That’s it for our blog. I’ll leave you with Ben Fisher’s match report from Molineux, and also usher you in the directon of Will Unwin’s clockwatch. Ta-ra!
And here’s Thomas Frank
“These players are amazing, and they keep... surprising me isn’t the word, but impressing me. Tottenham and Man Utd won here but they suffered, and I think we were a bit better in the first half. It was a very impressive, brave performance. In the second half we were down to 10 men but we defended with our heart and soul. We gave only one big chance away and that’s very impressive.
“I was about to sub Shandon [Baptiste] before he was sent off, so I just said sorry to him. We knew a win here today would be massive for us - we’re still learning, we’re just a bus stop in Hounslow - so I was a little bit emotional when we didn’t get a clear throw-in. That’s why I was booked - it was fair enough.
“Ivan was superb. What a player, what a mentality, what a presence. He was ever present, all over the game. We’re not talking about staying in the league, we’re just talking about winning the next game, then the one after that, and let’s see where it takes us.”
The post-match views of Ivan Toney
“We did well first half and could have scored more, but the second half showed the character we’ve got in the dressing-room. In the Premier League you have to be deadly when you get the opportunity, and I think we deserved the three points in the end.
“[On the Wolves antics before his penalty] Nah, there was no pressure. I walked away, just let them do what they were doing, and when it was time to put the ball in the back of the net I did that.
“We work for each other. That’s the mentality in the dressing-room and the boys showed it again today. Everyone’s knackered now! [On pre-season predictions that they would go down] Listen, everyone has their opinion - it’s not factual. It’s up to us to do our job and hopefully come the end of the season we’re top of the league!”
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It was a hugely frustrating day for Wolves, and their fans spent most of the second half booing the Brentford players for what they perceived as timewasting. There’s always a positive to take*, though, and Hwang again looked good when he came off the bench.
Hwang Hee-Chan with one of the nutmegs of the season 🤯 pic.twitter.com/O4ypCAVIqh
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 18, 2021
* Okay, not always
Full time: Wolves 0-2 Brentford
Peep peep! Brentford continue their splendid start to Premier League life. The win was down to two things in particular: the class and personality of Ivan Toney, who scored one and made one, and a defensive performance that was, depending on your perspective, admirably streetwise or brazenly cynical. Either way they fully deserved their victory, and kept Wolves at arm’s length even after the sending off of Shandon Baptiste. Even then Toney was quite brilliant, holding the ball up and using the eyes in the back of his head to lead the Wolves defence a merry dance. He was too smart, too strong, too much.
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90+6 min Coady is booked for a foul on Toney, who rolled him majestically.
90+5 min Another scintillating run from Traore, who zig-zags past three players and pokes the ball down the right to Fabio Silva. His cross is put behind for a corner, of which Moutinho makes a Horlicks.
90+4 min A booming long-range drive from Neves flashes just over the bar.
90+3 min The BT Sport commentary team have just spotted that Jimenez is no longer wearing his head bandage. I’m pretty sure he was wearing it when he headed just wide a few minutes ago, so maybe it was a frustrated response to that.
93 min “The 2-2-6 formation was a favourite of Carlisle when Micky Wadsworth’s Deckchair Army were emulating Holland 1974,” says John Little. “Never worked out if it was design or accident.”
Print the legend.
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90+2 min Now Janelt misses an excellent chance, dragging wide from the edge of the area.
90+1 min Six minutes of added time. Podence takes a short corner, gets it back and then makes a Horlicks of a relatively simple cross.
90 min: Mbuemo hits the bar! Was he offside? I don’t even know any more. It was a fine effort, though - he ran onto a through ball, twisted Kilman’s blood and then rattled a shot off the bar.
87 min: Chance for Wolves! So close to Raul Jimenez’s first goal since his return. Traore beat Roerslev on the right and this time picked out a tremendous cross, driven flat and hard to the far post. Jimenez did really well to get above Ajer but his downward header went just wide.
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86 min Toney tries to lob Jose Sa from distance with the outside of the foot. It went well wide - and he was offside anyway - but it was another demonstration of his confidence and imagination.
