No. 213: Qualify for the League Cup ahead of schedule!
Heading into November, Wolves are facing a four-front battle and Wolves will have to make trade-offs. On November 10, in the third round of the League Cup, Wolves, who came on as substitutes, were defeated by Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.
On November 27, in the third round of the FA Cup, Wolves lost 1-2 at the foot of English Premier League team Charlton. In just one month, they have lost two domestic cup competitions, meaning they are left with only two competitions – the Championship and the Confederations Cup.
Wolves were not frustrated by this, but felt a sense of relief that they were not yet capable of fighting on four fronts. The Daily Mail commented: "It's a sensible thing to do with limited energy and strength in the most important games. ”
Wolves played six Championship games in November, winning three, drawing two and losing one, with second-placed Sheffield United taking the opportunity to leapfrog Wolves at the top of the table. Wolves were holding their breath after losing the top spot, but thankfully they had another pass in the UEFA Cup.
Wolves' results in the UEFA Cup were staggering, with a crisp 3-0 win at home to Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb on 7 November to make it two wins in a row and temporarily top the group.
On November 29, in the third round of the group stage of the League Cup, Wolves challenged the Eredivisie powerhouse Nijmegen away. The game was very hard, the two sides were competing defensively, and the scene was extremely dull.
Nijmegen, who played at home, put most of their forces on defense, and this unenterprising style of play made the home fans quite unhappy, and they threw fireworks at the stadium, so the game was interrupted for more than ten minutes.
It wasn't until five minutes before the end of the game that the deadlock on the field was opened, Wang Rui and the assist Bale cooperated on the left side, Bale used his speed to tear apart the opponent's defense in one fell swoop, and suddenly crossed the middle with a kick ten meters from the bottom line.
Peter, who was ambushed in the middle, saw that there was no chance to break the goal, leaned on the opponent's central defender, knocked back, Wang Rui shot angrily at the ball, and the football crossed out of the crowd like a cannonball!
Perhaps there were too many people in the penalty area that blocked the goalkeeper's view, and the opposing goalkeeper did not make an effective save at all, and the ball flew over the goal line and into the net.
Wolves won away from home with this golden goal, while also winning three consecutive group games.
After the game, there was a riot among angry Nijmegen fans, and according to statistics, a total of more than 20 fans were injured and hospitalized, and the police arrested a dozen fans who were causing trouble......
The UEFA Cup consists of five teams in each group and is played in a single round-robin format, with two home and away opponents decided by draw. At the end of the third round of Group D, Wolves are at the top of the table with nine points, three points ahead of second-placed teams, and have effectively confirmed their status as the first time in the group.
In other words, although there is still one round left in the game, Wolves have already advanced one round and qualified as the group leader and entered the knockout round.
The Wolves won three consecutive victories in the group with an unstoppable momentum, and the outside public opinion was in an uproar.
The Daily Mirror commented: "Losing top spot in the Championship and going home in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in a month's time, Wolves are holding their breath and they are taking that breath on the UEFA Cup. We can also see from this that Ince attaches great importance to the UEFA Cup, which may have something to do with what he said about doing well in the UEFA Cup. ”
At the beginning of the season, the Wolves boss once said in front of the media that Wolves were aiming for the quarter-finals in the League Cup. For now, Wolves have achieved their first goal in the UEFA Cup – to reach the knockout rounds. ”
The Times commented: "Wolves were unfazed by the clubbing affair and with three wins in a row, they have taken the UEFA Cup by storm of orange youth! ”
Wolves entered the UEFA Cup knockout stage ahead of schedule, and in addition to the club, the happiest were of course Wolves fans, and the most intuitive performance was that the number of people who went to Molinox Stadium to watch the game recovered.
Previously, due to the impact of the clubbing incident, the number of fans who came to the scene to cheer for the team decreased sharply, and at the most miserable time, there were only more than 3,000 fans who came to the scene to watch the game.
It was also a big factor in Wolves' overtake by Sheffield United in the Championship.
Think of last season, and at the start of the season, the stadium was almost full......
The fans returned to Molinox and they didn't say anything, but the Wolves players knew they had forgiven them.
……
Emerging from the UEFA Cup group, Wolves will focus on the Championship in December as they reclaim top spot. On December 6, in the 21st round of the Championship, Wolves challenged Queens Park Rangers away.
