Wolves Fans' Verdict v Hull: "Is this really Wolves?"

Rob Cartwright

What's your verdict on the match? How times have changed....away days that are worth all the hassle and that haven't already peaked before kick-off.

This was another performance that was exciting to watch and worthy of the fantastic vocal support from WV1.

This is how it should be, with squad and supporters as one. Encouraging each other to an even higher platform - the virtuous circle.

I say 'squad' as the sheer joy in celebration of those players not on the pitch when Dicko scored says everything you need to know about the extent of this turnaround.

Much credit to Nuno, who let's his talking be done on the pitch.

Hull were a much better team than Derby. They had us on the rack for the first three minutes before Saiss, Neves and Jota took control of the all important middle of the pitch.

Neves is a joy to watch. Worth every penny of his record fee...please stay injury free. His goal was as good as you will see. Majestic, superb, a screamer - yes pure poetry in motion.

Wolves fans have never been the most patient, but we are all loving the accuracy of 20/30/40 yard passes out to both flanks. It is a joy to watch and I along with many others I stood pinching myself. "Is this really happening? Is this really Wolves? The same Wolves that were delivering us dross earlier this year?" Unbelievable.

I felt we controlled the game for the rest of the first half and started the second in the same manner. We were unfortunate to be pegged back although for the first time this season the defence should have done better from the corner.

Another little bit of magic by Enobakhare produced the second goal for the excellent Jota. We were then comfortable until 65 minutes when it looked like there were many tired legs on the pitch and Hull were seizing the mantle.

A great decision to bring Dicko on who added something and I felt we were controlling the game again for the last 15 minutes, plus nine added on. You just can't beat a Dicko goal - the fans went mental. He's Wanderers' no.9 for sure.

The penalty right at the end was harsh, 3-1 was a more deserving scoreline.

Be clear, Hull are a very good team, but we bossed them and brought the points home.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? A mention for John Ruddy, who was excellent. He made a couple of great saves, with the one at 2-1 a potential game changer.

I thought Saiss was excellent (to think he was in and out of the team last season) and relishing playing for a coach who knows what he is doing!

Neves and Jota are simply the best in this league. Enobakhare showed why he's keeping Cavaleiro on the bench. He is deserving of his place right now.

I was also impressed with Doherty both for attack and defending. He never stopped running all night.

Bonatini had a quiet night. Both Cavaleiro and Dicko made a positive impact from bench.

Overall, a perfect start. Can it continue? If Neves, Jota and Saiss continue their early form it will. It's a big 'if' but we will be promoted.

Russ Cockburn

What's your verdict on the match? Hull may be celebrating Capital of Culture status this year, but their football team got a lesson in ‘Nuno’ culture last night as Wolves capped a remarkable 10 days of Championship football with a stylish display.

I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was check the score to make sure I hadn’t dreamt what I had seen the previous evening. After strong performances against Boro and Derby, I’d have happily taken a scrappy point when passing over the Humber Bridge, but no, my football team are different these days.

We delivered a sublime footballing performance (bar a few defensive howlers from set pieces) that left many of us pinching ourselves and asking if this was actually Wolverhampton Wanderers.

For large parts of the game we passed a good Hull team off the park, creating triangle after triangle and then stretching the game with pinpoint passes to the swashbuckling Douglas and Doherty.

The ‘Tigers’ were soon resembling pussy cats as Neves and Saiss bossed the centre of park and Jota and Bright delivered the unpredictability and creativity. Bonatini was the only slight disappointment and, if the colour of his limited edition third shirt was anything to go by, it looks like his first 10 days in English football is catching up with him.

Whilst the football was like watching Liz Hurley’s Instagram feed at times, the really pleasing element for me was how we reacted to conceding a goal and being under sustained pressure.

In previous years we would have buckled, but not Nuno’s team. We settled back into our passing, remained calm and quickly got back on top, taking the sting out of the game before adding the coup-d'etat with well taken goals from Jota and Dicko taking the match away from Hull.

As fans we need to grasp this same ‘calm’. We looked collectively traumatised after the Dawson goal, trying to work out how any team could have the temerity to score past this cast iron defence. We need to forget the dross and disappointment we’re used to and embrace the Nuno revolution and don’t urge the players to ‘get into them’ when it’s better for us to keep our shape and play football.

