Wolves Under-18s came away with a hard earned point in a 1-1 draw at home against Leeds United in the U18 Premier League North Group. Assistant coach James McPike thought it was “a tight game, compact, competitive and played in the right spirit. So overall happy coming away with a point.”
After a cagey first-half , McPike thought that they weren’t performing at the standards they have set themselves. “I think first half we probably weren’t hitting the levels, the intensity and pressing that we’ve set in previous games, so we need just to work a little bit harder. We tried to help them a little bit tactically with Leeds’ build-up which helped and then just taking a bit more care with the release passes in transition. So I think maybe the big differences in the second-half.”
McPike believes the tactical change of allowing the forwards to rotate positions across the line helped break down the opposition to get the equaliser scored by Emilio Ballard-Matthews, shortly after they went behind to a deflected effort by Freddie Lane that looped over goalkeeper Josh Gracey. “Potentially I think it was just the momentum and the intensity that got them on the back foot. We were switching the ball quicker, we were getting down the outside of them quicker, putting the ball in earlier, which obviously led to the goal. So I think we upped it a little bit and then we recognised that the momentum was with us and we were searching for that second goal which we were fortunate not to get and go on and win the game.”
With the equaliser coming mid-way through the second-half, McPike was proud of the impact the substitutes made, “that’s their job in that moment. It’s not nice to be a sub when they want to play. But I think all of the subs today made a really, really good impact in the game, worked really hard, and added value and they came on, which is all you can ask.”
69' | #WOL 1-1 #LEE
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) November 9, 2024
Mateus Mane wins the ball in the opposition's half, drives towards the edge of the area before playing the ball to Reiss Bowen with his cross finding Emilio Ballard-Matthews, who heads the ball into the inside netting.#U18PL https://t.co/VwvZsexQTI
McPike was also pleased with the group’s development after three months of the current season, with the evidence clear to see with players training in higher age groups and the first team. “The squad is developing well, they’re really competitive in the league, and we’re putting in some really good performances. I think to go with that and more importantly the development of the players. We start a couple of players in and around the 21s, around first-team training, we have two or three boys going international duty next week. So that’s a credit to the kind of players we’ve been producing and developing and and the quality of the performances that they’ve been putting in the games. So we’re happy with the direction they are going in and hopefully they can continue and we can kick a few more on into the Under-21s.”
