Wolves U23s boss James Collins heaped praise on his side for playing outstanding football in the 4-3 win over Reading, and hailed the returning Joe Hodge as ‘an unbelievable professional’
The club’s youngsters were in action on Monday night at Aggborough.
It was a great display from Wanderers, with Chem Campbell scoring a perfect hat-trick.
Yerson Mosquera also got himself on the scoresheet for his best moment since coming to the club last summer.
The result has lifted Wolves up to eighth in the table. And they are now just four points off second-placed Norwich City.
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Despite the late rally from Reading, who scored two goals in the final 10 mintues, Collins was pleased with what he saw on the whole from his side.
He said: “I thought our football was excellent throughout the night. We looked like we had excellent players on the pitch, which we did.
“We were an experienced team tonight, which doesn’t happen very often, but it fell just nicely after the Youth Cup that the [first-team] boys just needed a game.”
And towards the end of the game, Collins was able to send on Joe Hodge, who has been out of the picture since his move to the club last summer.
Collins put in a special word for the midfielder, saying: “What a kid he is. The work he’s done, the attitude he’s shown, is second to none. He’s an unbelievable professional and a great leader, and I think he’ll be a really good addition to the group. I was absolutely delighted to get him on and give him 10 minutes today.”
Hodge has been with Wolves since last year, joining from Manchester City on a three-year deal.
Strong comments from Collins on Joe Hodge and hopefully he can kick on at Wolves
It sounds as though Wolves have another really promising player on their books in Hodge.
When he signed for the club, the Irish Examiner had reported how Hodge had already been marked out for full international honours with Ireland.
Hopefully now, he is able to increase his minutes with the U23s.
Perhaps once he’s been able to build some momentum he might be back on the international radar.