There are a number of factors you need when battling against relegation. A team sticking together in adversity, a manager making the right decisions at crucial moments. And luck. Lots and lots of luck. At Wolves yesterday, as we won our third game in a row and, incredibly, put together our best run since December 2006, we didn’t just run with our luck, we put it in a high performance car strapped to a jet engine and turned their dials all the way up to eleven. Added to the non goal against QPR and the stonewall penalty not given for Blackburn, yesterday found a Wolves team giving a masterclass in when not to score whilst on top, which ultimately cost them the game.
With no recognised senior central midfield players to call upon, St Owen went for the tried, tested and mostly failed 4-4-2 formation, with Ivan Klasnic recalled to the starting line up in the league for the first time this year. Such a formation usually finds our midfield being overrun but Wolves had pinpointed a weaker area. With Gretar Steinsson not travelling, Sam Ricketts was moved to the right and Marcos Alonso was brought in at left back. Knowing that on any given day Martin Petrov will not track back, Wolves targeted the young Spaniard, who had to cope with continual forays down his side whilst Petrov, possibly distracted due to the illness his friend Stan had been diagnosed with, tended to amble back in hope rather than expectation.
Obviously, a strong central defensive pairing helped and both Ream and Wheater managed to keep mostly composed heads. This did not stop Wolves creating a number of clear cut chances that were either repelled by Bogdan, cleared off the line by Miyaichi or headed into the bar when it was easier to score by Fletcher. Both Jarvis and Kightly were creating chances down the left and right and pumping the ball into the area. Earlier in the season, with Zat ‘Gladys’ Knight in defence, you feel that something would have nestled in the back of the net. As it was, we turned round goalless, one save from Bogdan down to his left particularly outstanding.
Previous attempts at stopping St Owen doing a half time team talk have including locking him out of the dressing room, telling him that there is a rather important phone call for him about seven and a half minutes walk away, putting a banana on the floor and hoping he slips on it, rendering him unconscious for the length of half time, and nipping out from behind a particularly large steward and chloroforming him before he reaches the dressing room. None of them worked. Yesterday’s effort, a tannoy announcement giving his car registration number and asking him to move it, also failed. And so it came to pass that within eight minutes, Alonso showed Kightly the inside, Kightly had a look at it, liked what he saw and shot low and hard past Bogdan.
This seemed to perk us up and within ten minutes we were equal, a Ricketts throw held up by N’Gog and then slid to Mark Davies who made his way towards goal, got the slightest touch from Roger Johnson and went over like a dead salmon. Still photos suggest that there was contact from Johnson and, whilst Davies certainly played for it, if you leave your leg there, you are asking for a player to go over. Whilst Wolves fans booed Mavies thereafter, it would have been better to have a go at their captain, who had already gone head to head with his own goalkeeper. Petrov expertly sent Hennessey the wrong way and ran off towards the camera to give his own, personal, get well message to Stan.
From there on in, we had the majority of the game. Petrov stung the hands of Hennessey, although it was a regulation save for the Welshman, and SKD, on for the ineffectual Klasnic, made a nuisance of himself. It could have been very different if Jarvis had headed in a Fletcher cross that Ricketts and Bogdan left for each other, but almost immediately we were in front, Petrov swinging in a cross that N’Gog should have scored with. Luckily his header bounced off the bar straight at the feet of Marcos Alonso, who had the easiest of finishes for his first goal in England. And two quickly became three as SKD won the ball all too easily from Ward, fed the ball to Eagles who returned it, and the club captain, in a slow motion version of Elmander’s goal at the same venue last season, took the ball past Johnson, who seemingly didn’t care what happened, and slotted the ball past Hennessey.
Of course, Bolton being Bolton, it wasn’t as simple as that and a late Jarvis goal, helped by an errant Wheater toe poke, brought the home side within touching distance before a final, almighty melee within our area was eventually hooked clear and the final whistle went.
In a relegation battle, never mind the quality, feel the points. For almost sixty minutes yesterday, against a Wolves side seemingly destined for the Championship, Bolton were decidedly second best. But you cannot argue with nine points from nine. As it is, we find ourselves still just one point above safety thanks to The Arse following The Scousers and allowing Mark Hughes and his team of dislikables to remain in contact. We have a game in hand and, hopefully, Stretford should make up for their reverse to Blackburn earlier in the season tomorrow night.
As for the team yesterday, special mentions again go to Bogdan, quickly positioning himself as player of the year and, as soon as we got the goal back, the rest of the team for working that little bit harder than before. SKD caused problems up front and, I suppose, if we do have to go 4-4-2, should be preferred to Klasnic as at least you know what you are going to get with him, with the Croatian coming on as an impact player if needed. The sight of Josh Vela’s head popping up from behind the manager, for the umpteenth time this season, shows the lack for foresight in not giving him any form of gametime this season
This is a good run, no doubt about it, but tough games are coming up next weekend. As I said during the week, once we get past the Easter fixtures, we should have a definite idea of what we need and, whilst no one fancies a trip to Newcastle these days, a home game to Fulham, safely in midtable, offers us the chance of three home points, a fourth win in a row and a real chance of staying up.
And if that happens, at least we won’t have to go to Wolverhampton for a season or so.
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