Wolverhampton Wanderers continue to impress under Gary O’Neil, with a place in the FA Cup semi-final looking achievable.
Last night, Wolves picked up a fantastic 1-0 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, which secured them a tie against Coventry City in the next round.
20/21 (Friendly)
2-1 W
13/14
1-1
13/14
1-1
08/09
2-1 L
08/09
2-1 W
The hosts took the lead within the first two minutes of the game, and from that point on, they rarely had any of the ball, with the Seagulls having 72% possession.
Wolves stayed compact as a unit, frustrating the visitors despite them having 18 shots. It was a performance that would bring the squad and the fans even closer.
Mario Lemina’s game versus Brighton
Mario Lemina has been excellent all season in O’Neil’s 3-4-2-1 setup, influencing the side at both ends of the field.
The Gabon international ended up being the match-winner, scoring the only goal of the game via an impressive, creative finish.
The 30-year-old was subbed off just before the hour mark and replaced by Pablo Sarabia. Lemina boasted an impressive 100% pass success rate, although he only made 11 passes all game due to Brighton’s dominance.
The midfielder registered 33% of Wolves’ nine shots while also making two tackles. However, he wasn’t as strong as usual in duels, winning just two of his eight duels.
Even though Lemina scored the only goal of the game to help Wolves progress, there was one other individual who was instrumental in the victory.
Max Kilman’s performance in numbers vs Brighton
Max Kilman started his 32nd game of the season last night, and his leadership at the heart of the Wolves defence was simply brilliant. The captain led by example from the first whistle to the last, displaying dominance when taking on in-possession and out-of-possession tasks.
Birmingham World handed the defender an 8/10 rating for his showing, describing it as “a proper captain’s performance.”
Goals conceded
0
Clearances
9
Dribbled past
0
Pass accuracy
83%
Key passes
1
Touches
38
As can be seen in the table above, Kilman was an absolute rock at the back, making a huge nine clearances, while also not being dribbled past once, which shows that he was always one step ahead of the game and that he didn’t get drawn out of position by the tricky Seagulls attackers.
Despite actually having ten fewer touches than goalkeeper Jose Sa, the number 23 was also composed on the ball and willing to progress it when the opportunity presented itself, having a pass accuracy of 83%, completing one key pass, and losing the ball just four times.
This is extremely important given the fact that Wolves had to endure long spells without the ball for most of the game, and therefore, concentration is required both when continuously defending and when rarely getting on the ball, as his ball retention gave his side a much-needed breather at times in the second half.
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Having Kilman at the back was vital for O’Neil’s side, with his composure providing calmness to the backline, who could’ve easily buckled under the constant pressure.