AFC Bournemouth 0 Wolves 1 (Cunha 36)
Wolves added another three points to their battle against Premier League relegation as Matheus Cunha’s first half strike was enough to see the Old Gold overcome the challenge of 10-man AFC Bournemouth.
The teams could not be separated during the opening half an hour as both sides produced plenty of opportunities to take the lead, but a red card shown to Illia Zabarnyi turned the game in Wolves’ favour.
Just five minutes later, Cunha scored the only goal of the game as he latched onto a loose ball in the Cherries’ penalty area before firing underneath the crossbar and securing a sixth win of the season for the visitors.
Facing one of the form teams in the Premier League, it was never going to be all plain sailing for the Old Gold on the south coast, and during an entertaining first half, Pereira’s men had to do plenty of defending to stop a dangerous Bournemouth attack.
Marcus Tavernier tested Jose Sa’s gloves early on, while Santi Bueno, Toti and Matt Doherty were kept busy at the back with several shots and crosses having to be blocked by the back three.
However, it wasn’t all one way traffic and Wolves had several opportunities of their own, with Bournemouth relying on Kepa Arrizabalaga to keep the scoreline down.
The former Chelsea stopper had to be at his best to make a terrific double stop to push away Nelson Semedo’s shot from the edge of the box after the captain had made space for himself before the keeper got up quickly to block Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s effort on the rebound.
Cunha was proving to be a handful in the final third as Kepa pushed away a long-range effort before the Brazilian lifted a free-kick narrowly over the crossbar.
The biggest talking point of the first-half came on the half hour mark when Zabarnyi was shown a straight red card for a high tackle on Rayan Ait-Nouri. Although the defender got a piece of the ball and was initial given a booking by referee Michael Salisbury, after being sent to the screen by VAR, the referee changed his decision and sent Zabarnyi off for the reckless challenge.
Despite the man advantage, Bournemouth almost took the lead moments later when Dango Outtara beat Doherty for pace before firing an effort to the near post which Sa was able to turn behind.
However, Wolves went straight up the other end and opened the scoring through Cunha. Semedo’s cross into the box was not cleared by the Bournemouth defence – still reeling from the sending off – and after touching Marshall Munetsi, it fell kindly to the Brazilian who lashed his effort high past the keeper.
Half-time | Bournemouth 0-1 Wolves
After picking up a booking for a late challenge just before the break, Joao Gomes was replaced by the returning Jorgen Strand Larsen at the break, as the Norwegian made his first appearance since the defeat to Arsenal the previous month.
Despite having a man advantage throughout the second half, Wolves were unable to see the game off following the break, as the men in gold shirts spurned several opportunities to put the match to bed.
Strand Larsen was linking well with Munetsi and Cunha in attack, with the Zimbabwean seeing his effort deflected behind, before Cunha gave the Norwegian with a similar chance moments later, which again was blocked. Semedo also tested the goalkeeper, but Arrizabalaga stood up well.
Just after the hour mark, Munetsi had the chance to open his Wolves account after meeting a great Bellegarde cross, but he turned the ball wide from six yards out.
Pereira handed another debut, this time to defender Nasser Djiga, and he formed part of a solid defence who were rarely tested by the 10 men in the second period, with Wolves coping with everything the Cherries threw at them.
Another late substitute, Pedro Lima also twice drew saves from Arrizabalaga, but despite not adding a second, it mattered not, as Wolves held on to the three points to offer a buffer between themselves and the relegation zone.
Full-time | Bournemouth 0-1 Wolves
Bournemouth | Arrizabalaga, Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez, Christie (Adams 61), Hill (Brooks 61), Tavernier, Kluivert (Scott 71), Semenyo, Ouattara (Jebbison 89).
Unused subs | Dennis, Evanilson, Sinisterra, Soler, Winterburn.
Wolves | Sa, Semedo, Doherty, Bueno (Djiga 72), Toti, Ait-Nouri (Lima 80), Andre, J. Gomes (Strand Larsen 45), Bellegarde (Sarabia 80), Munetsi, Cunha (Doyle 89).
Unused subs | Johnstone, Pond, Traore, Forbs.
Referee | Michael Salisbury.
