Ex-Spurs Scout: Wolves player ratings v Tottenham – Sarabia ‘immense,’ Cunha ‘woeful’
Tottenham News is delighted to welcome aboard our brilliant new columnist Bryan King, the former goalkeeper who spent six years as a senior scout at Spurs and 28 years in total in first-team scouting roles. Bryan also spent eight years on Everton’s recruitment team and 11 years scouting at Aston Villa across two different spells.
Wolves came from behind and scored two late goals to hand Tottenham a 2-1 defeat at Molineux on Saturday 11 November.
Spurs were ahead inside three minutes after Brennan Johnson drove home Pedro Porro’s low cross.
Despite creating few chances throughout the contest, the visitors were able to hold on until two stoppage-time strikes from Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina completed a late turnaround for the hosts and left Spurs fans heartbroken.
Ex-Spurs scout Bryan King watched on for Tottenham News and has provided his player ratings for the hosts.
Jose Sa – 6
“He had very little to do but he was alert and played his sweeper role well. He made one good save and had no chance with the goal.”
Craig Dawson – 7
“He is a solid, experienced central defender. Assured with his passes out from the back and was tough in his challenges.”
Max Kilman – 6
“His passing was good, played a few good long balls out from the back. He didn’t have to work too hard defensively.”
Toti Gomes – 6
“He showed decent pace, especially when Dejan Kulusevski had that clear run in the second half, but I thought his use of the ball was poor.”
Nelson Semedo – 6
“He gave Emerson Royal problems in the first half, his speed was causing issues but he struggled to become a real influence in the game. He could have tracked Brennan Johnson for the goal.”
Rayan Ait-Nouri – 6
“He made some good runs down the left and showed quick feet. He just lacked quality in the final third.”
Mario Lemina – 8
“He was Wolves’ best player, he made some good runs. He was unlucky in the first half to see his shot blocked by Ben Davies. He got in between defenders and he timed his run perfectly for the winning goal.”
Joao Gomes – 5
“Neat and tidy, but he didn’t do enough to impact the game.”
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde – 5
“A lot of energy, he covered a lot of the pitch and worked hard. Some of his deliveries from set-pieces were poor, however.”
Hwang Hee-Chan – 6
“What a chance he had in the second half, it was probably the best chance of the game until that point. He was quite wasteful in his passing and his finishing, but he worked hard.”
Matheus Cunha – 6
“Some of his build-up play was good but when he got chances in the box his finishing was woeful. He needs to do a lot better but he did manage to get an assist, it was his ball which led to Pablo Saribia’s equaliser.”
Subsitutes
Pablo Sarabia – 8
“How many players come on in the 87th minute and grab a fantastic equaliser? When the ball came to him in the box it never touched the ground, it was a wonderful touch and finish. He was only on for ten minutes but his influence in the game was immense.”
Matt Doherty – 6
“He was bright enough, he showed good energy.”
Sasa Kalajdzic – 6
Tommy Doyle – N/A
In other Tottenham news, the club have identified the position they will reportedly look to target in January.