Bournemouth suffered another defeat in the Premier League as Wolverhampton Wanderers, led by Gary O’Neil, secured a 2-1 victory with a late goal from Sasa Kalajdzic. The match took place on the south coast on Saturday.
O’Neil, who played a crucial role in Bournemouth’s survival last season, was dismissed in June and replaced by Andoni Iraola.
However, O’Neil made a triumphant return to the Vitality Stadium, adding more pressure to his Spanish successor. Wolves fought back from a halftime deficit and took advantage of Lewis Cook’s early second-half red card.
With their third win of the season, Wolves climbed to 12th place in the league table. On the other hand, Bournemouth, who have squandered 11 points from winning positions this season, remained in the relegation zone in 19th place with only three points.
O’Neil expressed his disappointment with the result, stating, “My team gave an awful lot. I thought we were the better side for most of it and were hard done by going in 1-0 down at halftime. We had big moments we didn’t manage to capitalize on, and they capitalized properly on their only real situation.”
The match started with Wolves’ Pedro Neto hitting the crossbar early on. However, it was Bournemouth who took the lead through a well-executed move, with Philip Billing finding Dominic Solanke in the box for a calm finish.
Wolves came out strong in the second half and quickly equalized through Neto’s assist to Matheus Cunha, who curled the ball into the net. Bournemouth’s situation worsened when Cook was sent off for a foul on Hwang Hee-chan and a subsequent headbutt.
As the match seemed destined for a draw, Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto made a quick but inaccurate goal kick in the 88th minute. Wolves seized the opportunity, winning the ball back from Billing and setting up substitute Kalajdzic for an easy late winner.
Reflecting on the match, O’Neil commented, “It’s my first time as a manager playing against 10 men. We moved a few things around, and I thought we got some joy. It’s difficult to score, and Bournemouth will be disappointed with the second goal, I’m sure, to turn the ball over with 10 men.”
