The Joe Edwards debrief – Wolves 2 Watford 0

Nuno Espirito Santo said it himself afterwards – his side were solid at the back, and everyone did their jobs.

Sweet victory

Wolves lost that winning feeling for several weeks.

And, blimey, doesn’t it feel good to have three league points in the bag?

Yes, Wolves did not dominate proceedings and, true, Watford were every inch a team at the foot of the table, but the mission was completed.

The result has bounced Nuno & Co up the league – he will not be paying attention to that, mind, he never looks at the standings – and provides that nice bit of breathing room ahead of the trip to Manchester City on Sunday.

Many are treating the Etihad encounter as a free hit, and I cannot say I blame them, especially with it coming after travelling to Turkey to face Besiktas in the Europa League on Thursday.

So, winning this game against the Hornets was all the more important.

A last-gasp draw at Crystal Palace, a triumph on penalties over Reading in the Carabao Cup, and now a 2-0 success against the side which beat Wolves in last season’s FA Cup semi-final.

Progress – albeit maybe not the starkest – is being made. We all love a bit of progress!

Sound Saiss

And on that subject, a certain Moroccan made significant strides.

Let’s not sugar coat it, Romain Saiss lost his head at Crystal Palace.

He blatantly took out Wilfried Zaha with a sliding tackle for a booking, and then needlessly pulled the winger back for another – and the resulting red card.

A frustrating sending off given how avoidable it was.

He was back available for Watford, sitting out the Reading tie and serving his suspension there, and some were perhaps a little surprised to see him included.

After all, Ryan Bennett did his cause no harm with a solid showing in the sweeper role against the Royals.

But Saiss justified his selection. He tracked runners, bravely went in for 50/50s – and won a fair few – and, crucially, kept his cool.

His improvement was part of a larger picture – the defence again fully operating as a unit firmly on the same wave-length.

Saiss put in a strong display, and so did skipper Conor Coady, and so did Willy Boly.

When Boly is at his pomp, there is nobody better outside of the top six.

Hell, when he is at full-flow, he even gives those playing for the big boys a run for their money.

Neat Neto

Someone with enormous potential, meanwhile, is Pedro Neto.

He is doing pretty well for himself right now as well.

This was his first start in the Premier League. You could not tell, though.

The former Lazio man gave Daryl Janmaat a torrid time in what was just shy of an hour on the pitch.

He, of course, got the assist for Matt Doherty’s goal as well, perfectly steering the ball across goal and leaving the Irishman with a simple tap-in.

And he tested Ben Foster – who, unsurprisingly, given his former Albion allegiance and goading of Wolves fans in the past, was booed out of the building – in the second period.

Most striking about Neto, though, was the way he carried the ball.

He glided like Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean did to Bolero on the ice all those years ago, grabbing Olympic gold.

The 19-year-old was, genuinely, a joy to watch – playing on the left of a front three, which definitely seems to be his natural position, by the way.

If Wolves are to persist with this 3-4-3 formation – the return of which has brought about more fluidity – then Neto is a thrilling option.

The double-deal for him and Bruno Jordao left a portion of fans scratching their heads.

But after Jordao’s goal against Reading – although he unfortunately sustained ankle ligament damage later in the match – and Neto’s gracefulness here, the deal makes more sense.

Double trouble

As Doherty spent a few weeks on the sidelines after a pre-season knee injury, with Adama Traore shining in his absence, a sizeable question arose.

Should Wolves play the more defensively-dependable Doherty, or go with the frighteningly-fast Traore?

Well, with the 3-4-3 making its grand return, we now have the best of both worlds.

Doherty is doing the business at right-wing-back, and Traore is making his presence felt further forward.

And then if it is not quite working, the pair can always swap for a bit. One stay back, one go forward. They are combining to quite the effect, too.

A clever one-two between the pair saw Doherty race towards the byline and pull it back to Morgan Gibbs-White, who flicked it on before Janmaat headed past his own keeper to double Wolves’ advantage. It was instinctive, and impressive.

It is terrific to see Traore playing with such confidence after what was a difficult first campaign in gold and black.

I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to the Spaniard on a number of occasions now, and he really is a down-to-earth lad who just wants to do well for Wolves.

Up next

So, as mentioned, focus now turns to the Europa League and Besiktas.

The Group K campaign did not get off to the start we wanted, or expected – losing 1-0 to Braga at Molineux.

And I have said it to a few people, and I will say it here, I honestly do not think the visitors were very good that night.

They were indeed well-organised, but if Wolves had played in a 3-4-3 and not been so reserved, they would have won.

Besiktas also enter the tie having lost their opening group game – 4-2 to Slovan Bratislava amid a howler from the Turkish team’s keeper Loris Karius for one of the goals (if you haven’t seen it, it’s worth a Google).

Ultimately, if everyone pulls their weight like they did against Watford, Wolves have every chance of coming out on top.