Afternoon all: I suppose 17th playing 16th doesn't exactly whet the appetite but I could have said the same a fortnight ago when I did the Wolves v Wigan match and it certainly delivered entertainment. The visitors haven't won at Molineux in any of their past 10 meetings there and have to go back as far as April 1990 for their last away victory against the Wolves. It's all been about Martin O'Neill in the buildup but this is a resonant fixture for Mick McCarthy, after getting the tin tack from Sunderland when the board shifted the goalposts in the season after he guided them to promotion. Both have been awarded away ties in the FA Cup, Wolves go to St Andrew's and Sunderland to London Road. Team news hasn't landed yet but Wolves should restore Jamie O'Hara and Stephen Hunt after suspensions and Kevin Doyle and Richard Stearman after injuries. Karl Henry, though, misses out having hit five bookings. For Eric Black's first and last match in charge, there is a suggestion that Titus Bramble could be recalled. I'll let you know as soon as we get the information.
And here are your teams:
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Hennessey; Zubar, Craddock, Berra, Ward; Jarvis, Edwards, O'Hara, Hunt; Doyle, Fletcher.
Subs: De Vries, Elokobi, Stearman, Ebanks-Blake, Johnson, Hammill, Milijas.
Sunderland: Westwood; Bardsley, O'Shea, Brown, Richardson; Larsson, Cattermole, Colback, Sessegnon; Ji, Bendtner.
Subs: Carson, Gardner, Vaughan, Bramble, McClean, Elmohamady, Noble.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).
So Bramble's back but only on the bench, the same for Stearman and there's general surprise that Craig Gardner hasn't made it into the Sunderland starting XI.
Duo love: Credit to Sky for giving love to Bully and Mutchy, the deadly duo of the late 80s. "I'm from Tipton, he's a Scouser," says Bull. "We had a great partnership but we couldn't understand a word the other said." Derby had Phil Gee and Bobby Davison, Grimsby had Drinkell and Lund. Them were t'days.
We have a poet among us: Or a doggerelist, in the shape of Fred Lane: "Sunderland should be fine; With a Man U back-line." I suspect that's half their problem, Fred, as you may be ironically suggesting. It's been a long week. Not sure the wages and fees for Brown and O'Shea were the best possible use of resources however good professionals they have been.
Roger Johnson news: Dropped to the bench, says Mick McCarthy, because it "just hasn't been happening for him recently". In comes former Sunderland stopper and future Royal Academician, Jody Craddock.
1 min: After another rousing minute's applause for Gary Speed the game gets underway with Sun'land kicking off as the camera tries to capture every Martin O'Neill blink in the stands. Bardsley launches it forward, Bendtner misses the flick on and the ball ends up wending its way back to Westwood in the Sunderland goal.
3 min: Sunderland free kick just inside the Wolves half. he curls his cross towards the centre of the penalty area where it's knocked down to John O'Shea who hits a crisp shot straight at Hennessey's feet and he gathers it with ease. "While waiting for O'Neill to take over after this weekend I
think it would have been fun for Sunderland to bring back Roy Keane for this fixture," writes JR. "It could have been called the 'Stick it up your bollix derby'."
5 min: Quite a few 40-yard optimistic long passes from either side so far. Sunderland doing better at getting the ball down, Sessegnon spinning the ball out to Larsson on the right, his cross is aimed for Bendtner but Craddock gets up and heads it out to Sessegnon who hits a firm volley straight into Hennessey's hands.
7 min: Bardsley slips and is robbed by Fletcher who tries to find Jarvis on the overlap down the Wolves left but Larsson is diligently covering and forces the ball out. Bardsley needs lengthy treatment, having tweaked his ankle as he fell. "There's nothing like a strike partnership," writes Ian Burch. "Gone are the days of Mayes/Rowland, Bannister/Warboys and Boyer/MacDougall. They didn't have to like each other either as Mike Flanagan and Derek Hales demonstrated in the FA Cup at Maidstone once." The famous punch-up, I remember it well. That was in Derek's second spell, I think.
10 min: Wolves have a strong penalty shout from the corner after Cattermole shoves (or eases his arm into) Edwards' back as the midfielder goes up for the header. the ref doesn't give it then Westwood catches the ball with his feet behind the line but his hands infront of it when Fletcher heads it towards him at the far post.
12 min: Too many cheap balls given away, this time from Richardson who rolls it straight to Zubar and Brown tries to win it back by going through the back of O'Hara. That looked like a foul and a yellow card, but Phil Dowd lets it go.
