Wolverhampton Wanderers clashed heads against Shrewsbury Town at the Molineaux Stadium earlier tonight looking to progress into the next round of the FA Cup. The home team began the match with a bang and scored in the 2nd minute through Matt Doherty’s finish from close range. However, the Shrews came up with a response just nine minutes later when James Bolton scored with his header.
Josh Laurent gave the visitors the lead in the 39th minute when he scored with a great strike from outside the box. However, Wolves managed to equalise just before half-time when Jonny put a brilliant ball into the box which was met by Doherty who ratted the net with his header.
The second half was quite entertaining as well with Nuno Espirito Santo’s men completing the turnaround in the 62nd minute through Ivan Cavaleiro’s clinical finish. The West Midlands outfit hung on to advance into the next round of the competition after securing a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Shrews.
Let’s take a look at how each Wolves player performed during the match against the Shrews.
GK: John Ruddy – 3/10
The Wolves keeper ended up conceding two goals on the night which will disappoint him. He made a nightmare error in the lead up to Shrewsbury’s equaliser in the first half which begs the question of whether Nuno Santo should opt to start with Rui Patricio in the next FA Cup match.
CB: Ryan Bennett – 6/10
Bennett gave away some cheap fouls during the game. However, massive credit to him for recovering from his earlier knock to carry on and see out a victory for his team.
CB: Conor Coady – 7/10
He recovered well following a dismal defensive showing in the first half. The Liverpool born centre-back led his team by example as he put in a commanding display at the heart of the Wolves backline in the second half. He capped off his solid performance with a crucial block late in the game that helped his side book a place into the next round.
CB: Willy Boly – 6.5/10
He got an excellent opportunity to score in the first half, but his attempted header was not on target. Boly was once again a dominant presence at the back and helped his team restrict the Shrews attackers from finding the back of the net in the second half.
RM: Matt Doherty – 9/10
His attacking instincts bailed Wolves out on the night. Doherty managed to score two goals and grab one assist during the game which goes on to show how effective he can be in the attacking end of the pitch. It was another man of the match display from him which would delight Nuno Santo.
CM: Morgan Gibbs-White – 6/10
The Wolves youngster worked his socks off in midfield but couldn’t create many chances going forward.
CM: Romain Saiss – 6/10
He shielded the Wolves defence to the best of his abilities but was guilty of being sluggish on the ball.
LM: Jonny Otto – 7.5/10
The full-back set up Doherty with a fantastic cross in the dying embers of the first half. It seems like Jonny has taken his game to another level after penning a permanent contract with Wolves last month.
ST: Ivan Cavaleiro – 8/10
He was a man on a mission and was a real threat for the Shews defence. Cavaleiro managed to score a fantastic goal in the second half which turned out to be the winning goal of the match.
RS: Adama Traore – 7/10
He was tightly marked by the Shrewsbury defenders in the first half. To his credit, despite so much close attention, Traore managed to wreak havoc in the opposition half and also managed to put in some telling crosses from the wide areas.
LS: Hélder Costa – 5/10
He struggled to get himself into the game and was mostly unimpactful during the contest.
Substitutes:
CM: Joao Moutinho – 6/10
The Portuguese midfielder added a bit of bite to the Wolves midfield in the second half.
ST: Raul Jimenez – 6/10
The Mexican international came on for the final few minutes of the clash and managed to test the Shrews keeper with his low strike.
ST: Niall Ennis – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
