Newcastle 3 Wolves 0 - Liam Keen and Nathan Judah analysis
Newcastle 3 Wolves 0 - Liam Keen and Nathan Judah analysis
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00:00 [Music playing]
00:09 Hello I'm Nathan Dudo, I'm here with the Wolves Reporter, it's Mr Liam Keane.
00:13 Liam, Newcastle United 3, Wolverhampton 1-0, let's go with the good first because it'll be very quick
00:18 and then we can talk about the bad. A lot of it actually after the game has finished.
00:22 So the good, I guess the Mewkes have got a bit of a run out.
00:26 The first 20 minutes was pretty even, Stephens, but apart from that, maybe a 10-minute spot in the second half.
00:31 It was a tough afternoon, wasn't it?
00:33 Yeah, I don't think, if we're being honest, on the balance of the performance,
00:37 I don't think it was a 3-0 loss performance from Wolves,
00:40 but it wasn't a performance that warranted 3 points, put it that way.
00:45 Newcastle United's a bit of a cliche, but better in both boxes, I felt.
00:48 Wolves' second half a lot better, definitely a lot better.
00:51 More control over the game and were starting to impose themselves,
00:56 but they were imposing themselves with, and this is no disrespect to these individuals,
00:59 but Pablo Sarabia and Bella Gard, who I think are good footballers,
01:02 Sarabia in particular has had a good few months,
01:05 but this is not Neto, Hwang, Kunja at their height from this season.
01:09 And of course Nathan Fraser is a young lad.
01:12 Wolves were playing better and getting chances, but without their best players on the pitch
01:16 and that's really where the problems stem from.
01:18 Yes, and I thought they competed pretty well at the start of that game
01:21 and the first goal was pretty unfortunate to concede really, a deflection.
01:25 I think Craig Dawson and Alexander Isak can't really miss.
01:28 After that I thought, I didn't think heads went down,
01:31 but you could sense a tiredness in Wolves, into this team.
01:34 It's been a long week, it's been a long two or three weeks really
01:37 and I thought you just caught with them a little bit
01:39 and then when the second goal goes in, even though there's still plenty of the game left,
01:43 you almost thought that was game, set, match didn't you there and then?
01:46 Yes, it's a shame really the manner in which they conceded.
01:50 You mentioned the first one, completely right,
01:52 the Wolves had a good ten minutes or so at the start of that game.
01:55 Fourteenth minute they conceded that opening goal
01:57 and it's very fortuitous from Newcastle's point of view.
01:59 And from that point really, the weather was dreadful.
02:02 We should know about our laptops, Craig.
02:04 Weather was dreadful, obviously it's a tough place to come here anyway.
02:08 Wolves, as I mentioned already, without a lot of their best players
02:10 and it's a difficult thing to get back into that game.
02:13 And the manner in which they conceded the second goal
02:16 was I think disappointing from Wolves' point of view.
02:18 The midfield bypassed basically with one pass of the football.
02:22 Too easy in that first half.
02:23 Far too easy. Essentially it was two passes for the goal
02:26 and then the goal itself is a mix up and error between
02:28 Jose Sarr and Max Killman.
02:29 I think some people say Killman should have cleared it,
02:32 some people say Sarr's going to hold it,
02:34 it's probably somewhere in between the two.
02:35 I think both players have got to do a bit better
02:37 and you concede 2-0 in the first half
02:40 and you've got a mountain to climb really here.
02:41 Wolves, as I say, better second half and then concede
02:43 a really sloppy, rubbish goal really in the 92nd minute.
02:47 It doesn't mean anything for the result
02:49 but it's just not a good look for the club.
02:51 A lot of the youngsters got on, or a few of the youngsters got in.
02:53 Obviously Chueira got on, Nathan Fraser come on at the start
02:56 of the second half to lead the line.
02:58 And you look at Gary O'Neill who's just come in for his post-match press conference.
03:02 Some of these guys who you might get the odd 45 minutes here
03:05 or the odd 10 or 15 minutes there,
03:07 might have to feature a little bit more prominently
03:09 in the upcoming few weeks because there was some
03:12 hopefully OK news on some of the injury fronts
03:15 with Pedro Neto and Jose Sarr coming off at half-time.
