Former Wolves striker Leon Clarke said that he felt sorry for Nathan Fraser against Coventry City, and believes the teenager’s teammates let him down on the day.
Wanderers were dumped out of the FA Cup by the Championship side, as they fought back to win 3-2 at Molineux.
Gary O’Neil had a number of key players missing for the contest which may well have cost Wolves.
Nathan Fraser was picked to lead the line in the continued absence of Matheus Cunha, and it was a real struggle for him to make an impact.
He had just 13 touches in the game, which was three times fewer than goalkeeper Jose Sa, emphasising the little impact he had.
But Leon Clarke had sympathy for Fraser after the game…
Leon Clarke says Nathan Fraser was let down by his Wolves teammates against Coventry
Clarke was a guest on Matchday Live Extra on Saturday, and the former Molineux striker was on hand to offer his opinion about the game – and he expressed his sympathy for Fraser.
The 18-year-old is someone with big potential, and the club think of him very highly. But it just wasn’t his day on Saturday, although it wasn’t necessarily his fault.
For Clarke, the starlet was let down by those around him.
He said: “They lacked that quality in the final third. Whether that was players controlling the ball, carrying the ball, being dangerous, getting on the other side of Coventry’s backline, they weren’t able to do it.
“I felt sorry for young Nathan Fraser. I thought he did all the basics really well, he battled, he fought, he worked hard. He had the experience around him in Sarabia and Lemina – I don’t think they turned up today. I think they let him down massively.
“I think with their experience and quality, they could have brought more to the game and I felt like he was kind of left on his own to go about his work in a fashion I didn’t think was right.”
Fraser was not helped
It was a really tough shift for Fraser against Coventry in what was a huge game for Wolves – probably the biggest of the season.
The youngster was always going to need really good support, but he just didn’t get it.
He was rather isolated throughout his 60 minutes on the pitch and several Wolves players just didn’t pick him out when they perhaps could have done.
He did his very best and for that he deserves credit. Hopefully in the coming games he can be more impactful and his teammates can provide him with a bit more support in the final third.