Tottenham Hotspur denied Wolves their first Premier League win of the season on Saturday – and Dave Edwards believes Vitor Pereira made one big blunder in the game.
After beating Everton in the Carabao Cup, Wanderers went into the game with Spurs with a bit more confidence than they would have.
Vitor Pereira again set Wolves up with a back four, although he changed the system at half-time, which actually prompted the visitors to play better.
Santiago Bueno put Wolves ahead on 54 minutes, and Spurs did not really threaten – until the very end.
A well worked move from Spurs saw Joao Palhinha fire home on 94 minutes to break Wolves hearts.
Lee Naylor felt Jackson Tchatchoua might have done better to clear the ball in the build up to the goal.
But Dave Edwards believes that Pereira did not help his players with one decision he made.
Dave Edwards questions Toti Gomes substitution for Wolves against Tottenham
When a team is defending a one-goal lead, it is not uncommon to see managers throw defenders on in the late stages of games.
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Pereira was obviously desperate for Wolves to see the game out, and he clearly felt putting a defender on was the way to do this.
Toti Gomes entered the action just before the goal – which was a questionable call in the eyes of Dave Edwards, who reckons that change invited unnecessary pressure.
He said in his latest E&S column: “It’s easy to say in hindsight, but one slight criticism I have of Pereira would be the decision to bring on Toti Gomes for Arias late on.
“That made us drop a little bit deeper naturally but I also thought that Ladislav Krejci would fill into midfield, but we went to a back six and it left only Andre and Bellegarde in the middle which meant as crosses were coming in we were getting deeper.
“We were unable to get pressure higher up the pitch on the ball, then when the ball came out, I’m adamant if we had three midfielders playing then Palhinha wouldn’t be in all that space to take on that shot.
“If Arias was still on the pitch or (Ladislav) Krejci pushed through into midfield then (Jean-Ricner) Bellegarde might be on him. We had the box absolutely packed out but we didn’t have any pressure on the edge of the box.
“I feel that was a slight mistake but there’s a lot of luck involved in the way it bounced through and it was a terrific finish as well.”
Wolves were solid enough without needing defensive subs
Some fans did point to that Toti substitution as being a mistake from Pereira.
While Toti himself was not at fault for the equaliser, it did just alter the way Wolves played in those closing stages.
Prior to the introductions of both Toti and Agbadou, Wolves had been very solid at the back.
Spurs did not threaten Wolves at all after Bueno scored. It is perhaps no coincidence that they got a chance with Palhinha right at the end after those defensive changes from Pereira.
One can slightly understand his thinking. But some will argue that the awful form of Agbadou and Toti should have seen them both remain on the bench anyway.