Gary O’Neil admitted yesterday that one Wolves player was banging his door down to feature against Aston Villa.
Wanderers fell to a 2-0 defeat at Villa Park, and were made to pay for missed opportunities.
Rayan Ait-Nouri spurned a golden chance in the first-half amid a period of Wolves dominance. Had he scored, it could have been an entirely different contest.
Matt Doherty also had a good chance late on with a header.
But Wolves, ultimately, missed key players. A forward line of Leon Chiwome being supported by Mario Lemina and Pablo Sarabia was never likely to yield too much success.
Certainly, Matheus Cunha was missed – and O’Neil said after the game that the Brazilian was actually really trying to play yesterday…
Gary O’Neil says Matheus Cunha really wanted to play for Wolves against Aston Villa
Wolves had been hoping that Cunha would have some kind of involvement against Villa, after recently returning to training.
Most thought he might be on the bench, ready to come on in the second-half.
But the Brazilian was ultimately not named in the matchday squad, with Chiwome given the nod to start up top.
After the 2-0 defeat, O’Neil spoke about Cunha and admitted that the player had been nipping at his heels to play. He said (via Wolves official): “Cunha’s doing great and is miles ahead of schedule. He’s banging my door down to be involved and wanted to be involved today, but we need to make sure he’s right.”
Cunha was badly missed at Villa
Seemingly, the decision was taken out of Cunha’s hands yesterday. If it was solely up to him, it sounds like he would have been in the squad and had some involvement.
His enthusiasm is very admirable, and you just know that he really wants to try and help Wolves achieve European football.
But if medics did not deem him 100% for the Villa game then there was no point risking aggravation and him being out for more games.
It is a shame, because he was ultimately missed a lot. Chiwome battled hard, but his lack of experience was clear. Cunha’s running could potentially have made life uncomfortable for Villa.
Wanderers are back in action against Burnley on Tuesday, and then take on West Ham United at the weekend, so perhaps it was the right thing for him to miss Villa.
Having Cunha back will be huge for Wolves. He will return without momentum and form, but the South American is such a crucial player, and him merely being on the pitch will potentially give the rest of the players a lift.