Proud Crusaders boss Stephen Baxter relishing Wolves’ Europa League visit to Seaview

Diogo Jota put the Premier League outfit into an early advantage but Baxter’s Crues came close to bringing the high-profile Wolves outfit back to Belfast with just a single goal separating the sides, until Ruben Vinagre’s injury-time effort.

A 2-0 deficit to a Wolves panel packed with international experience and eight-figure transfer fees may not stop the Seaview supporters from dreaming of a major shock but Baxter opted instead to reflect on the realities of both the forthcoming challenge and the achievement behind the first-leg loss.

“For a team of our size and stature to come to Wolves and put on a defensive display and hold back a Premier League club the way we have to 92 minutes is a very proud moment,” said Baxter. “A 1-0 loss would have been better, of course, but, by the same token, I’m very proud of the players, how they applied themselves and held the shape particularly well the whole night.

“When you come into the game like this as a manger, the lions’ den if you like, you don’t enjoy the atmosphere or occasion.

“We lost 7-0 to Ludogorets this time last year to a slick side with seven Brazilians in it.

“We had Fulham at our place six or seven years ago in the Europa League and Danny Murphy giving us a masterclass midfield performance, knocking the ball around and making it look easy.

“When the sun shines and the heat saps the bones and you’ve not trained that much, once you start losing your shape in these situations you can very easily start getting cut open by very good players.

“So, as a manger, you are starting to stare at the clock thinking ‘tick quicker please to get these 90 minutes over before we get more goals against us’.

“But on tonight’s performance I can honestly say the clock wasn’t bothering me.”

Now Crusaders will get a chance to showcase Seaview to a televised audience and Premier League club.

“At Seaview, it might be a little bit of something we look at in terms of game shape and style of play to maybe try and attack them more,” said Baxter. “But when playing against £30 million players who can pass the ball that well, you cannot get too carried away and you have to be aware.

“We’ve got to see our way into the second leg and prepare and plan around all of that over the next week.

“Respect where it is due, Wolves have top, top pros at the top of their game, international players and just beautiful to watch on the ball coming at us from all angles.

“We had one shot on the goal which maybe hit the side-netting so that sums up that side of the game.

“I felt we had a really good shape around us, we set out to make sure not to leave gaps through the middle of the pitch.

“Having watched Wolves in the Asia Cup against Newcastle we could see how the forwards dropped in and try to pick you off with third-man running.

“It was a hot day and night but the team and staff prepared well leading up to the game.

“It was a big task for a club of our size to come here and do what we’ve done so we’ll be pleased with it but it’s important to put it all in perspective.

“It’s a little bit different for us setting up a team to defend as much as we have as, when playing back home, we try to be on the frontfoot as much as possible in our league.

“We will get back to Belfast and work out another gameplan but, look, it’s Wolves we are playing not Warrenpoint from Northern Ireland.”