Matheus Cunha insanity, Toti Gomes stars – Wolves ratings in Bournemouth loss
Wolves lost to Bournemouth in the fifth round of the FA Cup in heartbreaking fashion after a penalty shootout.
The Midlands side had the opportunity to open the scoring in the 13th minute, as Matheus Cunha swung-in a lovely cross for Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, but the Haiti international put it narrowly wide.
Bournemouth took the lead in the 30th minute, with Evanilson getting on the end of a rebound from Antoine Semenyo.
The Cherries thought they had doubled their lead in the 34th minute through Liverpool transfer target Dean Huijsen, and after a failure in the semi-automated offside system, there was an eight minute delay before the goal was ruled out.
Cunha then equalised for Wolves in the 60th minute, scoring an absolute rocket from 35 yards out past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
In the 120th minute, after a goalless extra-time, Cunha was sent off for an inexplicable headbutt on Milos Kerkez.
Wolves would draw 1-1 with their opponents, but go on to lose the penalty shootout 5-4 after misses from Matt Doherty and Boubacar Traore.
Wolves boss Vitor Pereira witnesses heart-breaking penalty loss
Sam Johnstone – 8
Made some crucial saves in the closing minutes of normal time to keep his side in the contest.
Nasser Djiga (off for Traore 86′) – 6
A decent defensive display before being replaced by Traore near the end of regulation time.
Santiago Bueno – 7
Shaky defensively, assisted Cunha for Wolves’ equaliser.
Toti Gomes – 8 – Player-of-the-Match
Brilliant when at his best, and the match against the Cherries was one of his better displays of the season.
Joao Gomes struggles after Wolves exit rumours
Nelson Semedo (off for Doherty 71′) – 4
Limp offensively and struggled to deal with Newcastle’s top target Semenyo.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (off for Pond 90′) – 6
Inaccurate passing was compensated by his strong ball-winning abilities.
Joao Gomes (off for Andre 72′) – 5
Gomes was a target for Liverpool in January, but the Brazilian was unremarkable against Bournemouth.
Rayan Ait-Nouri – 7
Liverpool target Ait-Nouri showed why he is in such high demand, impressing on the left-hand side.
Pablo Sarabia – 5
Has struggled this season after a good campaign last year, a relative by-stander against Bournemouth.
Liverpool target Rayan Ait-Nouri impresses for Wolves
Matheus Cunha – 4
Scored an unbelievable strike to get Wolves back into the game, has consistently been a star for the Midlands club this year, was sent off in the 120th minute for a headbutt.
Jorgen Strand Larsen – 5
Missed a big chance to put Wolves in the driving seat, drifted in-and-out of the game intermittently.
Substitutes
Matt Doherty (on for Semedo 71′) – 5
Suffered similar problems against Semenyo as his teammate Semedo, put his penalty wide in the shoot-out.
Andre (on for Gomes 72′) – 5
Replaced his international compatriot in the second-half, with little effect.
Boubacar Traore (on for Djiga 86′) – 5
Struggled to get up to pace with the game and lacked the influence his manager may have hoped for, missed a crucial penalty.
Alfie Pond (on for Bellegarde 90′) – 7
Solidified the Wolves defence after being brought on, an assured display from the young defender.