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It wasn’t pretty but at this point who cares? Getting back to anything like what we have come to expect is going to be a process. It’s not going to be like flicking a switch and suddenly being boss again. The players have been through the ringer and confidence is fragile, but this was a step in the right direction. They battled hard and defended as a team. I thought we just about deserved to win even though it was a pretty even contest. Our football could have been better but we did well in flashes. The most encouraging thing was the clean sheet. We had a few minor scares but in general we defended superbly and once again great credit needs to be given to the two young lads at the back. Solid as fuck. In our situation it’s become more important than ever though that we score first. When we concede you can almost see the lack of belief coursing through the team. It’s like they know they won’t get back into it. When we score first and have something to hold onto it’s completely different, not least because it opens up chances to play on the break. In fact, if Salah had been half a yard deeper when Ox played him in late on this would have been a perfect second half. Defended well, kept them at arm’s length then killed them on the break. Exactly how you’d draw it up on the tactics board. Unfortunately Mo went a little too early and was offside. We’ve struggled to score goals recently but so have Wolves so this was always going to be a low scoring affair and therefore the first goal was going to be key. If Wolves had scored first I think we’d have lost, but we’ll never know that obviously. Both teams had chances in the first half but the finishing wasn’t good. Mané had the best opportunity of the half when some nice play by Thiago and Gini sliced through Wolves and sent him clear. He did the right thing by going around Patricio but he didn’t execute it properly and couldn’t get a shot away. My take on it was he just took a bad touch on his left foot and then couldn’t get it out of his feet, meaning he needed to take another touch and that threw off his stride pattern and prevented him getting a shot away. Thierry Henry’s take was similar but a little different. He said Mané should have used his right foot to go around Patricio and his left foot to shoot. Presumably that’s what Thierry himself would have done as he says when running at top speed you always use your stronger foot. I’m judging it by my own standards though, and with me being naturally two footed I didn’t think there was anything wrong with Sadio going with his left, I just think it was a poor touch. Sadio also missed with a diving header following a lovely move and he had about three shots blocked too. It seemed like every opening was falling to him but in this form he was the last person we wanted them falling to. Wolves had some moments of their own and could have been awarded an penalty early on when Alisson clashed with Samedo. Firstly, it was shite goalkeeping as he needlessly dropped a cross under no pressure. Whether it was a penalty or not I don’t know. It could easily have been given but that isn’t to say it should have been. Given the way our season has gone it is surprising that it wasn’t given but I said last week that we’ll start to get some decisions go our way now that our season is completely fucked. Have to balance up the numbers a bit to cover their tracks. Don’t be fooled though. This shit can’t possibly ‘even itself out’ and these games we have left basically mean very little now. Anyway, I’m not going to get bogged down with all that yet again. Samedo then found himself in space on the right hand side but his shot was saved low down by Alisson. Neves had a similar chance from virtually the same spot but surprisingly he dragged his shot well wide. It looked like yet another first half without us scoring (and I think Wolves are even worse than us in this regard) but out of nowhere suddenly we made the breakthrough. It was a nice goal, albeit the finish was a little scrappy and I actually thought it had gone wide until I saw Jota celebrating. The way it was created was nice though. Big Nat won a header (of course he did) and the ball was worked to Mané. Coady came out to challenge but didn’t get there and Sadio spun away leaving us with three v two. Mo played a first time ball back to Sadio and he immediately helped it on to Jota who took the shot instantly. We had some luck there because the keeper probably should have saved it, but this is the benefit from having Jota up there rather than Firmino. What do you think Bobby would have done in that situation? I don’t know exactly what he would have done but I do know what he would not have done. He would not have taken the shot first time and put it low in the corner with his left foot. Of that I’m certain. Jota did that and got his reward. He made his own luck if you like. The second half was weird. At no point did I ever think we would concede and I wasn’t at all nervous or stressed. Considering that the game was on a knife edge and Wolves did have some threatening moments I can only put that down to me not really being arsed anymore. Ok, I probably need to phrase that better as it’s not that I’m not arsed. I wanted us to win and I’m glad we did. I think it’s just that we aren’t playing for high stakes anymore. If Wolves had equalised I wouldn’t have been booting the sofa and swearing my head off. I’d have just shrugged. That’s brought a strange calm to me now when I’m watching league games. In Europe it’s still nerve wracking and stressful, but I’m just not as invested domestically now. It’s a strange feeling though, watching a 1-0 game and not being even the tiniest bit anxious that we might concede. Wolves had a couple of good moments late on that could easily have produced an equaliser but at no point did I even flinch. They were never going to score. Usually I feel like that when it’s us and we’re losing 1-0, so it was nice for it to be the other way around for once. Those moments were self inflicted from our point of view though. I don’t know why Alisson isn’t coming and taking that high ball on the edge of the six yard box, but then he looked all over the fucking place at times. Then we had Sadio spurning a shooting opportunity, turning away from goal and losing possession while we had six players up in attack. Within seconds the ball was with Traore and he was running away from three defenders and driving into the box. We managed to scramble it away but fucking hell Sadio, what’s with the decision making lately? He did some really good things in this game and he fought for everything. He’s just not himself at the moment though. Once again he didn’t go down in the box (when he took that bad touch against Patricio he could easily have left his leg in and gone down) but he has no qualms whatsoever about hitting the deck on the halfway line when he’s barely been touched. This game may prove to important in the process of getting back on track but it isn’t one we’ll remember for long. It keeps us just about in touch with fourth spot but does anybody actually believe we can make up five points on Chelsea the way both sides are playing? Stranger things have happened I guess but I really can’t see it. Another reason this was important is that we don’t have a game now for three fucking weeks. Imagine going into that break after yet another loss. So it was good we won this one. Can’t believe we’ve got three whole weeks without a game considering how condensed the fixtures were over the last few months. Stupid really. I see we’re above Everton again, albeit they have a game in hand. That’s pretty much my only target now. Don’t finish below them because it would be pretty fucking shameful as they’re shite. We’re still below West Ham though, who are also shite. We don’t share a city with them though so I’m less arsed about that. Star man is Trent. I thought he was quality and he didn’t allow Neto to do anything all night. That’s not an easy task as he’s a livewire him. Robbo did well against Traore on the other side too, although I thought going forward he wasn’t his usual self. Honourable mentions to the two lads at centre back once again. Very solid, very diligent. Three clean sheets on the spin for them now. Great stuff, they’re doing us proud. Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Kabak, Robertson; Fabinho, Thiago (Milner), Wijnaldum (Keita); Salah, Jota (Oxlade-Chamberlain), Mané: