Wolverhampton Wanderers came from behind to hand a 10-man Bournemouth their fourth consecutive league defeat at the Vitality Stadium this afternoon.
Dominic Solanke gave the hosts the lead in the first half before Matheus Cunha levelled proceedings moments after the break, but after Lewis Cook was sent off midway through the second half, the visitors piled on the pressure and Sasa Kalajdzic came off the bench to secure a 2-1 win and take his side to 13th in the league standings.
Bournemouth came into the match seeking their first league win this season and off the back of three consecutive defeats where they conceded three or more goals in each of those matches.
Wolves' new boss Gary O'Neil returned to his old stomping ground for the first time since departing from the Vitality last season in great spirits following an excellent 2-1 win over Manchester City and holding their West Midlands rivals Aston Villa to a 1-1 draw before the international break.
The opening 10 minutes of the match were played at a great tempo, with both sides showing intent, but the first big chance fell to Wolves when Pedro Neto fired a shot from outside the box that crashed against the woodwork, and Cunha failed to finish the follow-up.
Bournemouth dominated possession for most of the first half, but Wolves posed a threat on the counter-attack, as one would anticipate under the management of O'Neil.
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However, the Cherries kept plugging away and got their reward after David Brooks did brilliantly to find Philip Billing, who cut a low ball into the box for Solanke, and the forward made no mistake with a cool finish to give his side the lead inside the first quarter of the match.
Neto was by far the best player for Wolves in the first half, and the Portuguese international started the second half very well, driving his side into the opposing box before picking out Cunha, who bent a first-time shot past the Bournemouth keeper.
The hosts were on the back foot after the equaliser, and the afternoon got even more difficult before the hour mark when Cook got in a tussle with Hwang Hee-chan.
After going chest-to-chest, Cook pushed his forehead toward the Korean international, who tumbled to the turf as a result, leaving Paul Tierney with little option but to send the Bournemouth man off while he also showed Hwang a yellow.
Bournemouth looked like they were going to hold on to a hard-earned point, but that was until their keeper played a needless pass to Billing, who lost the ball just outside the box and Kalajdzic stuck away the winner from Hwang's pass.
A successful return to the Vitality for O'Neil, whose side will now need to reset for a clash against Newcastle United next week, while the Cherries will entertain Burnley.
Devesh Jaganath
