolves’ match, Dundee United came back from a goal down to beat Wednesday 2:1 to win the Discovery Cup. Den Haag 3 Wolves 0 A disappointing loss, although George Ndah could have scored in the opening minutes, and Carl, George and Seol all had near misses.. Glenn said that they were not expecting Den Haag to play the way they did and would not have pressed forward so much!  Michael Oakes was wrapped in cotton wool after the injury to Paul Jones (here) so Wayne Hennessey and Carl Ikeme both got a half each.  Pleasing - Ceorge Ndah played rthe whole match! Click here for Wolves match report Wolves: Hennessey (Ikeme 45), McNamara (Rafferty 56), Kennedy, Cameron, Lowe, Roberts, Seol (Clarke 66), Ince, Cort (Ganea 66), Ndah (Gobern 56), Ricketts. Unused sub: Riley Bookings: Kennedy (7 - foul), Rafferty (59 - foul), Ganea (83 - ungentlemanly conduct). Referee: R. Koopman. Attendance: 2,700 Wolves 2 (Cort, Olofinjana) Aston Villa 1 (Phillips) The first win v Villa at Moli since 1978! 27 years since we last beat the Villa at Moli!. Only a friendly - no, it seemed to mean more to both sides.  Villa were clearly not season fit yet since they start a week after us, but we experienced a pulsating first 25 minutes when we could easily have scored 5, with Kenny, Seol and Nayls running rings around the Villa defence. Samuel only had one successful tackle on Seol.  Magic stuff from side to side of the area led to a Nayls shot on the 13th minute being blocked by Cahill but he was first to get the rebound, rounded the Villa defence to the by-line and calmly slotted the ball across the 6 yard line for a tap in for Carl.   More good play 2 minutes later.   Kenny and Sparky played a one-two, Seol didn’t see Carl unkarked but Kenny’s curling cross did. Carl laid it in Seyi’s path and he hooked over the impressive Sorensen.  14 gone - two nil up and it could have become a massacre with our forwads rampant. And again a shot was cleared off the line. The ball rebounded to Seol, who seemed a bit lost before ventually trying to get the ball across to Carl... the best option would have been to shoot.   A similar situation and the ball rebounded to Kenny who lobbed the defender, but it was reasonably easily caught by Sorensen Villa had had an early attack and corner, but Oakes had been relatively untroubled.  However, we did seem to be defending too far up the pitch and when a through ball went to Nobby Solano, he raced down the right wing, Nayls couldn’t get near him and his excellent cross looked to beyond new signing Kevin Phillips but he launched himself at it and beat Oakes with a header. Three minutes later and Solano and Phillips combined again, but Oakes made one of several fine saves - this one with his legs. Mickey (Colin Cameron) came on for Rohan Ricketts in the 63rd, and Rohan’s starting seemed to have him on fire.  He came out with a “shoot-on-sight” approach. 6 minutes later though, and the news we’d all been waiting for - at least half of Molineux stood to welcome bakc the electric George Ndah. First he took instruction from Stuart Gray, then he and Hungarian triallist Gabor Gyepes (the last part of the name is pronounced ..pesh). The last picture in the sequence shows George drawing two defenders to him while Mickey runs on to the pass. and Mickey was in no mood to hang around. He controlled the ball as it came over his shoulder with his right foot and then shot with his left, only for Mellberg just get in the way to make a good save. Later the crowd thought they were in for a George special when he  was nearly put through but Carl’s pass went too close to the goalkeeper. Mickey also drew two attempts to save from Sorenson in injury time as Lee’s corner gave him a nice 25 yarder. Overall then I think we've found a right back to match Dennis Irwin in McNamara; good on overlap, crossing, being there for the pass and strong in the tackle. Kenny and Kennedy both MOM candidates. Kenny was everywhere, in the middle on the wing, swapping with Seol, although he spent five minutes at left back before Leon replaced him. Seol mullered their left back Samuel - he only won one tackle against Seol. Sorensen made a outstanding save from a Kennedy rocket and Kennedy's passing and vision seemed to have made a welcome reappearance. Oakes made some oustanding saves from Phillips Angel and Solano. Joleon was quiet but totally in control and Edwards had a generally good match. Nayls also quiet apart from making the goal and ok corners. Mickey seemed to come on with a shoot-on-sight policy and looked up for competing for his place. Ricketts looked to have fitted in very well now attacking and back defending. It was another match wher Seyi George looks better when Incey isn't playing and he could have had a couple more goals. Gyepes looked impressive in his 20 minutes Best moment, of course, George Ndah back on the pitch. If Cort's passing had had Ricketts' quality he could have been through for a couple. The E&S said O'Leary wanted Villa "to be taken apart" and for the first 25 we did and could have been 5 up. Seol seemed reluctant to shoot as he danced around in the box trying to get Cort in with a clear shot, and Sorenson saved a few. Phillips and Angel looked dangerous but Oakes handled then well. Their goal was a beauty - don't know how Phillips managed to get his header in from Solano's cross from their right wing. We were playing a bit too far up and did look vulnerable to a quick break. We were certainly fitter than them but they're two weeks off their season. It was impressive that we didn't give the ball away so much as we have been, and when they got it the defence was lined up with everyone back before they could take advantage - very well organised. It;s that which probably led to the match getting a bit boring, but we did handle some impressive Villa spells very well. and Mr Slape advised us that this was our first wn over Villa since 1980, the year we won the League Cup, and the first at Moli since 1978! - only a friendly - so what - any a couple of tackles on Seol showed the Villa were taking it seriously       Match reports - the Independent report- quite good.  and the WoW report. Wolves: Oakes, McNamara, Naylor, Olofinjana, Lescott, Edwards (Gyepes 69), Seol (Ndah 69), Ricketts (Cameron 63), Cort, Miller (Clarke 80), Kennedy (capt). Unused subs: Ikeme, Lowe. Villa: Sorensen, Hughes, Samuel (De La Cruz 45), McCann, Cahill (Laursen 45), Mellberg (capt), Solano, Phillips, Angel, Berger (Hendrie 69), Barry.<BR>Unused subs: Taylor, Ridgewell, Djemba-Djemba, Davis, Whittingham, Bersen, Moore. Attendance 13,603 Narrow Defeat - Nuneaton 1 WW 0  WoW report here Wolves: Ikeme, Little, Rafferty (Higgins 45), Flynn (Taylor 75), Riley, Lowe (capt), Gobern (Jones 84), O'Connor, Ganea, Cornes (Hughes 78), Ndah (Bennett 66). Unused sub: Hennessey PRE-SEASON 2005-6 Monday July 11 Hednesford 0:1 (Clarke) Away 19:30 Tuesday July 12 Telford        0:3 Stewart                                             Cornes Miller Away 19:45 Friday July 15 Wycombe    1:0 (Lescott og) Away 19:45 Saturday July 16 Kidderminster 2:1  (Cort)  Away 19:30 Wednesday July 20 Port Vale 1:2  (Cort, Clarke) Away 19:30 Saturday July 23 Sheffield Wednesday  0:0 lost on pens 4-5.  Kenny missed 8m pen Tannadice 13:00 Sunday July 24 City of Discovery Cup 3rd place v Dundee won 4:1 (Cort 3 Ed 1) Dundee Utd 2 Sheffield W 1 Dens Park 13:00 15:00 Wednesday July 27 Den Haag (NL) 3-0 Away 19:30 Saturday July 30 Aston Villa      2 (Cort, Seyi) : 1 Home 15:00 Monday August 1 Nuneaton     1:0 Away 19:30 ALL THE ABOVE ARE SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION   The Championship season begins on Saturday August 6.