03:18 But also an absolute shocker for someone who wasn't here today.
03:21 Yes, I asked Gary O'Neill about Hwang Hee-chan
03:25 at the press conference.
03:26 He delivers the news that he will be out for around six weeks.
03:32 So certainly worse than Gary O'Neill feared initially after the Brighton game.
03:37 And he described it there as a disaster.
03:40 He's spot on, he really is. He loses to Mateus Kunia.
03:43 Especially when we hear from him on Wednesday,
03:46 thinking that it could be seven to ten days, maybe a couple of weeks.
03:49 And then from one to two games to six, which you're missing six or seven matches, is massive.
03:54 Yes, and Hwang's got history unfortunately with hamstring injuries.
03:57 It's just one of those really frustrating moments when he was already in a
04:00 little bit of a slump after a couple of poor performances.
04:04 And then you go and get an injury like that.
04:06 At a time when Wolves have got such a small squad, you've already got Kunia out.
04:09 And he said there that he expects Kunia and Hwang to be back around the same time.
04:13 But then he followed that up by saying Kunia might be slightly before.
04:17 So you're looking at getting into...
04:20 Around the Villa game for Kunia maybe just after that.
04:22 Exactly, and a week or two after that probably for Hwang.
04:25 So you're looking at early April probably to get them both back up and running.
04:29 Early to mid-April.
04:30 And it's a massive blow for Wolves and they haven't got a lot of options.
04:33 It's one of those as well and I'm sure people are going to come back to the January window
04:37 and not getting a striker over the line.
04:39 Sassachie Collage has obviously done his ACL in now.
04:41 But Fabio Silva, who's playing football in Scotland, these are the type of players
04:45 that will be playing now. Fabio Silva would have been playing.
04:47 Sassachie Collage, if he was fit and stayed here, would have been playing.
04:50 Instead you're looking at youngsters to try and get you through.
04:54 Pedro Neto, the good news is hopefully he should be back.
04:56 Xhau Gomez should be back. Of course he missed today.
04:59 But at the same time, you've got to look at that commentary game
05:02 and think you've just got to get past Coventry.
05:03 If you can get past Coventry, get to that semi-final,
05:06 then a lot of these players should hopefully be available for selection come that semi-final.
05:11 And I think that's really, we've talked about it in the week,
05:14 whether the league's the priority or the cup's the priority.
05:16 For me, you're homing on that quarterfinal against Coventry a week on Saturday.
05:21 Yeah, I can understand that thinking as well.
05:22 But we've also got a lot to play for in the league.
05:24 There's opportunities there.
05:25 They're going to have, for the most part now, week breaks in between games as well.
05:29 There'll be a couple of mid-week.
05:30 They've got Burnley mid-week, a couple of, obviously Bournemouth now with the FA Cup will be rescheduled.
05:35 If they get through that, that'll be a reschedule again for the Arsenal game.
05:37 So they'll have a couple of mid-week games, but they do have time to rest, recover, recuperate.
05:42 And they need more from players like Belagard, who I thought was better second half today than he was first.
05:46 He's not a nine, is he? No, absolutely not.
05:48 You need more from someone like Pablo Sarabia.
05:50 And then, to be honest, I didn't think I'd be saying this at this point on, what is it, 2nd of March?
05:57 You're probably going to need Nathan Fraser to step up, because you need someone for me who's going to lead that line.
06:03 And he did OK, actually, when he came on today. Won a couple of headers, held the ball up.
06:06 Had a shot that obviously tested the Bravka.
06:09 He's a good footballer.
06:11 I don't want to put a lot of pressure on him, and I don't think Wolves fans should, but Wolves might need him.
06:15 No, I'm not saying necessarily from the start every week, but Wolves might need him more often than not going forward.
06:19 And you mentioned it on the other players.
06:21 Gio Algovas was meant to be a sub today, and then this morning woke up not feeling great with a tight hamstring.