85 min Trincao clips a lame free-kick over the bar.
84 min Podence is fouled on the edge of the area by the weary Janelt, who is fortunate not to be booked.
83 min More boos as Ajer goes down holding his side after a foul from Jimenez.
82 min Wolves bring on Fabio Silva for Nelson Semedo, which means a switch to the lesser-spotted 2-2-6 formation.
82 min Pontus Jansson is replaced by Brentford’s new signing Zanka.
81 min It’s been a pretty bad-tempered second half. That was a really good chance for Traore, who had Jimenez and Podence (I think) in space at the far post. Had he weighted his cross more gently, one of them would have had a simple header into an open goal.
79 min Another blistering run from Traore, another overhit cross. That’s his career in a nutshell. Meanwhile, Jansson goes down with cramp (sic), which leads to a row on the touchline between Thomas Frank and Bruno Lage. Frank is booked.
77 min There’s another break in play while Coady and Mbeumo receive treatment following a clash of heads.
75 min Brentford replace Rico Henry with Mads Roerslev. Just before that offside fiasco, Hwang showed another touch of class by taking Trincao’s pass in his stride with a delightful pirouette on the edge of the area. The last man, Ajer I think, came across to poke the ball behind for a corner, which led to the referee playing silly buggers when Hwang was clearly offside.
74 min A minor farce in the Brentford area. The flag goes up against Hwang, but Darren England allows play to go on for an age until Kilman blooters wide. Jansson complains and is booked.
74 min It’s all Wolves now, as you’d expect against 10 men. Brentford are really well organised, though, and are forcing Wolves to go wide all the time.
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73 min There are some good 3pm games today. You can get all the team news with Will Unwin.
72 min Another Wolves change: Marcal off, Daniel Podence on.
70 min There was a minor contretemps between Jansson and Marcal a few moments ago. Jansson started sledging Marcal, who slapped Jansson’s water bottle out of his hands. Chopper Harris must be turning in his armchair.
68 min Ajer saves a goal with a sensational tackle on Hwang! A cross from the left was chested down deftly by Jimenez towards Hwang, who was about to shoot when Ajer appeared on his blind side to poke the ball away.
68 min The Wolves players and supporters are fuming about Brentford’s timewasting. From this distance it does look like they are trying it on, though none of us really know.
67 min There’s a break in play - and more boos from the Wolves fans - when Jansson stays down in the Brentford area. While he is treated, Frank Onyeka replaces Sergi Canos.
BAPTISTE IS SENT OFF!
64 min Brentford are down to 10 men. Shandon Baptiste, who was about to be substituted, gets a second yellow card for a rugby tackle on Trincao. That was not very clever.
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61 min Traore beats Henry again and flashes a cross that is just too far in front of Jimenez.
59 min Now Baptiste is booked for a foul on Marcal.
58 min A nothing ball forward from the back is cushioned classily infield by Toney towards Mbuemo. He picks up the ball and plays it to the marauding Baptiste. He’s fouled by the lunging Neves, who is booked.
56 min Traore plays a crisp pass out to Hwang, who beats Jansson with an ingenious turn near the byline. His cutback is blocked but that was a lovely bit of skill, a kind of Cruyff turn/nutmeg hybrid.
56 min “Can we please take a minute and talk about how over-rated Adama Traore is?” says Admir Pajic. “For all his pace and trickstery, his lack of goals is appalling for a winger. He has scored seven goals in Premier League and this is his 145th game. That’s over 20 games per goal. In which world he should command a fee over £50m?”
I still would.
53 min David Raya changes his gloves, which leads to a chorus of boos from the Wolves fans who think Brentford are deliberately timewasting.
50 min Traore runs at Henry and stands up a delicious cross that beats the backpedalling Raya and just evades Jimenez at the far post. At one stage it looked like it was going to spin into the net; I think it took a slight deflection off Henry.
49 min Wolves are now playing 4-2-3-1: Traore on the right, Trincao on the left and Hwang behind Jimenez.
47 min Pinnock is booked for a foul on Hwang.
