The Premier League season has not started well and now Wolves are out of the EFL Cup.
A 3-2 defeat at Brighton was not unexpected given the 10 changes head coach Gary O’Neil chose to make and the patchy nature of his defence.
But somehow the negatives of the night were more worrying than the scoreline suggested, despite a good second-half performance.
Will Wolves fans see Jose Sa again?
If there was any ongoing debate about who Wolves’ number 1 is, Jose Sa has put an end to it – and not in a good way.
The Portugal international made his first on-field appearance since losing his place in the first XI following the signing of Sam Johnstone from Crystal Palace.
And within 31 minutes, he had done enough to leave fans wondering if he would ever be seen in a Wolves shirt again.
For both Carlos Baleba’s 14th-minute opener and Simon Adingra’s second goal 17 minutes later, Sa seemed to do the hard work getting his hand down to the long-range shots but failed to keep the ball out of the net.
And he was also guilty in the build-up to Baleba’s strike with a risky decision to play from the back.
Add in several other questionable decisions in possession and the result was a performance that was well below Sa’s best.
Only he will know his own state of mind but he seemed to currently lack the focus needed for first-team football and, although he improved greatly in the second half with some solid catches under pressure and more decisive distribution, there was still. suspicion that he could have pushed Danny Welbeck’s shot to safety instead of Ferdi Kadioglu to score Brighton’s decisive third goal.
“There’s always a lot of people involved in targets,” O’Neil said as he tried to protect Sa. “We know how good Jose can be between the sticks and there were some good hits.
“I haven’t seen them look back at it from a goaltending perspective. I looked more around the team structure and how they got to those positions, but it’s never just about the goalkeeper.”
Regardless of O’Neil’s diplomatic words, Sa’s hopes of a first-team recall now appear remote. The bigger question is whether he can keep his place on the bench ahead of Dan Bentley, having just signed a new contract.
Baleba’s shot evades Sa to put Brighton 1-0 ahead (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
What happened to Hwang and Sarabia?
Both Hwang Hee-chan and Pablo Sarabia were key figures in Wolves’ most successful spells last season with Hwang bagging 13 goals in all competitions and Sarabia emerging as one of the Premier League’s best chance creators.
However, this season they have faded from the starting line-up, with Sarabia yet to start a league game this season and Hwang dropping to the bench for the last two league games having started the campaign in the team.
Last night they had a chance to increase their prospects of minutes in the league but instead the game went the other way.
Hwang was particularly disappointing with just 21 touches according to SofaScore – the fewest of any of Wolves’ starters at the Amex Stadium. He didn’t register a single shot on target and had just one shot in total and the Korea international spent part of his summer in limbo amid interest from Marseille. He looks well short of his best form and a first-team recall looks a long way off.
Sarabia, meanwhile, lost possession 18 times, more than any of Wolves’ other attackers, and completed just 21 of his 30 attempted passes. For a player who relies on technical prowess to make up for his lack of physical stature, he was a long way short of where he needed to be.
Both players have more than three months to turn their fortunes around but, if they cannot regain first-team places, expect fresh discussions about their futures in January.
Is Guedes Premier League ready?
The man who a few months ago seemed to have no prospect of a Wolves career is now pushing harder than anyone on the fringes of the first team for a Premier League place.
Goncalo Guedes was not known in his previous stint at Wolves for his work rate, but it was his industry and tireless running that stood out last night in his new central attacking role.
The Portugal international led the line with real industry and scored his side’s opening goal, although he should have added another in the second half when he squandered a huge chance.
“He showed a great attitude,” O’Neil said. “His work, his willingness to work for the team, his moments of quality, his brilliance, I was really impressed. I’m happy for him because obviously he had a tough trip, some injuries, and was worried here.
“His performance was very good, for me.”
Against the odds, Guedes has already moved ahead of Hwang in the pecking order and is on track to push Jorgen Strand Larsen for a starting spot.
Not too many other Wolves players improved their reputation last night but summer signing Rodrigo Gomes, who has not started a league game since the opening day of the season, caught the eye with his industry and pace while Carlos Forbes provided a useful cameo from the bench. .
(Top photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images)
