It wasn’t easy on the eyes, but a brilliant free kick from Jacob Murphy saved Bruce’s bacon to earn us a very good point – capping off a superb display from the winger turned wing-back.
Here’s our assessment of each player’s performance along with a mark out of 10:
Darlow – 6 – Made a decent early stop to parry a 20-yard strike from Podence to safety and the odd other shot from range, but he should’ve done better with the one that mattered, with his hand not being strong enough to Jimenez’s winner. He’s been our hero in recent weeks and did make a few decent stops again today, however he’ll be frustrated he let that one get past him – especially on current form.
Murphy – 9* – Not only our late hero with a brilliant late free-kick, but also did a very solid job defensively in an unfamiliar right wing-back role. Kept Podence relatively quiet in the first half – aside from one moment he was done all ends up – and was also our biggest creative force, slipping Wilson in behind in the first half and cutting the ball back for Almiron in the build up to his second-half chance. Great to see him take his chance in style after refusing to give up on his NUFC dream for a few years now!
Schar – 7 – Lost the ball with a careless pass in a bad area early on but recovered, heading clear a few dangerous crosses and timing a few tackles to perfection – including one to stop the diminutive Podence in the first half.
Lascelles – 7 – A quiet game for the skipper after Man Utd’s onslaught last weekend, but he stepped in to make some vital blocks and interceptions just when we needed him to. Helped marshal a defence that reduced Wolves to just three shots on goal all game.
Fernandez – 7 – A few sloppy moments early on, with him slow to react a few times in the first half and giving the ball away in a bad area on one occasion, however he did make a massive block to stop a goal-bound Podence shot in the second half. Another who recovered well after a sluggish start.
Lewis – 6 – Didn’t get tight enough to the marauding Semedo early on and was almost punished as most of their attacks came down his side in the first 45, however he steadied the ship and did well to keep. He settled down and recovered, but most of their attacks came down his side, he didn’t get forward much and was sometimes loose in possession. Need to see more from our £15m man.
Fraser – 5 – Was pretty quiet in a unfamiliar role on the right-hand side of a midfield three. Delivery wasn’t great and he wasn’t in the game a great deal, aside from forcing a few corners. He did get back into some good defensive positions to clear in the box or help out Murphy, but offered very little on the ball or in the final third.
Hendrick – 4 – He didn’t have a natural midfield partner today, instead having Fraser and Almiron either side, but I felt it was another day where he didn’t offer much at all. Doesn’t look a natural on the ball and often loses it a little too cheaply, and, despite all his efforts, doesn’t win it back much either.
Almiron – 7 – Worked so hard and got up and down the pitch, being the one player whose pace gave us an outlet on the counter. He sometimes lacked the composure needed to keep the ball or find the right pass, which was frustrating to watch at times, however he was a ball of energy at both ends all game in a disjoined midfield that needed all the help it could get. Bruce can’t keep leaving him out.
Saint-Maximin – 4 – Played in a free role behind Wilson, but here was more bad than good from him today for me. Cheap in possession and his final ball was poor, with him totally overhitting one cross in the first half and doing the same with a simple ball in behind for Fraser in the second. One of our best moments came from him, with him skipping inside and almost hitting a deflected shot past Patricio, however he was well off his game in the main.
Wilson – 6 – Was often too isolated – which was frustrating to see when we had ASM, Almiron, Fraser and Murphy all on the pitch, but he won the free kick that ultimately created our late equaliser. Got in behind in the first half with one good run and had a shot well blocked. Thought he sometimes did well to back into Boly and bring the ball down with his chest, however he was a spectator for most of it and lost the ball in a bad area early in the second half and was very nearly punished as Wolves went close from the resultant attack. A thankless task, yet he still made himself a nuisance and did a job for the team in touch circumstances.
SUBS:
S Longstaff – N/A – Only played the last 10 minutes to tough to give a mark, but he did look more capable on the ball than Hendrick, immediately pinging a nice cross-field pass to get us into the final third.
Joelinton – N/A – Won a few duels in the air but was a little slow to react for Jimenez’s goal.
Carroll – N/A – Came on in the 89th minute so barely touched the ball.
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Who sucking who , we haven’t a class midfielder like rob lee for years why can’t we get one
mark johnson(Quote)
I thought the midfield looked a lot more mobile but lacked quality, poor Callum Wilson was left like a shag on a rock.Murphy and Almiron looked good but need to link the defence to the strikers with better service, Lewis only made 1 pass forward in the first 21mins not bad in defence.Please stop the hit it long and hope approach and play the ball into space on the ground.
Bill Burn(Quote)
The difference with Murphy is that he actually tried to make a stacking passes rather than hit and hop log passes. Long may it continue.
What is the point of a Hendrick?? He seems like an honest player but he is so so average in everything that he does. It’s like he is just a body, there not doing much
Anthony(Quote)
Well, after being told not to cross the half way line and using attacking players as midfield dogs; we somehow salvaged a point. This is just not good enough. Bruce is the master of rhetoric and to say we did not deserve to lose is astonishing. Yes we did, we were devoid of any attacking ideas and content to sit back and hope that Darlow will keeps us in the game. To add to the frustration I am paying £42 a month as a season ticket holder. Bruce must go and yes Eddie Howe would be a good replacement. Lets face it we are going to end up in the bottom three at this rate.
Haydn Watson(Quote)