YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

I know we’re still 19th, but how much better does it feel to be a point off safety and a win ahead of those losers West Ham than had we failed to get this result. For once, it was our day.

Birmingham have been a particularly difficult team for us in recent years, with our triple nemeses (I looked it up) of Kevin Phillips, Cameron Jerome and late goals being particularly painful as a Wolves fan. Yet, for once all three failed to bite us, with Jerome and then – even better – Phillips, missing great opportunities in the last 10 minutes. At last. By all accounts a great performance from a patched together team, with special praise being reserved for Messrs Ward and Ebanks-Blake. Interesting parallels with the Sunderland victory where, similarly, unintentional changes enforced on the team through injury led to a very good result.

As is to be expected – the fickleness of football fans being the one unchanging thing in the game – this result has taken some of the pressure off Mick McCarthy, who is not quite the dunderheaded fool some have accused him of being in recent weeks, although I’m sure many will still maintain he’s not up to the job.

This set me thinking on a tangent about whether actually attending games and being there to support the team (or otherwise) rather than watching by other means, affects (adversely or otherwise) our ability to think positively in the face of difficult results. I’ve been frustrated in recent weeks with results but have always maintained Mick’s the best man for the job but, being based in Brighton, I don’t go to every game – usually about 10-12 a year, home and away. I watch all of them (except Sunday’s, typically) but I think the experience of having been in a crowd of either happy or angry people does affect my take on a performance or result, as does having invested the money and time (in my case, all day) to be there.

An aside, but Mick McCarthy’s numptygate furore a couple of weeks ago is very relevant here. McCarthy described those who criticised him on message boards and blogs as ‘numpties’, before swiftly trying to counter criticism by praising the fans at Molineux, thus cleverly avoiding the point that many of these are the same people and that everyone at Molineux on Saturday doesn’t think he’s a saint.

But I digress. To test this out, just to satisfy my curiosity (and hopefully yours), I’d be really very pleased if everyone who reads this takes a minute to answer the following four questions by commenting below:

How many games do you attend a year?
Whereabouts do you live?
Where do you think we’ll finish this year?
Do you want Mick to stay?

I’ll write it up if I get enough of a response, so go on, do it. Please. Back to the actually-having-a-vague-idea-what’s-going-on blogging next week, but it would be great if you could give me your feedback by commenting below.

West Brom next up, and what better time to get a derby victory under our belts to boost confidence. Up the Wolves!

This game could have very easily continued the well-trod path. There was no doubt that these players would chase the game with all their hearts but, as we’ve seen against Bolton and Blackpool in the last two games alone, this doesn’t always bring it’s reward. But we ended with a win today and we did so purely because of clinical finishes from Foley and Ebanks-Blake and Hunt in the right place at the right time (which we crucially lacked in the last few weeks) to get their goals. Sunderland, without their first choice central defence, won’t be happy with the goals they conceded, but we deserved them. I won’t say Wolves showed any more grit that they have up to now in trying to fight their way back that in previous games, because that has never been lacking it was just that today it finally paid off – we scored more goals than the opposition for once.

There was the same passion from the team, the same commitment, the same good interplay, but there were also the same defensive worries. Despite our dominance, Sunderland are a potent attacking side, and we were already dicing with disaster in the first half. With injuries and suspensions, it was a makeshift defence, who performed reasonably in the circumstances, with Elokobi making a commendable job of his shift to the centre. Stearman in particular though, however well he does the rest of the time (and let’s not forget he had a legitimate goal disallowed for offside), has an unfortunate knack for errors at crucial moments. However good Bent’s strike for Sunderland’s first was, Stearman made a big mistake in letting the ball reach him.

Sunderland’s second from Wellbeck was a fantastic header from near the penalty spot but although no one could have expected him to get the ball in from there, someone should have been challenging him for the header anyway. It wasn’t such a wonder goal as Varney scored last week, but the same lessons apply – challenge everything because sometimes the opposition are better than you expect.

Man of the Match

Because we do have the win however, today is definitely a day to focus on the positives, and there are plenty of those in an excellent attacking performance, in which the defence fully played their part.

Hennessey – Good to see him back in the team. Not too much asked of him, or much he could do with the goals, but sound 7

Zubar – How good is it to see this guy back. Good return to the team 8
Stearman – For all his good qualities, makes too many crucial mistakes 6
Elokobi – Surprisingly good performance in the central defence 7
Ward – Did nowt wrong and worked as hard as ever 7

Foley – Excellent goal for the captain for the day, and good performance in midfield 8
Jones – Good effort and skill all over the pitch 7
Mancienne – Did what was asked of him. One notable mistake in a bad back pass could have cost a goal 7
Milijas – Superb game yet again, excellent vision and passing – especially a couple of excellent long range deliveries to Jarvis 8
Jarvis – Continues to cause huge problems for the opposition and the quality of balls into the box this year has been spot on 8

Doyle – Continues to make a vital all round contribution to the team, but not get the goals himself. Could he do better behind Ebank’s Blake? 8

Ebanks-Blake – Now our top goal scorer, and a great goal to take him there
Hunt – Looked better as a substitute. Important goal and loved his goal celebration which was to urge everyone to get back up the pitch and get the winner.

And, of course, two prescient substitutions from McCarthy definitely paid off in the two goalscorers.

Great comeback but hopefully they won’t always need such reserves of determination to get a win in the future. They’ll be more wins this season, and more losses, but few will mean as much as this. With a win for West Ham, we would have looked in a very precarious position without this hard-fought result. As it is we’re still second bottom and there’ll be plenty more ups and downs to come, but this is a major result to build on.