46 min Brentford almost score after 20 seconds! The keeper Jose Sa played a pass into Neves, who dithered and was robbed by Janelt. Mbuemo picked up the loose ball, moved to the edge of the D and curled wide of the near post. That was a decent chance.
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Wolves are making a half-time change: Hwang Hee-chan is on for Romain Saiss, which means a switch to a back four.
“There’s a book to be written about your Ivan Toneys, your Ian Wrights, your Jamie Vardys - the players who come through in their mid 20s,” says Gary Naylor. “I know a man who can write a bit and might just be the right guy to do it, eh Rob?”
Is it Tony Clifton?
Half-time reading
Half time: Wolves 0-2 Brentford
Peep peep! It’s been the Ivan Toney story at Molineux: he won a penalty, scored it, made Bryan Mbuemo’s second and even had two goals disallowed. The other 21 players on the pitch have been evenly matched.
45+2 min Norgaard, who has had an excellent first half, nips in to win the ball just as Traore was revving up for another run.
45+1 min Three minutes of added time.
45 min An absurdly optimistic attempt from Saiss, 30 yards out, flies well wide.
45 min Jimenez, a fraction late to a 50/50, accidentally flattens Mbuemo. Sad to say, that kind of symbolises his performance in the first half.
44 min “Your correspondent Duncan Edwards (13th minute) spoke of the play-offs lost by Brentford and Wolves 20 years ago,” says Rob Lewis. “I must give a shout-out for my old schoolmate Alan Thompson, who has been a Bees season ticket holder for over 50 years, and yes, he attended too many of their lost play-offs. But he was there this year, for their final success story - tears were definitely shed - and he’s been going this season to see them in the top league at last. Unfortunately, he’s at his holiday home in Puglia, Italy today, but he’ll be enjoying the game so far.”
43 min Apparently the ball rebounded off Toney’s elbow in the build up to Mbuemo’s goal, though I don’t think there was a VAR check. There were a few seconds between that and the goal, though it was the same phase of play.
40 min The odd surge from Traore aside, Wolves have been a little impotent in attack. I suppose it was always going to take Raul Jimenez a while to get back to his often magnificent best.
36 min The scoreline flatters Brentford a bit. But it doesn’t flatter Ivan Toney, who has made one and scored one. And he effectively made the one that he scored.
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Toney made it with a storming run down the left. He got away from the sliding Kilman, drew Coady across and whipped a precise pass towards the unmarked Mbuemo at the far post. The hard part for Mbuemo was saying onside, which he managed; the easy part was cushioning a half-volley into the empty net.
Updated
GOAL! Wolves 0-2 Brentford (Mbuemo 34)
It’s 2-0 this time!
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33 min Now Semedo has a shot blocked by Janelt. The game has exploded since Ivan Toney’s goal.
32 min: Traore hits the bar! It’s all happening now. Traore, 25 yards out in the inside-left channel, lashed a drive that deflected off Jansson, wrongfooted David Raya and thumped off the underside of the crossbar.
NO GOAL! Yep, it was handball from Toney. A job well done by VAR.
Jose Sa saved from Janelt, and then Toney put the loose ball away from a couple of yards with an ingenious volleyed backheel. There are two issues - whether Mbuemo touched the ball before Toney (if so, Toney was offside) and whether Toney controlled the ball with his arm. I think this will be disallowed for handball.
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There was a man on the line but Toney was behind the goalkeeper, who had sprung from his line to take a terrific save. Hang on, this might be onside...
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29 min: Toney has another goal disallowed!
Jose Sa was booked for roughing up the penalty spot before Toney scored. Not that it did any good.
GOAL! Wolves 0-1 Brentford (Toney 28 pen)
Ivan Toney strolls up and sends Jose Sa the wrong way. He really is a magnificent penalty taker.
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PENALTY GIVEN! And the usually nerveless Ivan Toney will take it.
26 min: PENALTY TO BRENTFORD! This time Marcal has been penalised for holding Toney from the corner. They were both at it, to be honest, but it was pretty stupid behaviour from Marcal. It’s being checked by VAR. I can’t see it being overturned.