Having said that, it has been an absolute pleasure to be part of the travelling support for the last two matches. The noise and backing has been second to none and what a difference it makes to see 1,500 fans on a Tuesday night in Hull, instead of the 350+ that made the trip last time around.

We just need to remember midweek games aren’t just for August and repeat this throughout the season. Something special is happening at Molineux, let’s enjoy the ride.

Who played well – and who didn't impress?

Last season I was struggling to name one player, now I’m struggling to choose a man of the match out of eight possible candidates.

Let’s start at the back. Ruddy, partly at fault for the first goal, paid us back with a fantastic one-on-one stop, whilst Coady and Miranda delivered assured performances against the dangerous Campbell and Hernandez (all the best to him in his recovery).

Then we have Willy Boly…what a man, what a presence. It’s almost like the ball does what he says, when he says it. And he does it all with such composure and style. If you caught him in bed with your wife you wouldn’t care less, as you know he’d cook you up a nice chateaubriand steak for afters.

Our wing backs – fundamental to the way we play – were again fantastic. Douglas will prove to be an absolute bargain and, if Doherty, was a new signing, we’d be absolutely raving about him.

The Dubliner has really embraced the ‘Nuno’ system and is doing a fantastic job charging up the right side like a ‘Gaelic Cafu’ and linking up play superbly. Defensively he has also been solid.

On to the centre of the park, the heartbeat of the team. Saiss is another that looks a completely different player under the new regime and he’s rammed my slightly negative opening day remarks down my throat like the 35-yard exocet passes that have become his trademark.

He’s made 227 passes in three games, equalling the same amount as the entire Aston Villa team last night and the most by any Championship player so far this year.

Jota, Bright, Cav and Dicko are all providing the creativity and it was great to see the latter keep his composure to put the game to bed late one. The only criticism I would have is to make that final ball more telling and to get more bodies into the box.

Right, I’ve saved the best to last…Ruben Neves. Wow, the cheese and pineapple of the Black Country buffet, the Lemon Dream of the real ale world, the Nobby Bobbly of lollipops.

It’s like watching poetry in motion…effortless, yet brilliant with a helping of European cynicism when needed. The strike last night was something out of 101 great goals and I’m sure there’s even more to come from the Portuguese starlet.

He’s going to become our talisman and if he reaches his potential with us we’ll have a fantastic two years of watching him dictate play.

Russ Evers (Hatherton Wolves)

What's your verdict on the match? The majority of midweek trips in recent years have largely led to confusion and disappointment.

The same could be said about this one – but only when relating to the ref who booked half a dozen of our lads and could not wait to give Hull a dodgy penalty in the ninth minute of injury time.

As for Wolves, another masterclass for an hour. Some of our football was again majestic and we defend by passing out of trouble whether the ball is on the floor or in the air.

Just before half time Pete Davies, the Mayor of Rocket Pool, declared he could go home as he had already had his money's worth such was our dominance.

Hull to their credit pushed us more than any other team thus far but the 3-2 scoreline flattered them (and upset a fellow wolf who had placed a bet on Wolves to win 3-1 and Neves to score first at 190/1).

Dicko took his goal superbly but even that was not as good as the opening two strikes. Working in Solihull it will be a pleasure to remind the locals that after just three games we have four points more than Blues and Villa put together. We look that good already its frightening

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Boly the Emperor was imperious at the back and Neves and Jota unstoppable in midfield

Enobakhare continues to amaze by seemingly running into players four times out of five then destroying the defence single handedly and creating a goal on the fifth attempt.

Adam Virgo

What's your verdict on the match? Sublime, sensational, breathtaking, mouthwatering and majestic. Those are just five words describing Ruben Neves' wonder strike, never mind the 84 (+9) minutes that followed. I'm sure a lot of our Portuguese players silenced the critics that say "can they do it on a Tuesday night away from home in the championship" well they definitely proved last night that they are capable of a lot of things.

After the final whistle had gone I was just thinking to myself, is this actually real, have we just played like that because you don't associate Wolves with football like that. I'm so delighted with yesterday's performance and we also did the dirty work and got stuck in when we needed to. That is what you need as well because I feel as though our team as a whole can play sexy football at any point but also do the nitty gritty stuff too.

