Wolves fight back for win at Ipswich
Two away wins in four days is OK for Wolves.
Two away wins in four days is OK for Wolves.
Celtic and Ipswich are two weeks and a week respectively ahead of Wolves in their preparations, and such results gain only boost confidence.
But, like most pre-season friendlies, this was another one where it was best to ignore the result.
Click on the image on the right to see more pictures from the match.
Because until the arrival of the big guns for the last half hour onwards, the best that could be said about Wolves' performance was that it gave vital match practice to the likely 'shadow' side.
Ultimately, it was only when manager Mick McCarthy's substitutes started arriving that Wolves took a hold on this game, as Premier League quality ultimately told.
Wolves hauled themselves back into it when Stephen Hunt's right foot shot from eight yards out was horribly deflected and trickled in, after Karl Henry's floated cross was headed down by Steven Fletcher in the 76th minute.
Then they grabbed the winner six minutes from time when Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, the only outfield player to get 90 minutes, drove home from the spot.
Ebanks-Blake had been tripped in the box, on the ground where he scored a header in Wolves' 2-0 win the last time at Portman Road in August 2008.
The winner rewarded a late show from the visitors, with Michael Kightly seeing a volley blocked by Damien Delaney then chipping narrowly off target.
Up until the last half an hour Ipswich looked good value for their 44th minute lead, earned when former Birmingham midfielder Lee Bowyer drilled into the corner from 15 yards, after man of the match Lee Martin burst through Ebanks-Blake and Kevin Foley on the left before crossing.
Wolves struggled to contain Martin, who presented a danger whenever he got on the ball in the first-half.
The former Manchester United youngster cut inside and was inches away with a right foot shot then prodded wide when clean through, after getting ahead of Ronald Zubar to Jay Emmanuel-Thomas' through ball.
Zubar got a run-out at centre-half for the first time in two years and he may yet provide a potential solution to a perennial area of concern to McCarthy.
There was good and not so good in the Frenchman's performance, but no shortage of effort or willingness to get involved.
Although beaten to Martin's chance, Zubar forced successive saves from David Stockdale to have Wolves' only sniffs of goal in the first half, then twice blocked Ipswich chances.
After the break, Ipswich continued to look the more dangerous side and Grant Leadbitter was inches away with a curling free kick before Bowyer hit the post with an outrageous shot from 45 yards.
Wolves' next chance didn't arrive until the 67th minute, when Nenad Milijas' stooping header forced Stockdale into a superb one-handed save from Ebanks-Blake's cross.
Zubar showed neat footwork to wriggle away from Bowyer and Martin, only to disappoint with his left foot finish just before the equaliser, as Wolves' cavalry started to lift the tempo.
Once Wolves had some of their bigger hitters on the pitch, they knocked the ball around with some zip and confidence to show the difference between the Premier League and the Championship.
But the desire from all 20 players used to keep possession – so important in the Premier League - was unmistakeable.
And McCarthy was happy with the afternoon's work.
He said: "It was a very good workout and I thought Ipswich played very well. We had a good spell, certainly in the second-half, and I was pleased with it.
"I changed the team from Wednesday night and the substitutes made a difference in the second-half. The lads who played first got games and minutes under their belts, so they're fine.
"It was important to get them on the pitch as much as anything. I was always going to do that – play one team at Celtic and another one at Ipswich.
"We were fine, apart from giving the ball away in the last minute of the first-half and got caught on the break."
