Wolves came within touching distance of reaching the FA Cup quarter-finals but crashed out on penalties.
The Old Gold went 1-0 down after some poor goalkeeping from Sam Johnstone helped Evanilson open the scoring in the first half. Matheus Cunha scored a screamer after 60 minutes to draw the away side level.
Cunha went from hero to zero against Bournemouth less than an hour later, though. The South American forward was shown a straight red card after violently clashing with Milos Kerkez, and while his dismissal may not be to blame for the end result, it certainly didn’t help.
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Winner
The nature of Wolves’ defeat makes it hard for many players to leave the Vitality Stadium with their reputation still intact.
But one player had one of the best games in an all gold kit…
Toti Gomes
Toti Gomes‘ positioning for Evanilson’s 30 minute opener could have been better but the Portuguese defender certainly went on to make up for his earlier mistake.
Toti Gomes prevented a certain goal deep in extra time. The Wolves centre-back found himself in the right place at the right time as he blocked a shot on the goal line.
His last ditch defending helped ensure the Old Gold reached the penalty shootout stage — albeit before falling at the final hurdle.
Losers
Unsurprisingly, more players made our ‘losers’ list than our ‘winners’, and despite scoring an absolute worldie, Cunha tops the lot…
Matheus Cunha
Had Cunha not have fallen victim to some awful discipline, he’d have featured alongside Toti Gomes in the ‘winners’ list. The South American has a lot of learning to do though.
Cunha will miss Wolves’ next three matches — all in the Premier League — all must-win games.
So silly.
Jorgen Strand Larsen
Jorgen Strand Larsen made his first start since returning from injury. The Norwegian was tasked with leading Wolves’ line but was largely ineffective.
Strand Larsen had a poor game, and was lucky to stay on the pitch, not just for the 90 minutes, but also for extra time.
With Cunha continuing to carry the side, Vitor Pereira will be demanding a lot more from his other attackers, and Strand Larsen, who will join Wolves permanently in the summer, must be one of the first to step up.
PGMOL
Kerez thought he had doubled the Cherries lead only to see his effort (rightfully) ruled out.
Unfortunately, despite Bournemouth vs Wolves having semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) in use, the match saw an eight-minute delay for a lengthy VAR review.
Although there were concerns the technology had stopped working, PGMOL, via BBC Sport, quickly confirmed that wasn’t the case, but traditional VAR methods were needed due to the complex scenario, which required an offside and a handball to be inspected.
Regardless of the reasons behind the delay, supporters inside the Vitality Stadium, both home and away, were understandably restless. Fans were heard chanting anti-VAR songs such as: ‘This is embarrassing’ and ‘It’s not football anymore’.