Apart from set pieces, which we really need to work on, we didn't show any other weaknesses. Once they had scored from the corner though it's safe to say I was slightly nervous from any other set pieces Hull had during the game.

I thought we were deserved of our lead at half time, Neves, Jota and Boly were the standouts for me in that half as well. The way our wing backs just hang out wide and then when Saiss or Neves get the ball they just ping it to them inch perfect 99 per cent of the time, it's just scintillating to watch.

Second half we had to really dig in and we came under some serious pressure at times from Hull which was going to happen at some point, but we did exceptionally well apart from a couple of nervy moments. We still counter attacked well at times too, especially when Cavaleiro nicked the ball off Ola Aina for Dicko's goal, great composure from the Malian striker as well, a massive goal for him.

Overall a very pleasing win away from home and who would have thought Saturday's game against Cardiff would be a top of the table clash, not many that's for sure. Hull was a very good test for us considering they won 4-1 on Saturday but managed to overcome it, huge credit to the boys and of course Nuno.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Once again, I can't say anyone had a bad performance. Bonatini never really had a chance which is probably frustrating for him but he holds the ball up well and interlinks things nicely. He's a focal point at the top of the pitch for us which is more important than a lot of people probably realise.

Neves gets man of the match from me, he wasn't afraid to get stuck in, won the ball back numerous times in the first half by tackling and intercepting, pinged balls about for fun which just makes the crowd gasp in awe, and of course that beautiful strike into the top corner, not many better ways to score your first goal for a club.

Boly was also as good as ever. The big French centre half, it's like nothing ever gets past him. His interception to stop Hernandez from a certain goal in the first five minutes was top defending at its finest. All game he looked composed, wins near enough every header and he didn't really give Hernandez a sniff all game.

Another great performance from Diogo Jota as well. He was up against a decent right back in Ola Aina I thought, on loan from Chelsea and he looked quick but Jota did well against him. First half he played some glorious passes and did a couple of fantastic runs beyond Aina but he's so direct and capped his top performance off with his first goal the season as well.

Bright was very frustrating in the first 40 minutes or so. Everything he tried it just wasn't coming off for him and then all of a sudden, he beat Michael Hector with ease, played a magnificent ball across the box for Jota to tap in and my mood on him suddenly changed. Fair play to the lad, I'm so happy Nuno has shown faith in him because I like that he's not afraid to try things and he expresses himself the way he wants to, he doesn't hide away and I like that a lot.

A big special mention to John Ruddy as well who saved us big time at 2-1. Obviously he made a slight error in their first goal but Hernandez did block his vision. Overall another solid performance from the big man in net and it's unreal how we got him on a free transfer if I'm honest.

Three wins out of three in the league, can't ask for anymore than that. Roll on Neil Warnock's Cardiff Saturday, big game at Molineux considering they're top of the league and not conceded in the championship yet. Oh and if you haven't got a ticket then make sure you do try because the players deserve big crowds week in week out at the moment and it only helps them with our fantastic support.

Clive Smith

What's your verdict on the match? As much as I enjoy listening to Derby fans saying they thought we actually 'looked good' it is time to move on.

Sadly we cant play them every week. Just every season! Hull then - City of Culture, seriously! My last memory from Hull was a defeat thanks to a Snodgrass free kick in the 93rd minute.

Was there a more expectant set of fans setting off anywhere tonight (and I don't mean for the culture)? Only 44 wins to go, and all those clean sheets, when will it ever end? Much more of this and Burnley will be cherry picking more of our stars for their Stamford Bridge visits.

Meanwhile back on Planet Wolves...this was to be our hardest challenge so far. Santo is clearly not a tinkerman as he kept the same XI again.

Inside five minutes I started to have doubts about our 3-4-3 formation. Hull got behind Miranda twice and the lack of a full back left us exposed. In this formation the natural position for the full back's seems to be on the halfway touchline rather than the corner of our box.

We survived the resultant crosses and within a minute my previous concern about Neves not getting forward enough was also put to rest. He was nowhere near the box when he hit a sublime shot for 1-0. Take a bow son.

We were pegged back from a short corner. By the time the cross came over we seemed to have retreated so deep into our goal area. Two headers, but only one cleared, our season goals against column moved on from zero.

For 15 minutes then I thought we struggled a bit. The tempo of the game was fast, as it was throughout the whole 90 minutes. Hull were physical and Premier League streetwise. Cheap free kicks were gained and they realised putting Neves on the floor was an effective way of reducing his influence.

