[NoSkillz]

Tue. January 24, 2023

League Cup - Semi Final Second Leg
Wolves (2) vs. (3) Dover
Molineaux, Wolverhampton, UK

Betting Odds: Wolves: 4-1 Draw: 5-2 Dover: 4-7
Past Meetings: 7W 2D 1L

We have only a slight edge heading into the second leg but inexplicably, we are bigger favourites on the road than we were in the home matchup a couple weeks ago. We've run wild over Wolves this year, winning all three games and scoring 13 goals in the process.

We are resting a few players today and giving Paul Moses and Zoltan Bardi starts up front. Helder Cruz gets his first Dover start and Emmerson Harvey will start at midfield for the first time this year. Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz is playing DC today, as vice-captain Salim Loucif is still on international duty, along with Arsene Bamba. Graham Allan is in for Gianluca Bolis. Control mentality on the road as favourites.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - R. Gaucho, M. Yilmaz, C. Contreras, K. Zagos
M - H. Cruz, N. Cairney, G. Fanfoni, G. Allan
S - P. Moses, Z. Bardi
Bench - S. Reed, C. Guzman, S. Spall, G. Fanfoni, G. Bolis, W. Rooney, S. Andrea

No surprises with the Wolves, who start essentially the same key people as usual (Guy Luckett and Emanuele Testardi up front, Wayne Hennessey in goal and Evgeni Maltsev at ML) in their flat 4-4-2. We need a win or a tie to move on here so lets do it! I tell the team I expect a win…bold for a road game, I know...

7' - Moses shows his speed and is through the defence but while his shot beats Hennessey, it doesn't beat the goal post! So close!

18' - Wolves are actually controlling play by the looks of it but aren't getting any major chances. We break through with a Moses pass up to Bardi. Our seldom used striker bursts in and ALSO HITS THE GOALPOST! Ugh.

21' - Man. Wolves work possession and send a shot into the area. Luckett dives and kicks it at goal but Wilke makes a spectacular diving stop to keep the game scoreless.

28' - We steal and work a counter with Helder Cruz sending it to Moses. He has a full breakaway from centre half but his shot is WIDE! It's going to be like that, is it?

30' - We work another counter and it's Cruz again. He uses his great speed and he's got a step on his marker as he runs down the left sideline. His cross is PERFECT and right on the foot of Graham Allan and he smokes the ball past Hennessey and it's in! Great pass by the newcomer Cruz and we're ahead! DOVER GOAL 1-0 (4-2 AGGREGATE)

32' - We gain possession again and Emmerson Harvey feeds it to Moses just inside half. He turns on the jets and is in alone but this time, his shot finds the inside corner of the net and we have a second goal! We're up three on aggregate! DOVER GOAL 2-0 (5-2 AGGREGATE)

38' - Moses is in breathtaking form today and his speed is something to behold. He gets past the defence again but Hennessey makes a brilliant save on his hard shot.

41' - Crazy. We have a throw in on the left and Renato Gaucho sends it to Neil Cairney. He immediately feeds the ball into the area and both Graham Allan and Paul Moses are there and BLATANTLY OFFSIDES I might add. Allan gets it and easily beats Hennessey as I wait for the goal to be disallowed but the ref signals a goal and I'm stunned. It wasn't even close - they were both offsides by about five feet but we'll take it! Allan has two! DOVER GOAL 3-0 (6-2 AGGREGATE)

44' - Our defence is playing lax and we allow Testardi through but Wilke makes a great stop and we clear the ball to safety. A couple of our players, including Renato Gaucho, are looking complacent, according to my assistant.

45' - Again, VERY sloppy play in our area and Luckett gets a shot from in close but it's right at Wilke and he shows fine reflexes to make the stop. Tidy up guys!

HALFTIME - We have a huge lead but Wolves are controlling possession, holding 54% of the ball. We outshoot them 10-8 (5-3 on target). I tell the team I better not see their performance drop in the second half.

53' - Young Emmerson Harvey has been very aggressive today and had a number of fouls. He knocks someone over again and this time, the ref gives him a yellow. I tell him to dial down the aggression.

58' - We make a couple substitutions. Zoltan Bardi is out and Wayne Rooney comes in. Also coming in is Shaun Spall for a tired and ornery Emmerson Harvey.

59' - Now it's Kostas Zagos with a yellow card.

62' - Evgeni Maltsev goes in studs up on Graham Allan and is given the STRAIGHT RED CARD! Wolves are down to ten men!

Wolves move to a 4-3-2 with 3 MCs.

67' - Rooney with a horrific turnover and we're lucky that Luckett hits a defender and the shot goes wide. Rooney hasn't suited up for us in ages and this is why.

70' - Kostas Zagos is out and little used Steve Reed is in. Rooney gets the captain's armband.

85' - One of their substitutes, Armand Ella, hits the crossbar from distance and we clear to safety.

That's it! We're through to the League Cup finals for the first time!

Wolves 0 (2) - (6) 3 Dover
Goals - Graham Allan 2 (8.8), Paul Moses (8.3)
Assists - Emmerson Harvey (7.0), Neil Cairney (7.1), Helder Cruz (7.9)
Man of the Match - Claudio Contreras (8.8)
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.2), Kostas Zagos (7.0), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (7.7), Renato Gaucho (7.2)
Attendance - 28,837

Wolves held 54% of possession but we outshot them 18-12 (8-3 on target). Good game and we're on to the finals!!! Contreras was a surprise man of the match winner but he did make some impressive last second tackles to save scoring chances.

-- We will face Arsenal in the finals, as they get past League One Colchester 6-1 on aggregate. The League Cup final will take place at Wembley Stadium on Sunday February 26th.



Dover Reserves Team Update

--We have our first reserves game in over a month and of course, it's one day after a game I play a bunch of backups. So I field a very weak squad filled with U18 kids and we lose 1-0 to Derby's reserves.



Premier League Update

-- In a couple of makeup games, Reading beat Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday can only manage a draw against Middlesbrough. Sheffield retain sixth place while Reading move up to 8th.



Transfer Window Fun

-- Emmerson Harvey is a target for a number of teams, most notably Reading, who come with a whopping £6 million offer. I reject it but man - that's a lot for the 18 year old prospect!

-- We had a contract offer accepted and were awaiting confirmation on a work permit for Brazilian DC Carioca but the permit wasn't granted, even after going through a couple of appeals. We really could have used him with all of our injury issues.



International Duty

-- Ivory Coast beat Algeria 3-0 in African Nations play and both Arsene Bamba and Salim Loucif play well for their countries.



Injury Update

-- Gian Marco Fanfoni comes down with a virus and will miss a week or two. I send him home immediately to recover so as not to infect the rest of the club.



Next Up

-- Another cup tie, as we head away from home to face Sheffield Wednesday in FA Cup fourth round action.