Wolves 2 Burnley 0:TRY TELLING Mick McCarthy that he was wrong to leave out 10 outfield players for Wolverhampton Wanderers' midweek match at Old Trafford. The wider football world might have been appalled at the decision but at the end of an afternoon when all but one of the rested returned, the Wolves manager was entitled to feel vindicated as goals from Nenad Milijas and the indefatigable Kevin Doyle helped to secure a third victory in four matches.
“Super Mick” was once against reverberating around Molineux in the closing stages, supporting the manager’s claims beforehand that the fans he had upset at Manchester United would soon forgive and forget. Whether the Premier League will do the same when they receive McCarthy’s explanation for his team selection remains to be seen, although if there is a fine, which seems to be the most likely punishment, Wolves will deem it a price worth paying if three points here were the reward.
Victory propelled Wolves out of the relegation zone and up to 12th place, passing Burnley, who have now picked up just one point from a possible 27 on their travels and failed to win in seven matches.
“I am not looking for justification or vindication,” said McCarthy. “I expected the performance because of the decisions I made. The nice part was that the players believed in me and trusted me and let me get on with it. They were 100 per cent behind me and they played well today.”
No one was more impressive than Doyle. The Republic of Ireland international helped to create the first goal for Milijas when he picked Clarke Carlisle’s pocket deep in the Burnley half and then scored the second after winning an aerial duel with Steven Caldwell on the edge of the area before spinning, stepping inside Michael Duff and drilling beyond Brian Jensen for his fifth goal of the season. “He was fabulous,” said McCarthy. “He was full of running. Amazing what a rest does for you.”
Owen Coyle could have been forgiven for feeling that his players would have benefited from the same but after picking the same XI that started against Arsenal on Wednesday night, he made no excuses afterwards. He pointed to the final half an hour, when the visitors grew stronger and should have pulled a goal back, as evidence that his players were not suffering from their midweek exertions.
Guardian Service
