Kalajdzic scores late as Wolves win 2-1 at Bournemouth with coach Gary O'Neil back at former club
BOURNEMOUTH, England (AP) — Sasa Kalajdzic scored a late winner as Wolverhampton fought back to win 2-1 at 10-man Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday in coach Gary O’Neil’s first trip back to his former side.
Dominic Solanke gave the home fans hope of a first win of the season when he fired his team in front in the first half but Matheus Cunha leveled two minutes after the break and the afternoon further unraveled for Bournemouth when Lewis Cook was sent off for a head butt on Hwang Hee-chan .
Bournemouth had its chances and managed to keep things level until deep into the second period, but the late drama left the Cherries mired in an abysmal start to their campaign.
It was O’Neil's first match at Bournemouth since he was fired in June despite leading the team to Premier League survival last season.
Both goalkeepers were tested early and Wolves midfielder Pedro Neto almost marked his 100th Premier League appearance with a goal but his strike cannoned off the crossbar.
With the unrelenting back-and-forth nature of the period still sustained it felt like a goal was imminent, and it soon came via another well-linked sequence beginning with David Brooks finding Philip Billing.
The Denmark international slipped the ball to Solanke, who opened the scoring in the 17th with a backheel finish from six yards out.
Both sides continued to threaten and Wolves were level less than two minutes after the restart when Cunha fired past a diving Neto.
Matters went from bad to worse for Bournemouth seven minutes later when Cook was shown a straight red after a VAR review.
The mood in the stadium, bursting with hope after Solanke’s opener, quickly soured as the officials broke up the ensuing fracas.
The 19th-place Cherries nevertheless had chances through Joe Rothwell and Billing but, after deftly defending deep into the second half, saw a potential point slip away when Hwang played through Kalajdzic, who sidefooted in the winner.
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