Shropshire Star

Nuno philosophical after Wolves defeat

Nuno Espirito Santo was philosophical in defeat after Wolves lost in the FA Cup to Swansea.

Published

Goals from Jordan Ayew and Wilfried Bony were enough for the Premier League Swans to beat Wolves 2-1 in last night's third round replay.

Wolves were well below their best in the first half and couldn't do enough to force extra time despite rallying via goalscorer Diogo Jota.

On a wet and windy night in Wales the boggy pitch didn't help, but Nuno refused to blame the conditions.

He said: "The conditions were difficult for both teams to keep the balance, it was raining, cold, slippery, but it was the same for both teams so it has nothing to do with that.

"I liked some of the football I saw.

"After a defeat sometimes you don't look at things so clearly but I have the knowledge to know there are a lot of positive things from today.

"We showed everybody, if there are any doubts at all, that we are ready to compete against any team.

"These boys work hard every day, everybody deserves a chance to show and express themselves.

"Let's go again for Saturday."

At 1-1 it looked like the game was there for the taking but just three minutes after Wolves' equaliser Swansea re-took the lead when Kortney Hause's mistake let in Bony.

Nuno added: "It became harder (at 2-1 down). But this is football, we have to react and sometimes you get a punch and you have to react.

"I think we showed we were able to do that. Even at 2-1 all the chances were for us, they were only concerned about blocking us and going for the counter attack.

"I think we were better than them in moments, even today in the second half we showed we wanted to win, there were no doubts about it.

"The answers are general. I will take a deep look at how the team did, not so much individual performances because everyone knows their tasks.

"Today was our priority, we wanted to continue in the cup. If I'm disappointed it would be in the first leg, not today. Since day one we've created a philosophy and we plan all the competitions."