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| Me, trying to blend in with the locals. Yes, I seem to have got over 2003 |
Competition: FA Football League Championship
Level: two
Teams: Wolverhampton Wandereres - Ipswich Town
Venue: Molineux
My second visit to Molineux, my previous being a pretty lackluster 0-0 draw on New Years Day 2008 against Sheffield United. This match had more to it, although not good, from the point of view of my attending as a fan of the home team on this occasion, with a really very poor Wolves side going down 2-0.
I was somewhat surprised to see the away support sat in the corner of the spanking new North Bank, since when I was last here as an away fan, I was seated in the Steve Bull Stand. However, I've had it pointed out to me that wolves commonly gave part of the North Bank to away supporters (much like at Vicarage Road or Upton Park) but that the lower tier of the Steve Bull Stand may be given up if a large away following is expected (as Sheffield United on New Years Day would have been). This flexibility would seem to have helped Wolves in the past.
The events at Molineux were all set to start off in the traditional manner, as on my previous visit, with the cries of "Hi! Ho! Wolverhampton" from the home fans (sung to the tune of "Hi Ho Silver") sung with volume and passion. However, on this occasion, a brief acknowledgement from returning manager Mick McCarthy, now of course at Ipswich with Terry Connor, his assistant here in the midlands. I wonder when the previous occasion that the past three managers of a club were all in that cloub's ground for a match? Any suggestions/answers in the comments below please! Somewhat confusingly, the majority of the noise seemed to be coming from the announcer rather than the fans. Also, he really needs to get a better pet name for the club. "Make some noise for 'our team', Wolverhampton Wandereres!" just seemed somewhat embarrassing!
Not as embarrassing, however, as an absolutely abject performance from a poor Wolves side. I don't believe I have ever seen a side so ruthlessly and efficiently turn attack into defence so frequently in a game. It seemed that every time a Wolves player made a pass, it dropped at the feet of an Ipswich player. Any tackle, and the ball ended up with an Ipswich player. Whether by bad luck or bad judgement, Wolves just could not seem to keep the ball, and the frustrations of the South bank were made abundantly clean long before Aaron Cresswell unlocked the defence during the 34th minute.
The young left-back danced around a static defence after receiving his own pass back, before passing the ball into the net beyond keeper Carl Ikeme, and the goal was no more than the visitors deserved, in spite of Wolves probably being due a penalty in the second minute when Chambers bundled Kevin Doyle over, unseen by the referee.
On both of my visits to Molineux, I was impressed by the noise created by the home support. A particular chant I remember was a "battle" between the fans in three of the stands, with fans singing, out the name of the stand in which they are seated, for example "[clap clap clap] The North Bank!", with the South Bank (Wolves' most hardcore vociferous support) and Steve Bull Stands joining with their own stand names. This was also evident today, however the loudest noise came at half-time, when the boos rang out, echoing from all four sides of the ground.
This sense of humour was no more evident (and indeed, needed) following on from Ipswich's second goal, scored by DJ Campbell. The on-loan striker took advantage of some woeful Wolves defending to race onto a long ball from midfield, and prompt the South Bank to loudly and proudly sing "Que sera sera / Whatever will be, will be / We're going to Shrewsbury / Que Sera Sera", receiving hearty laughter and warm applause from those standing around me!
In the end though, for all the fan's good humour, the players weren't at the races today and went down by one goal to nil. And in all honestly, they were lucky to get nil.
This sense of humour was no more evident (and indeed, needed) following on from Ipswich's second goal, scored by DJ Campbell. The on-loan striker took advantage of some woeful Wolves defending to race onto a long ball from midfield, and prompt the South Bank to loudly and proudly sing "Que sera sera / Whatever will be, will be / We're going to Shrewsbury / Que Sera Sera", receiving hearty laughter and warm applause from those standing around me!
In the end though, for all the fan's good humour, the players weren't at the races today and went down by one goal to nil. And in all honestly, they were lucky to get nil.
