Wolves battled valiantly against Newcastle, but couldn’t get back into the tie after Newcastle’s first half goal.
The first half was an end-to-end affair, providing plenty of entertainment as both sides gunned for a lead.
Once Newcastle got their goal, the game became rather cagey, and the second half offered little in the way of excitement.
Vitor Pereira’s substitutions made less impact than he would have hoped, and one specific decision is sure to rile up some of the Wolves support.
Vitor Pereira again brought on Marshall Munetsi as Wolves hunted for a goal
Pereira clearly values Marshall Munetsi’s incredible work rate and industrious nature, but his insistence on bringing him on while Wolves are behind is becoming an issue.
Munetsi is not a player who creates moments of magic or dissects a defence. His introduction made no improvement to Wolves going forward.
Someone like Fer Lopez would have been a much better choice to spur on the Wolves attack.
This isn’t the first time fans have questioned Pereira’s substitutions this season. Hopefully, it doesn’t become a recurring theme.
Fer Lopez hasn’t been trusted by Vitor Pereira so far
Lopez is the kind of player you want to bring on when a goal is needed. In his brief appearances for Wolves, he has looked like that kind of player.
But Pereira hasn’t unleashed him fully, still yet to give him a start in the Premier League.
This Newcastle performance was promising, despite the result. They stayed in the game throughout, and easily could have equalised.
But Pereira needs to reassess his attacking options, because apart from Jorgen Strand Larsen in the Carabao Cup, no one has changed a game off the bench for him.