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25 min There’s all kinds of wrestling before Canos takes the corner, which is headed behind by Neves. Toney is unhappy as he was manhandled off the ball by Marcal.
24 min Norgaard’s crossfield pass towards Henry is headed behind by Semedo, which gives Brentford their first corner.
21 min Nothing much to report in the last few minutes. Wolves have been slightly the better side, though Brentford again look pretty solid defensively.
17 min Traore goes on one of his runs, storming past a couple of defenders before shooting well wide from 25 yards. Thomas Frank thumps something in disgust at his team’s defending.
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15 min Moutinho’s near-post corner is headed away as far as Marcal, who volleys well wide from distance.
13 min “Hi Rob,” says Duncan Edwards. “It’s only 20 years that these two sides ended up losing play-off games, Wolves down in Division One and Brentford in Two. Makes you think, eh? Life. Tskk. Phuff. Meanwhile I’m expecting great things from ‘the boy’ Trincao today.”
That would have made for a good documentary if TV companies weren’t so bloody preoccupied with the 9/11 anniversary,
12 min A long, angled cross is headed wide by Toney near the penalty spot. He did well to win it, to be honest, and it would have been a minor miracle had he scored.
10 min Jimenez gets to the byline on the left, tries a rabona cross and falls over. A bit embarrassing but we’ve seen worse - this one only registered 2.7 on the Dunnometer.
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9 min: Toney has a goal disallowed! It was a nice finish, steered into the net off the far post, but Mbuemo was offside in the build up. Play was allowed to continue until Toney scored, and then the flag went up. VAR confirmed it was the right decision.
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7 min Traore skins Ajer on the left edge of the area but then runs into trouble. Wolves keep the ball alive until Moutinho clips a cross straight into the arms of David Raya.
5 min Neves spanks a beautiful crossfield pass out to Marcal on the left. He skips confidently inside Canos but curls well wide from 25 yards.
3 min Sergi Canos is fouled on the right wing, which gives Brentford a chance to flaunt their set-piece prowess. They don’t take it: Canos drives this one flat and hard to the far post, where Jose Sa claims confidently.
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1 min Peep peep! Brentford kick off from left to right.
After a pre-match chorus of Hi Ho Wolverhampton, the majority of the players on both sides take a knee.
Just over ten minutes until kick-off. It looks a pleasant day for football at Molineux, mild and sunny.
Pre-match business
Team news
Both teams are unchanged. You’re welcome.
Wolves (3-4-3) Jose Sa; Kilman, Coady, Saiss; Semedo, Neves, Moutinho, Marcal; Trincao, Jimenez, Traore.
Substitutes: Ruddy, Hoever, Ait-Nouri, Mosquera, Boly, Podence, Dendoncker, Silva, Hwang.
Brentford (3-5-2) Raya; Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock; Canos, Baptiste, Norgaard, Janelt, Henry; Mbuemo, Toney.
Substitutes: Fernandez, Thompson, Zanka, Roerslev, Onyeka, Jensen, Wissa, Forss, Ghoddos.
Referee Darren England.
Unchanged for #WOLBRE!
— Wolves (@Wolves) September 18, 2021
🐺📋 pic.twitter.com/S9yYYHTkDA
🚨 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 🚨
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) September 18, 2021
No changes for our trip to Molineux#BrentfordFC #WOLBRE pic.twitter.com/TYzr9xGM4l
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Preamble
The league table never lies, but sometimes – especially at the start of the season – it can be economical with the truth. On paper, Wolves v Brentford is 13th against 10th, a nice little mid-table clash to start the day. But that doesn’t quite tell the story of a promising start to the season by both sides.
It’s only a slight stretch to say that Wolves could have won all four league games. Instead they lost the first three 1-0, each against top-four wannabes, before winning at Watford a fortnight ago. They have played some really exciting stuff, and if Raul Jimenez gets back to his best they will surprise a few people.
Brentford have taken only two points from their last three games, a mild dose of reality after a joyous victory against Arsenal, but they have looked comfortable against decent opposition. While everyone accepts it will get tougher as the nights draw in, for now they are doing just fine.
Kick off 12.30pm.
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