Shropshire Star

Wolves 1 Newcastle United 1 – player ratings

Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers rates the players after a 1-1 draw against Newcastle.

Published

Rui Patricio

The Shrewsbury player ratings began with the words 'oh John' and these will kick off with 'oh Rui'. Patricio is a consistently excellent shot-stopper but he's also a consistently poor kicker of the ball – it seems not a week goes by that he doesn't kick it out of play. On this occasion Newcastle took a quick throw, fashioned a chance and Patricio, probably expecting the ball to go across him, has left his near post wide open and then helped the ball into the net. It's a bit of a shambles from the Portuguese keeper, who has cost Wolves a few goals this season. 5/10

Ryan Bennett

A typically unruffled and solid night for Bennett who rarely gave the ball away, with a team high of 89 per cent pass accuracy. 7/10

Conor Coady

Just about the pick of the back three as he continued his recent good form. The highlight was a superb block to deny Rondon towards the end of the first half. 7/10

Willy Boly

Touched the ball 108 times, more than anyone on the field, and despite his late heroics with a dramatic equaliser – his third goal of the season – it wasn't a great performance from Boly who was careless in possession, particularly in the first half, and then outfoxed by defensive midfielder Aaron Hayden for Newcastle's goal. 6/10

Matt Doherty

A decent game for the Irishman who set up Jimenez for a good first half chance and got forward to good effect on occasion, notably when he played successive one-twos with Dendoncker and Jimenez early in the second half. Simply had to score from just a few yards out, though, from a corner. It was great defending by Longstaff but that was a crucial moment, just before Newcastle scored. 6/10

Ruben Neves

Not at his influential best but still pretty effective and he got the fans cooing like Vic Reeves enticing a dove from above when he pinged a gorgeous 40-yard wedge onto Jimenez's boot in the first half. Played pretty deep and protected the defence with six interceptions, the most on the field. 7/10

Joao Moutinho

With the grace of a ballet dancer playing the harp sat on a cloud, Moutinho is class personified and was the standout player for Nuno's team. Four key passes was more than anyone on the pitch and five tackles was second only to the excellent Sean Longstaff. Kept the tempo high and the passes crisp. A privilege to watch this guy at work in a Wolves shirt. 8/10

Leander Dendoncker

A positive presence in the Newcastle third of the field, always looking to break forward and cause a bit of havoc. Linked nicely with Jota and Jimenez on occasion and he looked like he had a goal in him, but was taken off after 68 minutes. 7/10

Jonny Castro Otto

A busy first half for Jonny who twice set up Jimenez, had a decent 20-yard effort of his own and then crucially covered Boly with an interception to deny Rondon. His influence waned as the night went on and we didn't see much of him in the second half. 6/10

Raul Jimenez

On the one hand a vibrant display full of creativity, creating chances for Jota, Dendoncker, Doherty and himself. Constantly showed intelligent movement...a defender's nightmare. On the other a night of missed opportunities when, if he'd showed his recent prolific scoring form, Wolves would have won this game. A free diving header saw Jimenez head miles wide with a 50p head – and then he blazed one shot curling out for a throw. Not his night, but still played well. 7/10

Diogo Jota

Started really positively, running at the Newcastle defenders using his pace and strength, and picked up where he left of with that telepathic Jimenez partnership. Dropped off a bit in the second half and the knock he picked up at Everton may have resurfaced as he asked to be taken off. 6/10

Substitutes

Helder Costa (for Dendoncker, 68)

No shots, no completed dribbles, no key passes and only 13 touches of the ball (and six passes) in his 22 minutes. With Wolves chasing the game he had to be doing more. 5/10

Ivan Cavaleiro (for Jota, 68)

One decent cross to Traore and a few moments when he helped get Newcastle on the back foot. Feels like a while since he really made a tangible impact in a league game, though. 6/10

Adama Traore (for Doherty, 81)

Only given nine minutes to impress but he used his pace to push the visitors deeper and then claimed an assist with his looping cross for Boly's equaliser. 6/10

Subs not used: Ruddy, Saiss, Vinagre, Gibbs-White.