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Two clubs in the process of a reset. If Wolves’ fate is all but sealed, they seek to carry good vibes into the Championship. Bournemouth’s objective was to make last Saturday’s defeat of Liverpool the staging post for one of those streaks of good results that have made Andoni Iraola’s reputation.
Mission accomplished for the Cherries, who could celebrate their second away win of a troubled season, a first since August. In the performance of second-half sub, the debutant Rayan, who supplied Alex Scott’s late clincher, there is much to look forward to.
“I’m buzzing for Rayan, it was fantastic from him,” said Scott, central to victory in commanding midfield. “The only way is up now, hopefully.” Any Bournemouth relegation concerns are surely now forgotten.
“I really don’t think we’re spiralling,” said Rob Edwards, the Wolves manager. “We will turn it around.” Relegation, though, looks unavoidable.
Edwards seeks consistency beyond doomed mediocrity, but this result dimmed recent optimism. “We played into their hands a bit,” he said. “We’ve got to be more ruthless.”
Mateus Mané, Portugal via Rochdale teenage shining light, had the ball in the net in the eighth minute, and took so long to notice the offside flag against Rodrigo Gomes he had completed his celebration routine.
Without Antoine Semenyo, a scorer against Wolves last week Iraola is finding solutions. “We have had a good month despite the departure of Antoine,” he said. An asset-stripped squad is still full of callow promise. The explosive Eli Junior Kroupi played behind the centre-forward wiles of Evanilson and duly delivered a brilliant first-half strike.
Wolves’ plight lends freedom. A number of their players are playing for Premier League futures in the sense of showing their talent to potential top-echelon suitors. If Mané leads the list, Hugo Bueno’s scampers from left-back impressed. André and João Gomes may be capable midfielders but struggled against Scott. “Alex has performed very well all season,” said his manager.
Wolves’ response to conceding went against the grain of Edwards’s toothy optimism. Amine Adli firing over after an Evanilson layoff might have served as warning. For Kroupi’s goal, André carelessly lost the ball in midfield. The execution was brilliant. Scott’s winding run was followed by an Adli flick that Kroupi first controlled before his shot billowed the net. “Until the goal we scored, nothing clear was happening in the game,” said Iraola.
Wolves’ immediate response was irritation, José Sá and Yerson Mosquera getting involved in an unseemly row with Adli, Kroupi and Evanilson as the teams left the field at half-time.
Mane remained the home beacon of hope, chasing down channels and testing Djordje Petrovic with a grubber as Wolves attacked towards their fans in the Jack Hayward Stand for the second half with renewed vigour. Tempers were also fraying, with Mosquera and Adli fighting out a running battle. Wolves’ biggest chance came when Bueno crossed from the left and Mané’s first-time effort was straight at Petrovic.
“If we had found an equaliser, I am convinced we could have won it,” said Edwards. “I don’t feel we deserved to lose.”
While Wolves pleaded for a Lewis Cook handball, on came Rayan, Kroupi and Adli were withdrawn as a caution against any further nonsense. Each of Rayan’s touches were glimpses of gliding, leggy flair, direct, raw running into the heart of the Wolves defence. “We have to help him,” said Iraola of the player who joined on Tuesday from Vasco da Gama. “It’s clear the skillset is very good.
With all not yet lost, Wolves’ substitutes included Jørgen Strand Larsen, linked with a £50m move to Crystal Palace but did his valuation little good with a shank of a serviceable chance. “He’s been focused on the here and now with us,” said Edwards. Mané’s own rawness was evidenced by going for goal with others better placed. Next, Gomes nodded a corner against a post.
A game Bournemouth should already have won still hung in the balance. Had Alex Toth, another January arrival, coming off the bench, not slashed Rayan’s pass wide it might have been secured. Instead, Scott, as 90 minutes arrived, poked home to confirm Wolves’s 18th Premier League defeat of the season. Good luck with those good vibes.
