Joao Palhinha broke Wolves hearts with his late strike at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – and Lee Naylor shared who in old gold he felt was most at fault for the goal.
Wolves drew 1-1 with Spurs in the end, and the late goal by Palhinha was deeply frustrating.
A win for Wolves would have done wonders for confidence and morale.
And the visitors would have been worth a victory, having managed the game impressively in the second-half after going 1-0 up through Santiago Bueno.
But Palhinha’s strike gave Sam Johnstone no chance, and Wolves now sit on just one point in the Premier League table rather than three.
Vitor Pereira will no doubt have watched the goal back several times to determine how it came about, and establish what to do if a similar situation arises in the future.
While it was a top strike from Palhinha, the goal was preventable – and Lee Naylor feels one player could have done a lot better.
Lee Naylor disappointed with Jackson Tchatchoua’s role in Tottenham equaliser
There was just a feeling that Spurs were going to get one chance at the end of Saturday night’s game.
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They had barely posed a threat after Bueno put Wolves in front, but there was then some late pressure.
Johnstone cleared the ball away after a Spurs through ball came off Emmanuel Agbadou. Johnstone might have picked the ball up, but seemingly felt the referee might have deemed it a backpass.
The ball was then on the Spurs right wing, with Mohammed Kudus working the ball back after Hugo Bueno contained him.
Spurs worked the ball across from right to left.
Wilson Odobert crossed, and the ball was semi-cleared by Agbadou.
Jackson Tchatchoua then headed the ball, possibly attempting to find Marshall Munetsi who was infield. But the ball was turned over, Spurs sent in another cross from the left, which was laid back to Palhinha to score.
For Lee Naylor, the goal stemmed from the Tchatchoua header.
He said on Matchday Live Extra: “I just think when you’re in that high pressure situation, and things can get a bit frantic, you need cool heads.
“The Tchatchoua header… it’s really got to me. Because that’s one in the sequence that… it’s an easy ‘away’, if you know what I mean.
“Whereas, the sequence that led up to the goal… that part of the sequence we could have got right. And it’s really, really frustrating.”
Wolves were unlucky against Tottenham
Most goals in football are preventable, and you can pick the bones out of Palhinha’s equaliser to find a fall guy.
Yes, Tchatchoua might have done a bit better with a header.
But to lay total blame with him would be harsh – the ball did come towards him fairly quickly and it would have been tricky to decide what to do in that moment. Ultimately, it was a goal of real quality from Spurs.
Fans felt Tchatchoua really changed the game for Wolves against Spurs and provided an outlet on that right side.
Regardless of whether he could have cleared his lines better against Spurs, the Cameroon international has surely put himself in the frame to start against Brighton at the weekend.