And finally, before I forget…

I only saw bits of the game on t’ net so won’t talk in detail about individual performances, but it was good to see Foley and Jarvis continuing their excellent partnership. Milijas again seemed to bring that skill and creativity that was lacking in midfield, so it would be tempting to ask McCarthy why he wasn’t in the team sooner, but that would be to forget that the other man on the scoresheet was Dave Edwards, who has gone a long way to explain his selection in past weeks. Solid if unspectacular – not a long-term option if the team is to improve, but a great grafter.

In truth, City looked below par but Mancini admitted that Wolves would have beaten quite a few teams yesterday. Sorry for the briefness of the write-up. Tell me what you made of the game. I’d be particularly interested to know: Doyle’s yet to get goal in the league, but how did he play generally yesterday?

And finally , of course, I should point out that I was right!

Wolves secure their first opening day win in 12 years, and with sufficient style to bode well for the future. David Jones picked up where he left off at the end of last season, with some intelligent, creative play, a few chances and a brilliant volleyed freekick. Fletcher, also, in particular looked like a fine acquisition, even nicking a goal from a few inches out on his debut.

Van Damme, playing on the wing, looked more comfortable than many a foreign import on their Premiership debut. Ward continued to confound my ingrained negative expectations by producing a solid performace at the back and some good moments going forward.

Stoke new boy, Kenwyne Jones, looked sharp until picking up an injury from a hard but fine tackle from Craddock. That seemed to be the end for Stoke for the first half, but amidst the celebrations, that first quarter of an hour in which Stoke were able to threated and Jones managed comfortable outpace and out muscle the usually sturdy Berra to get a shot rebounding off the crossbar should strike a note of caution for the future.

Stoke picked up in the second half, denying Wolves the luxury of one of those rare comfortable finishes. A win, however, is a win, and sees Wolves in the top four!

A late West Ham goal took a little of the shine off a great day for Wolves.  West Ham had their moments, but often looked very little like a team willing or able to fight for their place at the top table.

Jarvis, Jones and Doyle were again outstanding, and Zubar hit a fine goal in Wolves first three goal spree this season.  West Ham are rightly despondent, but the Wolves fans will go home very happy indeed.

Burnley are likely to be cast as ‘fellow-strugglers’ with Wolves in many of the write-ups for this game, but the three point gap opened over 18th place here does set us apart a little from that pack.  That’s not to say that it’s all over, that with one bad result we’re not right back in there, but three points taken from your closest rivals is the very best you can get from a single game.

It made a change to see Wolves getting the luck with Jarvis being gifted the first goal from a terrible back pass, and Guediora’s wayward shot taking a decisive deflection off Burnley back Carlisle for the second, but all that really goes to show is the truth that you make your own luck and the better you play the more luck you get.  And vice versa, as Burnley will attest after Nugent smashed the ball into the ground from 8 yards to see it ricochet off the top of the cross bar.  Wolves are better than Burnley, and have the luck to prove it.

Nothing is set in stone, but this result will set the engraver reaching for his chisel, as far as Burney are concerned at least.  And from Wolves’s perspective, the evidence is that if they keep up the showing of the last month they will be in with a good chance of sticking where they are.

‘Stealth Craddock’ managed to thump in a goal in the third minute from what looked like a suspisciously off side position, but no one at the club was about to spurn that piece of luck. Wolves went on to dominate in the first half, with Milijas in particular in fine form, but went in only one goal to the good at the break.

Bolton raised their game in the second, but it was Wolves who got the crucial next goal, with an absolute stunner from Milias from 30 yards out. Cue a Bolton revival and a certain degree of panic evident in the Wolves defensive ranks. However the team held on for those all important three points against fellow strugglers, ahead of trips to Spurs and Manchester United.

A good all round team performance, and an impressive return to the starting lineup for Stephen Ward.

The View From the North

A good day for Wolves, despite them again doing their sportsmanlike best to help an indifferent Fulham side make a game of it towards the end.

Pros:
> 2 good goals, including Kevin Doyle’s first, and a win
> A comeback for Ebanks-Blake and Kightly
> A sound debut for Castillo
> Fine performances from Hennessey and Berra. I’ve never been impressed by him previously but Berra defended well today

Cons:
> Wolves let things get far too nervy at the end
> Having said he had a good debut lest week, for a tall feller it’s surprising Maierhofer didn’t win a single header.
> I and everyone else around me who seemed equally exhasperated had to listen to 90 minutes of constant abuse if everyone and everything Wolves-related from the person behind. I hate to single the idiot out, but I was sitting in NL5 L146 and he wasn’t far away. I think we must have been at different games because Wolves won and deserved to. So it’s hello mid-table glory for Wolves, and Au Revoir North Bank for Wolfie.

And so, the Wolves go marching on.  Next stop, who knows where…

Despite a squad of shreds and patches Wolves could, probably should, have had more. Keogh signalled their intent, hitting the crossbar in only the third minute. Within eight he had the ball in the back of the net with a sound header from Milijas’s free kick. Then in the second half he had a clear penalty call turned down, and continued to make all the running. It’s hard to believe this is the same Keogh who, although he never lacked enthusiasm, spent large portions of last season looking like a scarecrow caught in the headlights. Special mention also to Henry for another solid performance, and to Edwards, who has never been a regular starter but came in today and put in a good shift in the run-until-you-drop mould, also delivering a few good attacking passes.

Wigan did finally manage to pull things together into the second half after Jason Scotland came on and did have their own, slightly less definitive, penalty shouts waved away. Still, Wolves organised soundly, and held on for the win.

Milijas again put in a commanding, if slightly less spectacular, performance and the defence are to be congratulated for doing well with what resources they have!

Roll on Saturday. Mick McCarthy will have an interesting headache deciding who to leave out if Doyle is fit by then.