Marcus Tavernier nudged the ball over the goalline and Bournemouth above the dotted line as they ended a sequence of six away defeats to climb out of the relegation zone and keep Wolves involved in the battle at the bottom.
The recalled midfielder, back from a hamstring injury, was on hand to score as Bournemouth gained their first away point in more than four months with their only effort on target.
Wolves failed to build on their resurgent form, they had won three of their four previous league games, despite dominating this match with 68% of possession. If the Premier League had started with Julen Lopetegui’s arrival, Wolves would have been seventh coming into this match, but now they sit three points above the relegation zone.
With away games against Fulham, Liverpool and Newcastle United either side of a visit from Tottenham to come, the Wolves head coach admitted his team remain in the relegation battle.
Bournemouth’s victory was built on superb organisation and their first clean sheet on the road this season. But Gary O’Neil has seen what he wants to see in the last four games, with draws against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle scant reward for their performances.
“We needed to swing the fine margins our way,” the Bournemouth manager said. “I’m delighted to get the win but I’ve been coming out and having to tell people we’ve performed well. This will add belief.”
Wolves dominated the first half, Adama Traoré firing up crowd and team. With Lopetegui exhorting his players to release faster passes in a bid to break down Bournemouth’s compact set-up, Matheus Nunes appeared to overhit a high crossfield ball to Traoré on the right wing. The Spanish winger leapt high, however, plucked the ball out of mid-air, turned and started running confidently at the defence. The whole of Molineux seemed to take an audible breath at the audacity of the skill.
Soon after Traoré, recalled to the starting lineup as Wolves reshaped without the suspended Mario Lemina, collected the ball deep in his own half after a rare Bournemouth attack. He burst past several defenders as he accelerated into the visitors’ half. Philip Billing took one for the team, receiving a yellow card for bringing him down.
Wolves’ troubles continue to lie in their strikers’ inability to score. The £43m January signing Matheus Cunha looks like he needs to run the channels and play alongside a No 9, although this would change their balance; Diego Costa and Raúl Jiménez were introduced in the later stages but this conflicted with Wolves’ usual approach play and none of these three, without a Premier League goal this season, had a clear chance.
“It’s not only the work of the strikers [to score],” Lopetegui said. “In the last 25 minutes, we have players with maturity. We need to play with more calm.”
Five minutes into the second half Bournemouth were ahead. Joe Rothwell, on as a half-time replacement for Jefferson Lerma, controlled the ball with his shoulder before Hamed Traorè played the ball wide for Dominic Solanke to cross in. Tavernier nudged the ball over the line with his hip for Bournemouth’s third goal since the World Cup.
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Wolves sought an immediate response as Cunha dived for a header, but could not get much on Traorè’s cross and the impressive Jack Stephens cleared. With the home crowd increasingly agitated, wound up by Bournemouth players’ increasing need to lie on the ground and receive treatment, Wolves lost their shape and resorted to playing long crosses that are not part of their gameplan.
“The key moment is when we suffered the goal,” Lopetegui said. “You can suffer a goal, this is football, but it’s how you react. In the last 25 minutes we forgot to play football.”
