Southampton 1 Wolves 2 - Liam Keen and Nathan Judah analysis
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00:00Hello, I'm Nathan Judah, I'm here with Wolves reporter, it is Mr. Liam Keane.
00:13I forgot my name there.
00:14Nearly did, nearly did.
00:15Southampton 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 2, Liam, it wasn't classic, it wasn't great,
00:20there were mistakes there, lots to work on, but the result was the most important thing.
00:24Three points is massive, that's all that we needed.
00:26Yeah, definitely.
00:27The Wolves needed to get a strong result in this game, and a win takes them a massive
00:31step forward to staying in the Premier League next season.
00:35This Southampton team, it's not nice to say, but you would imagine are doomed, they're
00:40done.
00:41They weren't very good today, even in the moments when they did have Wolves on the ropes
00:44a little bit.
00:45But Wolves also went at their best.
00:47Wolves started poorly, allowed Southampton into the game, scored a goal against the run
00:51of play really, a really good goal, Bellegarde crossed, Larsen header, great moment for him,
00:55he looked very relieved heading to a jubilant away end.
00:59And Wolves are in the ascendancy, they're pretty comfortable, they get a second, two
01:01minutes into the second half, and that was the chance to come out of first gear.
01:06Score your third, your fourth, your fifth goal, they had chance after chance after chance
01:10that they spurned, they threw away, they were in first gear and didn't really grab the game
01:14by the scruff of the neck.
01:15And all it takes is half a chance.
01:18Dibbling hits the post, Onuachu follows up and scores, and Wolves are all of a sudden
01:23fighting against it.
01:24They managed to hang on, they defended quite well, I thought Sarr controlled his box pretty
01:27well, Agbedood was good, Totti Gomez was the best defender by far today, I thought he was
01:32fantastic.
01:33And Wolves got through and got the result.
01:35They'll have better performances going forward, I don't think we can criticise them too much
01:39because the result was the major thing.
01:41They were the storm didn't they at the start, they started the game poorly, they finished
01:45the game poorly, but really that 60-70 minutes in the middle, they dominated the game.
01:49And it was the perfect away day performance in many aspects.
01:53But at the same time, like you say, especially when you bring the fresh legs on of Balagard,
01:58Sarabia, that breakaway 4-2 where Guedes says it's a poor final ball and then they come
02:02in and you just think, my goodness, if they had drawn this game today it would have felt
02:07like a defeat.
02:08They've got three points, and Ipswich of course have lost 4-2 as well at home today.
02:12It's a massive moving week for Wolves, of course Leicester have still got to blame Manchester
02:16United, but nine points the gap now, 16 in the goal difference, this should be done shouldn't
02:21it?
02:23It's not only in Wolves' hands, it's theirs to throw away.
02:26I can't see any way they do throw it away, I know it's difficult at this stage of the
02:31season to say that with a few tricky games and important games to come, but Wolves are
02:35in a position now where if they threw it away it would be an absolute disaster, a travesty.
02:39I don't think they will, I think they're in a strong position.
02:41They will have to perform better than that in some games coming up, West Ham at home
02:45is the next game after a few weekends off now, they will have to perform much better
02:49than they have done there.
02:51You mentioned a couple of the counter-opportunities, Belagarbi won that terrible cross, Vitor
02:55Pereira was furious at the sidelines, Guedes has four options and plays it far too wide
03:00to Sarabia who's also offside, he should be staying onside by the way as well.
03:05Wolves got away with it at times during that game, but had chances to up it a little bit
03:09and maybe go for the jugular and they didn't, they'll have to do that in other games.
03:12But it's a result that they needed, it's a massive, massive win and they take a massive
03:16step to safety.
03:17I know one of the couple of players, Jorgen Struyng-Larsen, who's got some stick by the
03:20way, he's got some stick from the fans, both home and away, a disappointing performance
03:24and of course you're going to get criticism at times, but no Mateus Cunha in these two
03:29games, four points from two games, Vitor Pereira would have taken that I guarantee you.
03:34And two really well taken goals today, both very different goals as well, his second goal
03:38was an excellent finish actually and his first goal was strong, I mean no one around him
03:41but the way he steered it, he hasn't given Aaron Ramsdale any chance whatsoever to give
03:46him two goals a brace today, almost ten goals for the season, doing the world of good.
03:51Yeah, on those two games by the way, we said after the Everton game we thought it was a
03:54good point regardless, but winning this game makes that an even bigger point doesn't it?
03:58And with Larsen, I'm really pleased for him, I really am, because we both felt that there
04:01was a really good player in there, he's had some really good moments this season, he has
04:04struggled of late, he's gone seven Premier League games without a goal, obviously had
04:08that injury in between as well, missed a few chances previously under Pereira, then had
04:13some really poor games, but he's scored seven goals before today and he's made that nine
04:17now, I think that's a very good return for a striker in his first season in the Premier
04:21League, he's still relatively young as well, and both goals were taken really well, fantastic
04:26cross from Belagard, good header, gives Ramsdale no chance, I mean it's terrible defending
04:30by the way, it's absolutely horrendous defending, but he's got to take what's in front of you,
04:33it's a good goal.
04:34But look, cross, header, goal, that's what we haven't seen this season, that's what we
04:37have not seen and that is what I think Vito Pereira, depending on what they do in the
04:41summer, well he'll need to see more of that, that's when your quality cross is in, because
04:45you know he can finish, he knows where the back of the net is, and he knows his angles
04:48very very well.
04:49Yeah exactly, you've got to play to player strength and Larsson took the goal really
04:52really nicely, and then the second one as you mentioned, Agbedoodle did brilliantly
04:55to win the ball back with a header in the first instance, Wolves flick it on in midfield,
04:59Menezzi finds it, plays it to Belagard, very simple pass to Larsson, takes a small nick
05:03as it goes through the defender's legs, but it's a really good finish, darted into the
05:07bottom corner and that wins Wolves the game.
05:10Wolves deserve to win today, but they were almost their own worst enemy at the end.
05:15I'm pleased for Larsson, that'll do him the world of good, and Wolves are in a very very
05:19strong position.
05:20Yeah, and good going into the international break as well, with the two big games of course,
05:23and let's be honest, if you can get positive results, let's say another four points in
05:27the next two games, it's all over.
05:29You would think so, West Ham then Ipswich isn't it, so that Ipswich game, I know them
05:33losing today was massive, it still feels like a big game in the circumstances, but it becomes
05:38a much less of a big game after today's win, and with them losing again, Wolves are, that
05:44gap is healthy enough to stay up in my opinion, but if they can do anything in these next
05:48two games, it's probably been a duster to them.
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