Before the game there was a moving tribute to Dave Wagstaffe,the ex Wolves player and arguably the best winger never to play for England,who sadly died earlier in the week at the age of 70.----RIP Waggy----The atmosphere in the South Bank was pretty charged for what non Wolves fans would regard as a routine league game.But every home fan knew the significance of what was about to occur.It was cranked up a notch by the kick off being delayed for ten minutes.Presumably so that the Gillingham manager,Martin Allen could squeeze into his frankly ridiculous red Chinos...
It's been well documented what's happened at the club these last two years and new manager Kenny Jackett is well aware of the schism between the club and it's fans.Indeed he's made a point of talking about it on several occasions.But the goodwill is slowly coming back helped by putting the emphasis on young homegrown players.Players who have no baggage about playing in front of a Molineux crowd known to make nervous out of form players cower and disappear in the past.These players know they have the fans backing from the off.They also appear to have carte blanche to attack and entertain,especially at home...
Wolves started at a brisk pace and it was no surprise when we took the lead on five minutes.A raking crossfield pass from Captain Sam Ricketts found Griffiths in space on the edge of the area,he took it on his chest and volleyed a sweet left footer into the bottom corner.Dare i say it but that was a finish Steve Bull would have been proud of...
This is the first time i've seen Leigh Griffiths live and he look's a player.Never mind his natural goal scoring ability he also makes space by being constantly on the move---he must be a bugger to mark----Has a great first touch and can spot a pass.Not bad for £150,000!
Griffiths has had his run ins over the last few years with authorities---Both within football and in the real world---And there's no doubt he can be what's termed as a loose cannon.But i'm also sure he'd become a target for every Jakey in Scotland wanting to make a name for themselves by giving it to him.Leaving his own country and settling in the Midlands may be the making of him.At only 22 he has time to mature and make a name for himself in the right way...
It was all Wolves and no great surprise when Lee Evans grabbed his first goal for the club either.Latching on to a Griffiths shot/cross to steer the ball into the corner.Again this was my first view of Evans live and he looked comfortable in the middle of the park alongside David Davies---who had his best game for us by a long way----Another player who looks a bit of a bargain at £200,000.
Bakary Sako grabbed the third---He's only been at Wolves a year but seemed like a grizzled old veteran compared to most of his team mates---His blast into the top corner nearly uprooted the goals from the pitch.he was nicely set up by Zeli Ismail,another player i was seeing live for the first time.he's got something about him without a doubt.
Ismail is Albanian born His mother came to the UK as a refugee with the then three year old Zeli.They settled in Heath Town,Wolverhampton---Not unlike Albania but with a better bus service,i'm an ex Heath Town resident so can say this----He's been at the club since he was ten and may have made an impact earlier but lost his way a bit,partly due to an ex coach saying he'd be the first £100m footballer.At 15 you don't need that kind of pressure.Anyway he's 19 now and hopefully his career at Wolves is about to explode.
The one way traffic continued after the break but the only reward was the most obvious penalty your ever going to see expertly converted by Griffiths...
So 4-0 in the end and it could have been double that but never mind.I'm happy to keep a few goals back for tighter games.The manner of the win was most pleasing however.The young lads showed a vibrant attacking game many Wolves fans feared we'd never see again,We made more chances in this one game than about six last season...
It's quite nice coming out of the ground happy with the team's performance...It's been a while since that happened.
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