'I didn't expect that' - Wolves' caretaker boss reflects on Carabao Cup triumph over Leeds United

Leeds were eliminated by Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Third Round stage of this season’s Carabao Cup leaving Steve Davis pleased with his side’s efforts
By Joe Donnohue
Published 9th Nov 2022, 22:28 BST
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Caretaker boss Davis will relinquish control of this Wolverhampton Wanderers side next week as former Spain and Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui takes charge. The West Midlands club’s interim head coach said he was pleased with the performance of his team on Wednesday evening, which culminated in substitute Boubacar Traore’s late winner deciding the Third Round fixture.

“Yeah, delighted with the win, probably needed that going into Saturday,” Davis said. “Pleased to win the game and keep a clean sheet. Confidence is important.

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"This week's been tough with the three games. Tonight was hard, even though they had a lot of changes. It was still a tough game for the boys.

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 09: Steve Davis, Interim Manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on prior to the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United at Molineux on November 09, 2022 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 09: Steve Davis, Interim Manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on prior to the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United at Molineux on November 09, 2022 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 09: Steve Davis, Interim Manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on prior to the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United at Molineux on November 09, 2022 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

"I thought we played quite well first half. Second half was very scrappy.

"I didn't expect that,” Davis said of match-winner Traore’s 84th minute strike. “He does practice shooting. They don't tend to go in,” he added.

Leeds created chances in both halves but were ultimately lacking quality in the final third to break down Wolves’ stern defence. Leeds’ assistant head coach René Marić took questions from the media following the game, but expressed that the coaching team had ‘no regrets’ over fielding a second string starting line-up.

United’s next fixture is away to Tottenham Hotspur this Saturday, where Jesse Marsch will be expected to name an XI resembling his line-up against Bournemouth last weekend.

Related topics:WolvesLeedsSpain