06:25 So they didn't risk him, so that should be OK for next week, hopefully.
06:29 Jose Sarr, tight quad, sore quad is how it was described.
06:34 And then Pedro Neto, tight hamstring.
06:36 They're hopeful, Gary O'Neill, that neither of them are injuries.
06:40 He's more precautionary than both coming off.
06:42 However, he did also say he's not had a full debrief with the medical team when he spoke to us.
06:47 And of course, with what happened with Wang, saying that he didn't think it was serious.
06:51 Just got to be cautious. Let's just take a cautious approach.
06:53 Let's take a cautious approach. So hopefully it's precautionary, and that seems the way.
06:56 But my word, if any of those are out, then Wolves are in big trouble.
07:00 Well, look, they played that second half and they've got none of their first choice front three on the pitch.
07:05 That's decimating. That's devastation.
07:08 And they've got to find a way.
07:11 And look, Gary O'Neill has done a fantastic job this season.
07:14 He's found ways. They were predicted to be towards the bottom of the table.
07:20 And we're looking at a team now that were frustrated because Newcastle were winning around them.
07:24 And obviously they've gone three points ahead of them today, or four points now from the start of the game.
07:29 But at the same time, they're still in a battle.
07:31 But you've got to think that maybe, can they survive this?
07:34 Can they survive this in the league? It's difficult.
07:36 They've got such a skinny squad.
07:38 I'm not sure that they can survive this and play on two fronts, the league and the cup.
07:42 Yeah, it's the problem about just running out of steam and fizzling out.
07:45 And then you've got obviously the injury issues on top of that.
07:48 You're right, the FA Cup has to take a big position at the forefront of your mind now.
07:53 But it's only one loss.
07:55 There wasn't a lot between the two teams in terms of performance today.
07:59 Wolves have still got a lot to play from.
08:00 Some good league games at home coming up as well.
08:04 So there's opportunities. There really is.
08:06 But you would like to think that if you can get through that Coventry game,
08:10 the semi-final, if Wolves do get there, will be around about the 20th of April that weekend.
08:15 And they'll hopefully have some of these players back.
08:18 And that's not a big opportunity in itself.
08:19 Or hopefully all of them.
08:21 Six weeks seems a long time and it is a long time.
08:24 But like you say, you're obviously not going to be available for Fulham.
08:27 Then you've got Coventry that hopefully they can get through.
08:29 Then you've got international break.
08:30 Then you've got Villa. That's four weeks.
08:32 So all of a sudden you get through. That's one Premier League game.
08:34 That's four weeks. You've only got two weeks left.
08:36 And you should be available then.
08:38 So there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
08:40 But of course on a cold, windy, rainy afternoon, you've just got beat 3-0 away in Newcastle.
08:44 You've just heard that absolute devastating blow from Gary O'Neill.
08:47 There's not a lot to smile about.
08:49 But there are better days ahead for this team.
08:51 Yeah, I would like to think so.
08:52 And I quite like the message that Gary put out in that press conference as well.
08:55 He said that, yes, if we have to play with Tawanda and Nathan, we will.
09:00 And they're good players.
09:01 We will go ahead and play them if we have to do it.
09:03 But he also said, we've put so much work in for the past four, five, six months
09:08 to get us in this position now, a quarter-final, fighting for Europe.
09:11 Basically, don't allow this to slip away now.
09:15 And obviously you can't without players available.
09:17 You can't play them.
09:18 But the players that are available are now going to pick the mantle up.
09:21 And they're more than capable of doing it.
09:23 You look at Pablo Sarabia.
09:24 Couldn't get a kick early part of the season.
09:26 Neto got injured. He's in.
09:27 And he performed.
09:28 He stepped up.
09:29 He showed why he's an experienced international.
09:31 Now it's someone like Bellingard.
09:33 Fraser potentially.
09:34 Orbea, I don't want to put too much pressure on him.
09:36 But these players need to step up and show why they're at this football club,
09:39 why they're in the Premier League.
09:41 Newcastle 3, Wolves in a full post-match reaction.
09:43 Make sure you log on to expressistat.com.