Wolves, who played with all the main force, showed sharp teeth from the beginning of the game, and in the 35th second of the game, Bale almost broke through the opponent's goal, his shot in front of the penalty area, hit the post, and bounced off the bottom line.
In the third minute, Bale crossed from the left, Wang Rui in front of him suddenly leaked, and Peter in the middle shot hard, and the football went out of the goal!
Wolves were in full swing and were completely counter-attacked, and in the thirteenth minute of the first half, Peter was brought down in front of the penalty area and Wolves were given a direct free-kick.
Wang Rui stood in front of the football, and he wanted to take the penalty. After the referee's whistle, he slowly ran towards the football, then kicked the inside of his right foot in the lower part of the football, and the football gave a strong spin and suddenly flew off the turf!
The ball made a beautiful arc in the air, passing over the left side of the wall and towards the left post of the goal. In the nervous eyes of the fans at the scene, the football drilled into the net from the side of the post!
Wolves lead 1-0!
With the score down, Queens Park Rangers had to attack, and for Wolves, it was their favourite.
In the 35th minute of the first half, Wolves counterattacked quickly, Bale gave full play to his speed advantage, began to dribble the ball from his own hinterland, and forced a breakthrough in front of the opponent's penalty area with the football.
Then, Bale fired a low shot, and the football went into the net, and Wolves were 2-0!
In the second half, the two sides wasted many chances, and in the end, Wolves won 2-0 with Wang Rui's direct free kick and Bale's long-distance run.
Three days later, Wolves faced the challenge of Derby County at home, Ince adjusted the lineup, changed the formation to 451, and let Wang Rui play the shadow striker. One reason for this change is Kevin Foley's recent poor form, and the other reason is that the quality of the other backup forwards in training has not been recognized by Ince.
Ying Feng is no stranger to Wang Rui, in the last crucial game of the epic relegation battle, he played in this position, and his performance in that game was simply against the sky, completing the senior happiness.
The number of fans who came to cheer on Wolves reached 30,000, which is a terrifying attendance in the Championship. After the start of the game, in the huge shouts of the fans in the stadium, the Wolves burst out with amazing energy, and they wanted to repay the fans.
Wolves took the lead shortly after the opening, and in the third minute of the game, Wang Rui took advantage of the opponent's unstable footing, and after receiving a long-distance direct pass from Kending in the opponent's hinterland, he threw off the opponent's back and killed the penalty area.
The opponent's two central defenders had to pounce, Wang Rui didn't wait for the opponent to be in place, and suddenly kicked a small slash, Peter descended from the sky like a god soldier, and shot angrily at the ball.
Football went into the net, and Wolves led 1-0!
Five minutes later, Wolves were back on the back swing when Belle's fierce shot was saved by the goalkeeper.
Wang Rui, who was ambushed in the penalty area, took two steps forward alertly, shot with one kick, and the football flew over the goal line and into the net, and the score became 2-0!
In the fifteenth minute of the first half, Bale assisted, a horizontal pass, Wang Rui in the middle took two steps forward, did not stop the ball at all, and shot directly with a strong kick, and the football went straight to the dead corner!
This ball is powerful and heavy, and the angle is tricky!
Without any surprise, the ball flew into the net from the dead corner and the score became 3-0!
This ball perfectly reflected Wang Rui's superb footwork, and the excited fans shouted Wang Rui's name: "Wang! King! King! ”
With the passage of time, with the accumulation of game experience, Wang Rui's playing ability and level have made great strides, and he has become the pride of the city and the star of this team.
It was a fantastic start, with Wolves leading by three goals after fifteen minutes of play, and the crowd cheered loudly and their passion ignited by the excellent performance of the players.
In the 32nd minute of the first half, Wang Rui kicked a ball in the air on the left side in front of the penalty area, which flew over the head of the opponent's defender and fell to the right side of the penalty area. Peter stepped forward, and without waiting for the ball to hit the ground, he lifted his right leg and pushed the ball hard with the arch of his foot.
"Smack! ......" with a crisp sound, the football flew in front of the opponent's goalkeeper ten fingers, and the score became four to zero!
With a big lead, Ince began to make substitutions in the second half, replacing Peter, Wang Rui, and Kending, who were a little tired. Bale's goal in the 21st minute of the second half made it 5-0 and Wolves completed a bloodbath at home.
In this round, Sheffield United lost away at the feet of Nottingham. With a big win in this round, Wolves overtook Sheffield United and returned to the top of the table.