15 min: "In a match unlikely to appeal because of its aesthetics perhaps we should remember Socrates and the 82 Brazil side. They won bu££er all but inspired a generation of kids of my age. Gives the lie to the maxim that results are everything as they must surely be better loved than the ultimately victorious 94 and 02 sides." Good point made by Niall Mullen. Those five games still live long in the memory, Falcao and Socrates's goals playing on a loop in people's minds for three decades. O'Shea wins a header after a Wolves clearance and Larsson picks up the dropping ball, shooting from distance. Hennessey gets down and gathers. Then Brown whacks Doyle over and is penalised, Wolves gettinga free-kick 30 yards from goal which O'Hara curls into Westwood's hands.
18 min: Bradsley, who seems to have recovered, hits a decent out-curling cross towarsd the penalty spot which Berra meets firmly on his forehead but Sunderland persevere up the right, Larsson and Bardsley combining again to win a corner. In it comes and Berra leans on O'Shea as the ball is belted clear. Possible penalty.
19 min: Couple of decent Wolves breaks on the counter, O'Hara tamely hitting a curled shot along the ground to the keeper then Doyle does well to win the ball back, tenacious so and so, and drills in a cross towards the six-yard box where Fletcher toe-ends it to Westwood. He was inches offside so it wouldn't have mattered. Just seen a replay of Berra on O'Shea. He did have his arms around his waist as he lent in to him. If he's not going to gtive Cattermole on Edwarsd, Phil Dowd's not going to give that.
22 min: Sunderland corner after O'Hara wastes another opportunity by shooting too early and the visitors break. Rubbish delivery sees the ball winging it up the other end where Richardson has to be quick to cut out the danger. Cattermole dives in to tackle Jarvis in the box from the subsequent throw-in. It looked risky but his execution was perfect and he even wins a goalkick.
25 min: There has been some very wayward passing from Richardson in particular when Sunderland are camped in Wolves' half and it hyas allowed the home side to break. They do get back in numbers to cover, though, Sessegnon sprinting back to help out on the latest occasion when Fletcher ekes out some space on the left.
27 min: Bendtner drops deep to take the ball on the left wing, 25 yards from goal, and instead of tapping it to Sessegnon who was on the overlap, the Dane curls a weak cross straight into Hennessey's hands. It comes back quickly towards the Wolves box after the clearance is not won and Sessegnon tries to turn Craddock as the pass comes in and falls dramatically to the floor. Phil Dowd doesn't buy it and waves play on. Don Goodman reckons the Frenchman deserved a booking for that dive.
30 min: Sunderland again enjoy a spell of possession with Bendtner on the edge of the box playing a one-two with Sessegnon but the movement in front of him is bad and fails to give him an option son he tries a Hollywood through-pass that is more Cricklewood and Wolves clear, Jarvis dribbling fast up the wing for 30 yards but just as he cuts inside he plays the ball on to Bardsley's heel and it goes out for a throw-in.
33 min: I haven't seen a game for ages where the goalkeepers see so much of the ball. Not in a threatening way, just from overhit passes, aimless hoofs, panicky knock-backs.
36 min: "I was so privileged to have seen those Brazil '82 matches live on telly," writes Gary Naylor. "Socrates was the acme of intelligent masculinity and, at a time when it wasn't always easy confessing a love of the game, he made us all walk taller. I hope he's chatting to Che and Garrincha now." I saw them, too Gary. I was 15, racing home from school. I can still remember John Helm's commentary in the 3-2. "Socrateeeeeeeeeeeees!" Each successive elongation of the last syllable went up and down. Wolves corner aimed at Craddock, nodded out by Brown, and Sunderland break fast up the right but Ji hits a woeful shot from wide on the right instead of crossing for Bendtner who was well-placed at the back post.
39 min: At last a piece of skill. Great deep cross from the right from Jarvis towards the back post where Westwood pulls off a point-blank save from Hunt after Fletcher missed the diving header in the middle of the six-yard box by a nose.
42 min: Wolves have had the better chances but lack confidence in possession and give the ball away and invite Sunderland up the other end. This time Sessegnon is found on the left of the area and his shot beats Hennessey but is saved a foot before the line by Ward's diving lunge.
44 min: It's a scrap, both sides defending with real heart, not giving up seemingly lost causes. Sunderland shift the ball forward better as a passing unit, Wolves, with Jarvis and Doyle, do it through running and dribbling.
45 min: Jarvis was set up behind the full back by Zubar's running surge and when the full-back played him in to cross he dragged it back straight to a Sunderland player instead of the five Wolves players bursting into the box. Indicative of the poor final phase play of the game.
