Liam Keen analysis: Wolves win sees individuals prove doubters wrong

At no point in the build-up, during the game and in the aftermath did he imply or implicitly state that this was anything more than another Premier League game, but the head coach will, without doubt, have taken some extra pleasure in dishing out a slice of revenge.

That aside, there were big moments for individuals on the pitch that made a huge impact.

Matheus Cunha has been an unsung hero in recent weeks with impressive work on and off the ball that has helped release Hwang Hee-chan and Pedro Neto and earn Wolves results.

His goalscoring threat, however, has been lacking. Arguably, he is still not an out-and-out number nine and his reluctance to shoot when he gets into positions can be frustrating.

The Brazilian is guilty of overplaying at times and in the first half at Bournemouth he was beginning to become frustrated with himself and those around him for his poor performance.

This is where the leadership group and the squad’s big characters earn their money. Dan Bentley has not been playing much but his importance around the squad cannot be underestimated.

As the players came out for the second half, with Wolves 1-0 down, the back-up goalkeeper was seen giving Cunha a pep talk. Just two minutes later he swept home the equaliser.

The next player to have a big impact, and several big moments, was Tommy Doyle.

The midfielder had only made two late substitute appearances in the Premier League this season but his introduction at half-time against Bournemouth was desperately needed.

Joao Gomes and Boubacar Traore are two talented players, but together it was a chaotic partnership with little control.

Doyle came on, got a grip on proceedings and began orchestrating Wolves’ attacks.

Lewis Cook’s sending off certainly helped, but Doyle was involved in everything as Wolves took control of the game and it was his midfield-splitting pass that released Neto for Cunha’s goal.

Then, at the death, Sasa Kalajdzic proved again why he was built for the big moments.

The striker has been carefully used after coming back from a serious knee injury and O’Neil has been quick to point out the Austrian still has a long way to go, but he was rightly trusted at the Vitality Stadium and Kalajdzic delivered the goods.

Some good pressing and a very cool finish handed Wolves all three points.

On top of that, two big players had big moments at the crucial stages. Neto’s run and pass to Cunha for his goal was direct and aggressive, while Hwang’s pass to Kalajdzic for the winner was exquisite.

Plenty of individuals proved their worth and some even proved their doubters wrong, while the team showed they can deal with suspensions and injury concerns to key players and still walk away with a monumental win.

After all of the good work from the players, it then comes down to how O’Neil handled the fixture and he deserves huge credit for how he managed it.

Every head coach wants to get the system right from the start, but no boss has a 100 per cent record – it is about how you react and adapt.

O’Neil switched to a 4-4-2 and it was not working, so he quickly changed back to 5-2-3.

Alongside that, the decision to bring Doyle on changed the game in Wolves’ favour and gave them a foothold in the fixture.

O’Neil was savvy enough in his game management to spot the problem and make a change, while the players responded well.

“They normally play with a single pivot and they had a double today with the ball, so it caused us a few issues early,” O’Neil said when asked about adapting his tactics.

“The lads were trying to figure it out and it’s difficult for me to get messages on at that point.

“It’s not something they’ve done previously, so it was a new one and we got caught in between a little bit.

“It can happen. Our system caused them some problems, their system caused us some problems.

“We made a change as well and got Rayan a bit lower and let Toti get on Philip Billing to try and help Joao and Bouba. From there, we got some control. I’m disappointed it cost us a goal but these things can happen. The response from that was very, very good.”

Wolves now have momentum and a platform to build on with Newcastle at home the next challenge to attack – in front of a Molineux crowd undoubtedly pleased with the turnaround.