Wolves crashed out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, losing 3-2 to Championship side Ipswich Town.
Wanderers capitulated at Portman Road, after going 2-0 up inside 15 minutes.
Hwang Hee-chan continued his good form by scoring a great goal with his left foot.
Toti Gomes then doubled the lead, pouncing on a loose ball from a corner.
But Ipswich came back, with Jack Taylor grabbing the winner just before the hour mark.
Many Wolves fans are very disgruntled about the result. This was an opportunity for Wolves to taste victory again, ahead of a big game against Manchester City in the Premier League.
To throw it away as they do was very concerning to see.
O’Neil made some interesting calls in the game – and there was one in particular that felt quite significant…
Gary O’Neil putting Nathan Fraser on before Fabio Silva was very interesting
O’Neil started Sasa Kalajdzic against the Tractor Boys.
The Austrian did assist Hwang’s goal, but didn’t offer a great deal as the lone striker.
He was replaced on the hour mark after Ipswich had scored their third goal, and it was interesting to see young Nathan Fraser replacing him.
Fraser, 18, is the fourth-choice striker at Wolves, after the club failed to bring in Che Adams or Boulaye Dia on deadline day.
It was interesting that O’Neil did not turn to Fabio Silva first, with the Portuguese coming on at 75 minutes with Matheus Cunha.
Many expected Silva to actually start against Ipswich given that he scored in the previous round against Blackpool.
But it was Fraser who got the nod first.
Work to do for Silva?
Silva didn’t get any minutes at all against Luton Town last weekend.
So he would have been very fresh.
That O’Neil turned to Fraser before him feels like the manager perhaps sending the player a bit of message.
Fraser did also score against Blackpool in the previous round.
But he’s only 18, with Silva more experienced at 21.
Did O’Neil genuinely feel that Fraser was more likely to get Wolves a goal than Silva?
Or was this O’Neil subtly saying to £80,000-a-week star Silva that he needs to work a bit harder right now.
It will certainly be interesting to see the level of involvement the Portuguese has against Manchester City this weekend.
