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By Tom Bason
October 12 2011

 Last night I went to my first Wolves reserves match since seeing Paul Gascoigne in a Wolves shirt against West Bromwich Albion at Kidderminster Harriers’ Aggborough stadium. Zele Ismail gave Wolves a second half lead before Aston Villa striker Callum Robinson scored two headers to secure victory for the visitors. 

With less than two weeks until the release of Football Manager 2012 (that’s in there for you Ernesto), I thought of last night as a chance to assess my team and view a few players who will be in and around my squad.

Dorus De Vries was in goal. One of the nice things about reserve matches is that you can hear everything the players say, and it struck me just how vocal De Vries is. It was a pretty poor match, and Villa did not create a huge amount of chances aside from the goals and so De Vries did not have a huge number of opportunities to impress. Given the close proximity of Robinson to the Wolves goal for both of his headed finishes, it is difficult to blame De Vries for either, although I am unsure whether he should have come off his line to collect the cross for the first. The one slight issue was that a couple of times he was hesitant to come off his line to collect through balls, something that has affected Wolves’ goalkeepers on more than one occasion.

The right back was Ronald Zubar, and he lasted the full 90 minutes. Unfortunately, Villa played Marc Albrighton on the opposite flank to Zubar – it would have been nice to see how fit and ready Zubar looked with a Premier League quality winger running at him. As it is, Zubar looked steady without really standing out and should be fit enough to pressure Richard Stearman for the right-back spot in Sunday’s Black Country Derby.

Jody Craddock played at centre-back, and looked like he always does. Competitive in the air, but slow on the turn and prone to hoof ball when there was an option to pass the ball into midfield. I also listened out to hear exactly how much Craddock spoke to the youngster Ethan Ebanks-Landell, and was surprised by the lack of talking. For someone of his experience, playing next to a young lad I was hoping he would be able to coach him through the game a little more than he did. Former Liverpool defender Michael Ihiekwe completed the back four at left-back.

The player I was most excited to see was the young lad who all the hype has been about – Zele Ismail. He played wide right until an injury to Jake Cassidy saw him show is versatility and switch to the left wing. There were two major things that struck me during the match. The first was his ability to use both feet. Early on, he almost exclusively used his left foot, even when attempting to beat his opposing fullback. But, when it came to set-pieces, he used his right foot, and it was with this boot he finished well to give Wolves a 65 minute lead. I don’t know whether he just trying to improve his left foot, or whether he is genuinely two footed, but either way it is a useful skill to have. Secondly, I was very impressed by his work rate. He worked the flank very well, and always tracked his fullback. Despite being the smallest player on the pitch, he was not afraid to put his foot in.

In the centre of midfield were Jack Price and Matt Doherty. They played well, keeping the ball well and playing it simply. Unfortunately, Villa’s central midfield pairing were better players and were able to dominate at times. On the right hand side of midfield was the substitute Sam Whittall, and he very much looked a central midfielder asked to play on the flank. He played quite narrowly, but this had the effect of allowing space for Zubar to try and get forward into, and it was one of these runs that led to Ismail’s goal.

Upfront was the returning Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Ashley Hemmings. Hemmings was probably the liveliest player on the pitch, and it was his cross that Ismail swept home. Conversely, Ebanks-Blake was disappointing and in no way looks ready to be considered for a start on Sunday. I’ve long thought that it he does not score in a match, he adds relatively little and yesterday was one of those example. Saying that, it was his first match back and game time will only help. Ebanks-Blake lasted 77 minutes before being replaced by Jake Kempton.

Wolves Reserves 1-2 Villa Reserves

Discussion started by Wolves , 12/10/2011 08:44

Wolves
12/10/2011 08:44

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Stourport Wolf
13/10/2011 09:55

When I heard this was at Molineux and Sylvan was playing I did toy with going to it myself but didnt get around to it due to other commitments but thanks for this report - next best thing to going!

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toomb
13/10/2011 15:35

I was originally planning on going to Kiddy Harriers v Telford, but then heard this was at Molineux so went there instead. Telford's too far for me to go for them, if they were all at Molineux I'd go far more often



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ernesto hunt
14/10/2011 10:26

"if they were all at Molineux I'd go more often" . . . Football Manager 2012 permitting!

Thanks for the report anyway - keep it up, Tom.

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toomb
14/10/2011 19:15

Quote:

ernesto hunt
"if they were all at Molineux I'd go more often" . . . Football Manager 2012 permitting!
Thanks for the report anyway - keep it up, Tom.

Haha, you know me too well! Seriously though, I'm working in Coventry at the moment - it's not easy to get to Telford for a 7pm KO, whereas Molineux is only 45 minute train ride away



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