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Wolves 1 Millwall 0 31/10/2001 |
| Match Report | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Report by Blue and Yellow Purple Wolf
Oh ye of little faith. Much of the talk before the game was about the chances of former Wolves players scoring against us in the embarrassing way we have become used to. Claridge would be an obvious candidate to "give our bonfire an early dampening" (i.e. p*ss on it), but the young right back Ryan Green would also have something to prove against his old club - even though he was now playing for a manager who refused to play him when he was Wolves manager. Ah yes McGhee. Strangely he claimed before the match that Wolves fans had no animosity towards him. I'm not sure what planet he is on, but was Wolves disdain the result of fear? Another former Wolves manager to rub our noses in it? In the end it was a former player that settled it, but it was a former Millwall player Alex Rae who put one past his former club to consolidate our lead at the top of the league. As expected Kennedy - one of Alex's colleagues when he was at Millwall - was unfit and was replaced by Sinton. Besides that it was the same line up that gave Burnley a lesson last Saturday. Wolves started brightly and could have taken the lead on three minutes when Blake headed a ball on and Cameron charged though only for the goalkeeper to save Cameron's shot with his legs. Their keeper was on fine form making a number of good saves from Blake, Rae and Cameron again. Kennedy's replacement Sinton was almost anonymous, but Wolves were dominant and were creating plenty of chances against an in-form Millwall who were defending doggedly and in depth. Neat passing between Rae and Newton, saw the ball threaded through to Branch who got the ball caught under his feet but still managed to get a shot in on goal. Blake and Newton both had shots charged down, while the only action of note at the other end was a long range shot which Oakes easily saved. Half-time and nil nil. After such a dominant display we deserved more. The second half started where the first half had finished with Branch shooting over the bar and Newton having a shot saved. Blake missed the target with a close range header and was replaced soon after by Rousell. Proudlock had earlier replaced the ineffective Sinton, with Newton switching to the left. Then one of those moments where it looked like it would be another Crewe or Crystal Palace. A long punt forward by a Millwall defender fell in between Butler and Oakes, who both left it for the other allowing Claridge to nip in between. Luckily his shot was well saved by Oakes. The subsequent "discussion" between Oakes and Butler saw a bit of "antler locking" between the two. Then - right at the end of the match - came the moment we had been waiting for. Branch crossed from the right and Rae, arriving late, headed the ball low past the goalie and into the back of the net. A great win on a night when our closest rivals Coventry and Palace slipped up - and against a Millwall team unbeaten in eight games who had obviously come for a point (or a win on the break). Lesson to be learnt - don't give up hope and don't leave the ground early. This may well be our year. Thing to remember - although it is early days, we are pulling clear at the top. This may well be our year. Things to look forward to - Miller, Kennedy and Ndah returning from injury. Could this really be our year? Attendance: 23, 018
Goals: Wolves: Rae (89 mins)
Best Player : Rae (4 votes) Naylor (2 votes)
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