Half time: I'll be back in 10 minutes. Mark Blything has been in touch and is pining for a point: "As a Wolves fan, obviously I would love a win, but I would happily take a point after two consecutive defeats. We need to start to regain the kind of confidence we had at the start of the season. For now, I'm just hoping Bolton, Wigan and Blackburn continue to be worse than us this season." It is a lack of confidence that is the most apparent failing of Wolves today as far as I can tell. "Has McCarthy explained why Jarvis hasn't getting as many minutes lately? He has always struck me as one of their more talented fellas going forward," asks Nick White. He hasn't, though I suspect it's taken him longer to find his verve after injury. And here's Justin Kavanagh: "Socrates personified exotic cool in 82 and 86 and he made you want Brazil to win the World Cup. That was before Brazil let Nike and others start pulling the strings and Brazil sold their football soul to the tacticians and the marketing men. One of Socrates many ideas to improve the modern game was to reduce the teams to 10-a-side. Sounds like today's game at Molineux might benefit from more space for creativity?" It certainly would, Justin. Oh for a Careca, Zico, Junior even a Serginho.
46 min: Hi ho Wolverhampton, rings out before Fletcher kicks off, tapping it back to Ward whose lofted pass forward is headed clear by Brown.
48 min: Wolves enjoy their best bit of passing possession of the game, executing neat little triangles up the left between O'Hara, Ward and Hunt. They seem to have been told to have more patience and string 15 passes together but Hunt then loses his cool and crosses the ball straight into Westwood's arms at the near post. Up the other end, Sunderland break quickly and bendtner haas two bites at a shot in the penalty area, blasting the second yards wide when he was trying to prod it between Craddock's legs.
50 min: Wolves free-kick 25 yards out after Doyle is upended. O'Hara takes an age to line it up then smacks it high over the bar. He had to get it up over the wall and down but forgot to do the latter.
52 min: "Talking of classic 80s football, many many thanks for namechecking Bobby Davison and Phil Gee - my earliest footballing memory," writes David Hopkins. My pleasure, David. "Phil Gee went from a job as a painter and decorator to first division football in three years, and was the subject of a fine chant, to the tune of Let It Be: "Phillip Gee, Phillip Gee, Phillip Gee, Phillip Gee, scoring goals for Derby, Phillip Gee".
GOAL!! Wolves 0-1 Sunderland (Richardson) Brilliant finish. Wolves waste a corner, the ball breaks to Larsson who centres towards Bendtner 20 yards outside the box. The Dane flicks it with his heel out to Richardson bombing forward from left-back and he takes a touch and belts it into the top left-hand corner with a powerful shot across goal. He gets booked for his celebration behind the goal.
55 min: Zubar tries to sloot a shot in at the near post after cutting inside from the touchline and into the box but Westwood blocks it. Simon Blackstone and Johnny Mac think Richardson may have been displaying an "I belong to Jimbo" T-shirt in his celebration. I thought it said: "Bring back Fernando Duarte."
57 min: Hunt spins a cross across goal, beats Westwood but there's Richardson to turn it away. I never had him down as an evangelist, as Siahaan asks: "Does Kaka get a copyright fee from Kieran Richardson for what's printed on the shirt?"
59 min: If only Ji had an ounce of Phil Gee about him. he's just played the most nonchalant flick inside the box after Bendtner dod sterling work down the left, attempting to knock it into the path of a team-mate. But he didn't look up and no one was there. Memories of 1982 from Duma Langton: "The noise in the stadium seemed to be one continuous cacophony of horns and whistles and it was the finest selection of footballer names you wanted to shout in the playground. The whole shebang was superb and Socrates was just majestic. Tenuous Wolves link: Geoff Palmer was nicknamed Zico. Come on mi babbies!"
62min: Doyle attempts a mazy dribble 25 yards out and gets past O'Shea but Larsson tracks back well and nicks the ball off his toes. Adam Hammill is getting ready to come on for the Wolves.
64min: Having dissed Ji he just made his best pass of the game when Bardsley broke up the right, played it infield and Ji's well-judged pass teases Westwood out of his penalty area and Bradsley was milimeters off beating him to it and having an empty net to roll the ball into. Subs for Wolves Hammill for Hunt, Ebanks-Blake for Doyle.
67min: Hammill wins a corner which is nodded out to O'Hara who plays it back to Hammill but his second attempt at a cross is even more ineffective than the first, arrowing across the 18-yard line where Bendtner traps it and breaks forward.
69min: Michael Woloschuk has a novel suggestion: "Re: the Kieran Richardson goal celebration, I'm sure Richard Dawkins will agree with me that referees should be allowed to hoist a black card when a players lift their shirt to brandish an 'I Belong to Jesus' message underneath." On that festive note …
71min: Sun'land sub, Ji off Elmohamady on. They're going fto switch to 4-5-1. Mark Elliott chirps in: "Regarding Kieran Richardson's teeshirt, I thought third party ownership of registration rights was banned in the Premier League." Ha! or should that be Ho!? Penalty to Sunderland after Larsson dribbles towards the box and dives spectacularly.
