Wolverhampton Wanderers scored twice to take a 2-1 lead into injury time against Coventry City in their FA Cup quarter-final clash, but still conspired to lose the match 3-2.
The Old Gold were trailing until the 83rd minute before goals from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Hugo Bueno turned the tie around in their favour.
The magic of the cup is clearly not dead, however, as the Sky Blues roared back to seal a famous win and seal a place in the semifinal.
While a couple of players stood out for Wolves, several were underwhelming during the tie, and it cost Wolves a place in the last four and a place at Wembley.
Nathan Fraser started the game as the main focal point for the side, but his performance was lacklustre to say the least.
Nathan Fraser’s game in numbers against Coventry
The youngster is highly regarded at the Molineux outfit and his talent appears limitless. Gary O’Neil had no choice but to throw him in the deep end against Coventry due to Matheus Cunha, Hwang-Hee-Chan and Pedro Neto all missing out through injury.
Goals
0
Assists
0
Touches
13
Accurate passes
6/7
Total duels won
1/4
Despite his vast promise, the striker failed to really sparkle in the cup tie, managing to complete only six passes during the match, having one shot (which was off target), winning only one of his four contested duels and losing possession three times.
Not only that, but Fraser – who was handed a 5/10 match rating by Birmingham World – even managed to take fewer touches during the match than Jose Sa, registering just 13 in his 60 minutes on the field, with the goalkeeper taking 39 touches.
It was not the greatest performance by the young centre-forward, but he will learn from it and, hopefully, can turn this into better displays following the international break.
Nathan Fraser's statistics for Wolves this season
Although appearances have been sporadic during the 2023/24 campaign, Fraser has found the back of the net on two occasions for the first team in seven matches.
With injuries to key attacking players, the Irishman has found chances more plentiful in recent weeks, especially in the top flight.
In four Premier League matches, Fraser has won an impressive 55% of his ground duels per game, along with making 0.5 key passes per game and averaging 0.5 shots on target per match.
Although not spectacular, given the volume of minutes he has had on the pitch, they are reasonable statistics and surely these numbers will increase the more he plays.
The 19-year-old will continue to get more opportunities in the starting XI between now and the end of the season, but he will have to put his FA Cup showing behind him if he wishes to cement his spot in the side.
Missing out on a semifinal is a major opportunity blown for the Old Gold, but under O’Neil, they will be looking to roar back once the break is over.
Maintaining their current league form between now and May could see them secure a top half finish in the Premier League and it would represent a solid debut campaign under O'Neil, no doubt about it.