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Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo experienced the full range of emotions at the Vitality Stadium.
There was fury, when Bournemouth were awarded a debatable penalty after an apparent dive. Disbelief, when Wolves were not awarded their own following a blatant handball.
Relief, when referee Roger East finally did point to the spot in the 83rd minute and it became 1-1. Then elation, when Bournemouth’s Joshua King missed another penalty in the 84th.
Raul Jimenez levelled from the spot just moments before Joshua King missed a penalty late on in the match on Saturday
Raul Jimenez snatched a point for the visitors from the penalty spot and it was the third spot-kick of the game
Days as a referee don’t get much more hectic than this, and East may need to pour himself a rather large brandy if he plans to watch Match of the Day this evening.
What an unusual afternoon of football this was, from the dubious decisions to the moment the Vitality sprinklers interrupted play in stoppage time. Really, a draw felt like a fair result.
There were short sleeves and sunglasses galore in the stands at the Vitality Stadium. A short drive away, by Bournemouth beach, surfers took advantage of the South Coast sunshine.
Really, they should have been redirected here, because Wolves treated us to wave after wave of attacks at the start of this match. Trouble is, they could not make any count.
Bournemouth had barely had a sniff but in the 14th minute, they took the lead. King got the goal but, as far as Wolves fans are concerned, referee East earned an assist.
King went down in the area after a challenge by Joao Moutinho. Wolves were furious. They felt the striker dived, and VAR might have agreed with them, but the spot-kick stood.
King missed a penalty late on in the match after scoring from the spot earlier on in the first half to give his side the lead
Joshua King stepped up to take the penalty and put the ball into the Rui Patricio’s bottom left-hand corner on Saturday
King dispatched it, finding the bottom-right corner to score his fourth goal in five games, and Bournemouth led 1-0.
It got worse for Wolves in the 20th minute. Chris Mepham made a mess of trying to chest the ball down and it led to the most blatant handball you will see in a box this weekend.
East gave nothing and Wolves, once again, were outraged.
Diogo Jota was booked for his protests while Santo paced on the touchline, seemingly smiling in a bemused, confused, funny-old-game sort of way.
Wolves’ supporters weren’t laughing. They felt they had fallen victim to a double-whammy of poor decisions – a penalty wrongly given against them, and an obvious one not awarded for them.
‘You’re not fit to referee,’ was their song of choice and they booed him off at the break.
King celebrated giving the Cherries the lead at the Vitality stadium against Wolverhampton in the 14th minute of the match
Joao Moutinho was trying to get to the ball but clattered into the legs of the opponent as well and Roger East awarded a pen
There was clear contact from Wolves midfielder Moutinho (right) on King (left) inside the penalty area that led to the goal
At the start of the second half, Moutinho swung in a corner and Leander Dendoncker directed a header towards goal, forcing Artur Boruc into tipping over.
From the subsequent corner, Willy Boly saw a header of his own land on the roof of the net. Wolves were asking questions of Bournemouth.
Dominic Solanke, making his home debut, should have marked the occasion with a goal before the hour mark. He was one on one but Rui Patricio managed to produce a low save.
It looked the ball was still skidding in but Ryan Bennett got back to clear off the line.
Santo was not happy with how they conceded that chance – it came after an awful clearance by Patricio – and the Wolves boss gave his water bottle a seeing-to.
In the 70th minute, Moutinho was given a whack in the face by Jefferson Lerma. A yellow was shown and the away fans sang: ‘If that was us, you’d send him off.’
Wolves looked despondent after going behind against the Cherries but captain Conor Coady (right) tried to rally the troops
Wolves centre-forward Raul Jiminez (foreground) slid into the net as he attempted to get his side back in the game
It was Lerma’s 10th booking of the season and he will now miss Bournemouth’s next two fixtures – away at Arsenal and home to Manchester City.
It was that time of the game. Wolves were chasing the leveller, Bournemouth were waiting for their chances to counter. Clever footwork from Jordon Ibe saw him cut on to his left foot and fire a shot against the crossbar.
In the 83rd minute, Wolves were handed their lifeline by the man they had been branding their enemy all evening. East pointed to the penalty spot when Adam Smith felled Matt Doherty from behind. With a drop of the shoulder during his run-up, Raul Jimenez coolly put it away.
There was still time for further drama. Wolves substitute Ivan Cavaleiro committed a foul on Ryan Fraser and East lifted the whistle to his mouth. Penalty, he said, but replays showed the infringement occurred outside of the box.
King took it, went for the right corner again, but this time missed. The ball kissed the post and went wide. Justice was served, as far as Wolves were concerned.
In stoppage time, a malfunction saw the sprinklers emerge from the turf at the Vitality and start showering the players. The game only had a minute to go, and East blew his whistle.
An exhausting afternoon for all involved, from the referee to the managers to those in the stands, and a point apiece for the efforts of the players.
Bournemouth defender Adam Smith (left) tried to find a player to pass to in the first half under pressure from Ryan Bennett
Cherries winger Ryan Fraser (right), who leads the assist charts for his side, crossed the ball to his team-mates
Wolves wing-back Matt Doherty (right) clears the ball under pressure from Bournemouth full-back Adam Smith in the first half
Dan Gosling, who was captain for Bournemouth, won an aerially duel against Wolves midfielder Leander Dendoncker
Jefferson Lerma (left) tried to dribble away from Moutinho during the early exchanges in the first half on Saturday afternoon
Wolves winger Diogo Jota (left) tried to evade a challenge from Bournemouth midfielder Dan Gosling (right) early on
Wolves centre-back Coady (left) tried to keep hold of Bournemouth’s January signing from Liverpool, Dominic Solanke
Wolves midfielder Leander Dendoncker (left) tried to dribble away from Bournemouth’s Jefferson Lerma early on
Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo (left) embraced Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe (right) before the game kicked-off
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