Wolves set-piece masterclass memories as Stoke return to Molineux | OneFootball

Wolves and Stoke meet in the league for the first time in more than 14 years on Saturday lunchtime at Molineux, rekindling memories of set-piece sorcery. Chief among them is David Jones’s audacious flick-and-volley free-kick against the Potters in 2010.

According to ExpressAndStar.com, that season opener swung on a 37th-minute routine after Kevin Foley was fouled by Dean Whitehead just outside the box. Karl Henry rolled the ball back, Jones lifted it and volleyed over the wall, the effort kissing the underside of the bar before beating Thomas Sorensen.

Both credit Mick McCarthy’s readiness to devise and try rehearsed moves, often practised against academy sides to preserve surprise. Jones felt especially confident with the flick-and-volley method in central areas.

The move echoed Coventry’s outlawed 1970 donkey kick, which led to today’s roll-back and flick-up. Wolves’ catalogue also includes Ruben Neves’s dead-ball masterpieces, notably when Joao Moutinho squared for him to score against Aston Villa in 2019, and Jamie O’Hara’s strike at West Brom in 2011 after a Nenad Milijas touch.

Craft extended to longer routines too. In a 1994 FA Cup upset at Ipswich, a Dennison tap and Paul Cook pass teed up Andy Thompson, whose deflected drive made it 2-0 in a 2-1 win. On the 2000/01 opening day against Sheffield Wednesday, with Kevin Pressman sent off after 13 seconds, Temuri Ketsbaia finished a clever exchange with Simon Osborn and Lee Naylor.

Former keeper Matt Murray recalls the constant calculations around walls, charges and sightlines, and says the Henry-Jones routine would have been hard to pick up. He praised its execution by two technically sharp players.

Henry jokes about the assist while acknowledging Jones’s perfect execution. It proved Jones’s last league goal for Wolves, and the move was later recreated by Football Focus at Compton.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com

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