Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v AFC Bournemouth - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - April 24, 2024 AFC Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo celebrates scoring their first goal with Adam Smith Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
WOLVERHAMPTON, England (Reuters) -Bournemouth snapped a three-game winless run in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory at former manager Gary O'Neil's Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday courtesy of a first-half strike from Antoine Semenyo.
The win moved Bournemouth up to 10th place on 45 points, while Wolves, who have picked up just two points in their last six games, remain 12th on 43.
Bournemouth were reduced to 10 men with 11 minutes remaining when Milos Kerkez was given a straight red card after a poor tackle on Matt Doherty while Wolves found the net in stoppage time but it was ruled out for offside.
"I'm very pleased, we deserved to win this. We suffered at the end, we should have closed the game before, but I'm very proud," Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola told the BBC.
"We knew we had to score a second one, we knew they will find the moment to push specially with the red card. I think it was very harsh, but we finished the game."
The visitors looked the better side from the opening exchanges and grabbed the lead after 37 minutes when Semenyo pounced on some sloppy Wolves defending to slot home from close range.
Wolves improved after the break and thought they had equalised with Hwang Hee-chan's header, but the 66th-minute effort was ruled out by the VAR for a Matheus Cunha foul in the build-up.
"It's our worst performance of the season. Far too many individuals were below the level we've been able to reach so far. There's no excuse, even with the situation we're in," O'Neil said.
"I can accept the last six results, we've been competitive in difficult circumstances. But I can't accept that first 45 minutes.
"I don't have any thoughts (on the disallowed goal), I've spent a lot of time talking about VAR decisions. I’m just going to concentrate on my team."
Wolves return to action at home on Saturday when they face Luton, while Bournemouth host South Coast rivals Brighton on Sunday.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico CityEditing by Toby Davis)