Like us Hull stretched the game wide but they also had a two pronged attack that posed an aerial threat while keeping our three central defenders occupied - hence the space between them and the defending wing backs.

We maintained our pattern of play. Possession football, going forward and wide swiftly. Far different to the possession football that is full of square passes. Also, this style rarely involves passes back to the keeper which has been the case previously and is employed by the likes of Reading.

Just prior to the interval it was a forward and swift move that had Enobakhare wriggle free on the byline to cross low to Jota at the far post to secure the lead again. That goal must have done both players the world of good. That is exactly the sort of cross and goal we have been waiting for. Let's hope that goal is a blueprint for many goals throughout the season, whether it is Enobakhare to Jota, Doherty to Douglas or Costa to Edwards.

The second half again was tough. Hull were in it and certainly not happy letting us have time on the ball. Plenty of tackles and challenges flew in from both sides. So much so that we picked up four yellow cards by the end. Interestingly though, none were by our 'back five'. Maybe that shows where on the pitch we are engaging with the opposition.

The next stage of the game involved the substitutes. Cavaleiro came on with 30 minutes to go, Dicko with 15. Both quickly got involved and a super through ball by Cav set Dicko free centrally on goal. He has missed many one on ones over the last 12 months, but not this time. Effectively game over.

Hull did get a soft penalty in the nine minutes added on for their star striker being stretchered off. He may be out for the season - that will affect them of course.

The locals reckoned Hull needed anything between four and eight players..... luckily we've been there, done that already. Thinking ahead, who would replace each of our current XI is something perhaps for another day.

So three out of three then. 100 points here we come! Not done that since.... well, as recently as 2014. Rollercoaster - what rollercoaster?

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Full marks for Ruddy. One excellent point blank save and generally did everything well. His distribution is probably better than we have been used to. Only once do I recall one going astray. It was noticeable in the warm up he practiced kicking and throwing to the point where our wing backs are positioned.

Our centre halves had their busiest game so far. Hernandez and Campbell have done well at a higher level and we had to be alert throughout. Collectively they got the job done. Boly looking the most solid of the three. Miranda missed a great chance to score with a close range header off a corner.

Doherty again played an important role in the attacking third. At one point he played a couple of tired looking passes but then stepped up a gear and played well. Cavaleiro played him in, in a similar position to which he had against Derby when he hit the side netting. This time he played the ball back to Cav whose shot was blocked. I hope his 'miss' at Derby does not put him off shooting, we have seen him score some good goals in the past.

Douglas was equally proficient on the other flank. He keeps the ball moving, holds his position when the ball is elsewhere and helps Neves and Saiss when required. Probably his best game so far.

Neves too had his best game despite the constant attention from Hull. He will be marked out for plenty of physical contact from now on - starting with Cardiff for sure. His ability to control the ball with just a touch from his boot laces is a rare sight in a Wolves shirt. Hopefully it catches on.

Saiss looks less pretty but is more involved in the tackling side. A booking with almost half the game to go made me worry. Is that just me? He gets caught for pace and just puts a foot in to try and get the ball. The ball has gone but the trailing leg is left for contact and an easy free kick.

Jota - his best game so far too. Seems to be getting more involved as each game comes along, So involved he collected a yellow for his trouble - but a goal too!

Enobakhare was worth his place again. Game time is allowing him to be more composed on the ball. Less in a rush to impress. Impress he did however with his work setting up our second.

Although Bonatini is the designated centre forward our play does not go through him very often. He is not the presence that other players in that role have. He did play well - but in comparison to Hernandez and Assombalonga for example he appears our weakest position.

Cavaleiro has matured from last season. He looks more of a team player. He has played less than an hour this season yet has scored and made one.

A fine finish by Dicko in his cameo role. He went offside, just lacked pace to get a one on one, headed a corner into row K and scored the winner. Guess we'll take that in 15 minutes.

Another good team performance and being less positive on Bonatini is perhaps harsh. I still think we need to work on getting more men in the box on crosses. It is easy to mark Bonatini when there are often five defenders and only one or two Wolves players in the box.

Man of the match is not clear cut. For THAT goal alone Neves deserves it but he can share it with Douglas who I thought was excellent in a less obvious way.