Watford Review / Millwall Preview

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Watford

(Sako 90+3, Abdi 41)

Abdi gives Watford the lead with a stunning free-kick

Wolves salvaged what could be a priceless point against high-flying Watford in front of the Sky cameras at Molineux on Friday night. It was a game that neither side really dominated in terms of clear-cut chances. Indeed it was Wolves who had the best chance of the first-half, after stand-in keeper Jonathan Bond denied Kevin Doyle before springing up to produce a remarkable save to stop the rebound from Sigurdarson going in. But after a tepid 40 minutes, it was The Hornets who took the lead. After Karl Henry stupidly tripped Matej Vydra on the edge of the box, Abdi stepped up and produced a free-kick worthy of Udinese that gave Ikeme no chance. The sinking feeling was back - after all, this was a Watford side who had the best away record in the division as well as being the top scorers in England.

Sako celebrates his late leveller against The Hornets

But the rout never materialised. Though Watford had the ability, they didn't have the urgency and instead seemed content to sit on their 1-0 lead and hit Wolves on the break. And, truth be told, they should've put the game beyond Wolves but they clearly left their shooting boots somewhere down the M1. The biggest miss was by Anya who inexplicably went with his left foot when the angle favoured the right foot. From 6 yards out, he managed to put the ball wide across the face of goal with Ikeme already beaten. That miss seemed to galvanise Wolves who pushed themselves onto the front foot - led by the inspirational Sako. He flashed several perfect crosses across the box without them getting the touch they needed. Then came Wolves' big chance - again Bond denied Sigurdarson before Robinson skied the rebound over the bar. But Wolves kept pushing forward and equalised late into stoppage time, as Watford failed to deal with a long throw into the box, nobody tracked Sako and he finished with his right foot past the despairing Bond. It was late into stoppage time, but there was still time for Wolves to almost blow it. Forestieri - who had already missed a brilliant chance to make it 2-0 just 5 minutes earlier - had the ball fall perfectly to his feet just 6 yards out. With space, and Ikeme exposed, he managed to send the ball over the bar to waste the perfect chance to win the game for Watford.

Hunt and Doyle were surprise starters on Friday

In truth, this wasn't a classic. The watching nation, and the 18,571 crowd (Molineux's second lowest crowd in the League this season), won't remember this one for long. And yet the point gained could be huge, as could the lateness of the equaliser. With results somewhat going in Wolves' favour over the weekend (the only 'bad' ones being Peterborough's 3-2 win over Blackburn and Ipswich beating Leicester 1-0), they still find themselves just a point off safety - despite dropping to 23rd. Saunders' comments that his side "deserved to win the game" are, again, very misguided given that, if Watford had brought their shooting boots, it could easily have been 4-1. But it was his team selections that again bemused his public. He switched back to 4-4-2, but opted to play Johnson instead of Batth, Doyle instead of Ebanks-Blake... and weirdest of all, he gave Stephen Hunt his first League start of the season - shifting Sako to the right-wing where he was largely ineffective. Again his substitutions redeemed him slightly, with the introduction of Ebanks-Blake in the 64th minute changing the game and putting Wolves on the front foot.

He's got to hope the late equaliser will be a boost for his team, as they have a tricky run of crucial games coming up. The side that finished against Watford must surely start against Millwall on Tuesday if Wolves are to have any hope at The New Den.

My Wolves MOTM: Bakary Sako. Once he was moved back to the left, he twisted and turned the Watford defenders inside out and always provided a key threat. Got the goal he deserved.

Wolves In A Word: Lucky 

And so to Millwall we go next. A game that is very much must-win for Dean Saunders' side as time begins to run out on their Championship stay.

Keogh strikes to consign his former club to defeat

Millwall away is a trip that hasn't been so fruitful for Wolves in recent years. The Midlanders have only won 2 of their last 10 trips to Millwall - the most recent of those wins coming in 2005 when a last-minute Seol Ki-Hyeon goal gave Glenn Hoddle's team the 3 points. Wolves will be looking for revenge for an earlier-season defeat at home to The Lions at Molineux. That night, former-Wolves striker Andy Keogh struck to consign the home side to a 1-0 defeat that cranked up the pressure on Stale Solbakken. Their last trip to South Bermondsey saw a very forgettable 0-0 where Mark Kennedy came closest when he hit the bar with a free-kick.

Millwall suffered a shock defeat at home to Peterborough

Millwall are actually in poor form - they only have one win in their last 8 games (a 2-1 success away at Middlesbrough) and had the embarassment of suffering a 5-1 defeat at home to Peterborough United 2 weeks ago. There's no indication as to a preference in match location either. Their home and away records are very similar - picking up 23 points at home and 21 away. They're not the most prolific of teams, however, scoring only 44 goals in the League this season whilst at the other end they've conceded a total of 50. All the signs about Millwall point to a mid-table finish - something nobody saw coming back when they visited Molineux at the end of November. Back then, Kenny Jackett's side were on an 11 game unbeaten run that had seen them pick up 23 points. That run, plus the win at Molineux and a subsequent 0-0 draw with Charlton, saw people talk about Millwall as real promotion contenders. But a shock 3-0 defeat away to Mick McCarthy's Ipswich saw that change and since then The Lions just haven't looked the same. Since then they've won only 4 of their 13 League games. Kenny Jackett may also have one eye on the FA Cup Quarter-Final against Blackburn this coming weekend, so some of his key players may be rested with Millwall all-but-guaranteed Championship football next year.

Saunders' tactics at Barnsley backfired heavily

As for Wolves - well there's not much that needs to be said. This game is must-win. With other teams around Wolves picking up results, they cannot go much longer without getting maximum points from a game. That is why it is worrying to see that Dean Saunders say he will "drop the flair players bar Sako" in favour of more solid, slightly defensive-minded players. I fear this will see David Edwards on the right and, potentially, David Davis or Tongo Doumbia replacing O'Hara (who has, in fairness, been poor in recent weeks) in midfield. Similar to the second-half set-up at Barnsley, it looks like Saunders will be playing not-to-lose rather than go out and win. That is simply not an option - as there is a very real chance Wolves could go bottom of the League if we fail to win and Bristol City beat Brighton. With a tricky trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, this is a really good chance for Wolves to pick up a vital 3 points to help kickstart a push for safety. There simply cannot be any slip-ups.

Prediction: Millwall 1-2 Wolves