Alfie Pond was impressed with the way Wolves defended as the under-21s kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven U21s in the Premier League International Cup.
The centre half put in a dominant display at Aggborough as he helped his side to successive clean sheets for the first time in this campaign.
After helping his side win their first game against European opposition this season, Pond gave his thoughts on the performance, the importance of picking up three points and Wolves’ good form.
On the performance
“I thought we were really good. We knew we were going to have to suffer at times tonight because they [PSV] have got a lot of quality, they can handle the ball.
“I think in the first half we did really well, the second half started a bit slow. They got on top.
“I think once we changed the shape at half time, once we got to grips with that, we controlled the last ten,15 minutes and it was fairly comfortable in the end.”
On the importance of picking up the victory
“We were on one point from two, so I think we needed to win tonight to have any chance of qualification.
“It puts us on four points now. I think still a slim chance we go through, but it's a chance, and that's where we wanted to be tonight.”
On keeping a clean sheet
“We've put in a lot of hard work, and we had a chat after the Swansea game.
“We’ve conceded too many goals, and obviously, as a defender, we take pride in keeping clean sheets.
“That's back-to-back clean sheets now, so we need to keep that going because at the end of the day, that's our job.
“I think the more clean sheets we keep, the more chance we've got [at winning games].”
On the key to Wolves’ good form
“I think the group's really tight-knit. Since I've been there, I think it's probably as close as it's been.
“There are a lot of lads who bring a lot of energy, and I just think everything's sort of clicking at the minute.”
On West Ham up next
“We'll get to work for the rest of the week and then go into Monday against them.
“They're always good. Every time I've played them, they've been decent, so we'll be ready for that.”
