Match Review: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Brighton
Boring, boring Brighton. That was the chant ringing out around Molineux from the home supporters as the Albion ground out a 0-0 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
You can’t argue with the assessment of the locals, but who gives a toss? After four consecutive league defeats, all that mattered was getting something on the board. Grinding out a point against one of the best sides in the division outside of the top six is an excellent result given the circumstances. That might not sit well with some sections of the fan base, but it’s a fact.
No matter what you think of Chris Hughton and his style of play, there’s no doubting that. It was a back to basics approach with the players belatedly showing some fight and spirit after two completely spineless performances against Bournemouth and Cardiff City in which it genuinely looked like they were trying to get Hughton sacked.
His team selection was intriguing to say the least. The Albion manager named a starting XI consisting entirely of players signed before the start of last season. Over £60m has been lavished on new signings since then, but not one of them began the game. In fact, Bernardo was the only one to be used and that wasn’t out of choice either, Hughton’s hand being forced after an injury to Bruno.
That lack of faith in such expensive acquisitions doesn’t bode well for the future of Paul Winstanley and the recruitment team. It also lends some credence to the rumours about a number of the new faces upsetting the team spirit and togetherness of the squad – especially Yves Bissouma.
The Malian international is said to have got involved in a training ground altercation with Beram Kayal, which would explain why he hasn’t even made the bench for the past two games. When Bissouma arrived from Lille in the summer, their supporters heralded him as a brilliant talent but one with an extremely questionable attitude and it looks like we might be seeing that now, some nine months into his Albion career.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh was proven to be a complete waste of money so far, the return to 4-4-1-1 has done for Jurgen Locadia and Martin Montoya is either brilliant or terrible – there’s nothing in between. Hughton put his faith in his unfashionable grafters – players such as Gaetan Bong, Dale Stephens and Beram Kayal who replaced Davy Propper early on – and as a result of having an XI who clearly care for the club rather than simply seeing it as a means of getting paid very handsomely, we got the sort of dogged performance that underpinned last season’s survival bid.
The stats show that the Albion managed no shots on target with it now being 570 minutes since we last scored a goal. Wolves had 80% of the possession in the first half hour. Given that many of us in the away end were knackered just from watching in that heat, the effort that went in on the pitch with so much defending to be done should not be overstated.
Have you ever been that hot at an Albion game before? Oldham Athletic away on the opening day of the 2003-04 season is probably the only time we can remember, which is mad when you think about it given that Boundary Park has been scientifically proven to be the coldest place on Earth outside of Siberia.
It was a fantastic gesture from Wolves to give out free pints of water as a result of that heat. Their fans may have been classless with their berating of the Albion’s style of play, but their stewards were superb. Complimentary water would never happen at the Amex, where Paul Barber probably greets each heatwave with a celebratory dance at how much money he can rake in through sales of bottled water – especially when it doesn’t have a lid and so inevitably ends up spilt everywhere.
Returning to the football and Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk were back to their best after a couple of games in which they’ve been horrific. That probably means that Molly Malone’s takings are down this week. When Wolves did find a way past those two, they were then met by the formidable figure of Maty Ryan.
At a ground at which Brighton goalkeepers always seem to thrive – hello Michel Kuipers in 2002 – Ryan pulled off two stunning saves to secure a clean sheet. He spread himself bravely at the feet of Leander Dendoncker to divert an effort over the bar and then saved a header from the Belgian in the closing stages.
Diogo Jota also hit a post as Wolves were left frustrated having now racked up 48 shots in 180 minutes against the Albion this season without scoring. Somehow, we’ve taken four points from them, cementing our place as the Old Gold’s bogey side.
The closest Brighton came to a goal was when Kayal let one fly from 30 yards that had Rui Patricio scrambling, but ultimately it was too high to test the Portuguese number one. The game was hardly a classic but the standing ovation the players got at the end from the visiting support suggested that nobody was particularly bothered.
The gap to Cardiff is now three points. You’d need to take some serious MDMA to think we’ve got a hope of picking up points away at Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal or home to Manchester City, which means that next Saturday’s game with Newcastle United looks crucial in terms of the Albion’s hopes of surviving.
Play like this and we can get a result from Rafa Benitez’s inform Toon Army. Survival seems that little bit closer now. The back-to-basics approach certainly won’t be approved of by everyone, but right now we’d take four 0-0’s for the rest of the season if it means staying up. Anybody complaining that we didn’t have a go at Wolves or try and win the game would do well to remember that.