Saved!
GOAL!! Wolves 1-1 Sunderland (Fletcher) If Larsson was fouled it was outside the box but I'm not ven sure he was touched. He rolls a weak penalty to Hennessey's left. He clears it up the left, Jarvis spins in a cross that Brwon misjudges, and Fletcher dives to head into the goal 22 seconds after Hennessey's save.
75 min: Ding, dong. Elmohamady ends a mad minute by spanking a 25-yard shot miles wide.
77 min: The second half has been a shot in the arm. Craddock's gone off with a hamstring knack and Johnson is on. Jarvis breaks down the left at pace and pulls it back from the byline to O'Hara who controls it and tries to turn inside and is squeezed out. "It seems remarkable that Westwood went in goal for Wolves' while his own team had a penalty," writes Joe Nerssessian. "Or perhaps you just made a mistake? British Media making a mistake? Can't be...." Yep, I did. Mea culpa. I had a lot of time betwen save and goal to get it right. I'll get my coat.
GOAL!! Sunderland 1-2 Wolves (Fletcher) Hammill flashes in a cross towards the penalty spot, O'Hara controls it and it looks like he did so with his upper arm. The ball drops to Fletcher who spanks it in with a left-foot volley.
82 min: The post that made way for Fletcher's goal said the Wolves crowd had been brought to voice by their sense of injustice at the penalty and the players had responded by tearing into Sunderland. hasling in midfield and breaking down the right and left flanks. Superb finish from Fletcher and seconds ago Ebanks-Blake connects with a cross and Brown throws himself infront of the shot to concede the corner.
85 min: It's all Wolves now as Sunderland's counter-attacking strategy has left them with one upfront, Bendtner isolated. They get the ball up to the Arsenal striker quickly for once since the second goal but he has to wait for support and when it comes Larsson dives in to a block tackle and is booked. Sunderland sub, Ryan Noble on for Sessegnon.
87 min: "There are thousands of northerners watching this game on weak streams in foreign countries, wondering why Kieran Richardson is owned by Jessops," writes Ryan Dunne. Discount on prints?
89 min: Johnson intercepts a pass from Richardson but Zubar gives the ball back to Sunderland who waste it when Brown misheads it out. Hammill flashes down the right but instead of cutting a pass back to the well-placed Fletcher he chips it to the far post where it's cleared.
90 min +1: There will be four minutes of added time. "Wolves looked dead and buried before the penalty save," writes Ian Burch. "But I'm sure even sure that Richard Dawkinws would confirm that they have risen from the grave." They belong to Lazarus, Ian. Sunderland go up the right, probing away with Elmohamady and Bardsley but the former's cross when it comes is behind Bendtner who has to stoop to connect and consequently can't get the direction on his header.
90 min +3: Wolves have managed this last 10 minutes very well, keeping the pressure on. Westwood comes out of his area to whack one up to bendtner who is beaten in teh air by berra and the ball races back to Westwood who launches another that Elmohamady eventually gets on the end of after Zubar heads across the area. It's off target, though.
90 min +4: Sunderland free-kick just in their own half, taken by Westwood. Wolves charge out and catch three Sunderland players offside.
Full time: Wolves win 2-1 Here's Michael Marsden's observations on the death of Socrates: "I think there were just two Brazil games in the 1982 World Cup that kicked off at running-home-from-school times: the second-phase matches against Argentina and Italy. But I suspect thousands of British men of a certain age (I'm 41) can remember those desperate sprints. I remember I just made it in time to see a football do something I'd never seen on Match of the Day: the absurd swerve of Eder's rocket free-kick that led to Brazil's first goal against Argentina. Do I remember correctly that in Brazil's first game the Soviet Union goalkeeper deferred to beauty by not really moving as two other long-range swervers flew past him? That was three weeks of Brazil hysteria in the playground. I seem to remember that Brazil's glorious and tragic loss to Italy was on the same day as England's elimination, and that by then everyone at school cared more about Brazil…
Socrates RIP."
Wolves go up to 15th, Sunderland down to 17th. Odd game. Dull and ragged in the first half, it livened up considerably after half-time with controversial penalty decisions and goals. Wolves showed tremendous spirit to fight back after almost going 2-0 down and Fletcher's finishes were top-drawer. As for Sunderland, there's something for O'Neill to work with in Sessegnon and Larsson (despite the Wolves' fans perceptions of him), Richardson, Brown and Colback. He needs forwards, though, and quick. Thanks for your emails. Bye.
