ClapWolverhampton Wanderers fans were well aware of the fact that they could go toe to toe with Tottenham Hotspur before the game even kicked off. At full time that belief was vindicated, but as reported by BBC and Wolves.com, it didn’t lead to a win – or any points at all, for that matter.
Spurs started off well and pushed the pace on the hosts, to the point where they took an early lead through Lucas Moura. For the most part, from that point on, Nuno’s men dictated every single portion of this game.
Lighting a fire
Wolves got the equaliser they so richly deserved courtesy of a lovely strike from Adama Traore, and they proceeded to go in search of the winner. Instead of acquiring that goal it was Spurs who pinched it in injury time, with Jan Vertonghen heading home to send the traveling fans into a state of pandemonium.
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho was quick to praise Wolves in the wake of the win.
“My feeling is they are fighting for more than they said. They are not just there for the top six. They can do more. They are a fantastic team. This is a big victory.
“This game is a special game because the opponent is a special opponent. Nuno [Espirito Santo] has to be very proud of Wolves’ record.”
He went on to praise his own side.
“We went about a year without winning a Premier League game away and we’ve managed two in a short amount of time. Now we are not looking to the bottom of the table, we’re looking higher up.”
“We knew the game was going to be difficult. They didn’t catch us by surprise. We had a very good start like we tried to. We almost scored a second goal but against Wolves that would not have killed the game.
They stole one
“We knew if we arrive in the last part we could score. After that we had to close the door for the last five minutes. Three incredible points.”
Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo didn’t seem too downbeat about the result.
“Of course I’m pleased with the performance. We played very good. We weren’t perfect, almost. We should have defended better. We played well and created chances. I’m very pleased with the boys.
“The final moments require a lot of focus. We must stay in the game until the end. We were more obsessed about scoring than defending.”
Tottenham and Wolves, despite not really admitting it, are kind of fighting for the same thing – with Mourinho being the only man to make that clear.
That ‘thing’ is a place in the top four, which neither side should rule out as a distinct possibility.
There’s so much potential in this Wolves side and while they’ll be excited about the future, one of the biggest concerns they’ll have is that Nuno is being consistently linked with a move to Arsenal.
Mourinho, on the other hand, has only just gotten started.
