Wolves Fans' Verdict v Bournemouth: Star forward goes from hero to zero

Clive Smith

The feeling leaving Bournemouth this week was pretty much as different as you could get from last week. One extreme to the other.

As for the match, that had heroes and villains. An error by Johnstone contributed to the goal we conceded when his positioning looked to be at fault. But, he probably had his best minutes for Wolves in the second half and extra time.

Doherty had done well defensively, after coming on as sub, but then wasted his opportunity to win us the game. Then, of course, there was Cunha, who scored a worldie before losing it. How the repercussions of his actions impact our season beyond this game remain to be seen. 

The game was dreadful. Eddie Howe's stamp is still all over them and yet again a hugely inconsistent referee set the bar at a different level throughout.

Djiga had gotten over his early nervousness but was crudely cleaned out twice, yet besides one free kick no action was taken. Among others Cunha was repeatedly fouled. Remarkable it took over an hour before the home side received a card.

There was inevitably VAR and the automated offside (ha!) raising it's head again. It remains unbelievable how such a multi-million pound high profile industry continues to entertain such an unfit for purpose process. It's pathetic.

It looked like the game was about to kick off at 2-0 before Semedo ran to the referee after he had seen the 'goal' replayed on the screen. Only then did it look like handball and offside were investigated. Bizarre.

Early on we struggled to get any foothold in the game failing to retain possession or entering the attacking third. Also, we defended our box, deeply, which left too much space around the D, allowing unchallenged shots. 

Having recently improved our set-piece defending, we struggled with far-post corners on several occasions. It was also strange to see our long goal kicks played without a player within 10 yards of the centre circle. The kicks went wide but neither Sarabia nor Larsen were able to do much with them.

The positives, besides the Cunha goal and Johnstone's saves were the performances of MOTM Toti and  Bellegarde both of whom showed a resilience and physicality that is so lacking in Sarabia and Larsen. Andre and Pond also played well from the bench.

That we stayed in the game for 90 and 120 minutes is also commendable. Apologies for moaning about the officiating too much but I can't help thinking, had Kerkez got an early yellow for his constant shirt pulling, the situation at the end would have been quite different.

John Lalley

Not being clinically qualified, I wouldn’t presume to interpret the actions of anybody who behaves in a seemingly irrational manner. What occurs in the recesses of another person’s psyche I’m not privy to say, but I will venture that when Matheus Cunha instigated and continued such a level of irresponsibility, he entered a territory where mitigation does not exist. 

Indeed, he appeared immune from remorse and wholly unaware of the possible implications of his actions for the club and its supporters. His breathtaking goal showcasing his immense talent seemed inexplicably to offer him little satisfaction and his recent extreme shifts in mood are bewildering. 

The body language wildly fluctuates almost within an instant from a confident titan, definitively expressing his genius to that of a poignantly downcast scolded child. Why these devastating aberrations exist, I suspect that Cunha himself couldn’t offer a plausible explanation. 

No doubt Vitor Pereira would be fascinated if the Brazilian could elucidate; the coach must be seething and understandably so.

Bournemouth dominated this game; all we can take from the fixture is the defensive resolution and determination epitomised by Sam Johnstone’s best performance for the club and the heroic defiance of the likes of Toti in the face of adversity. 

Creatively, we had little to offer; our midfield was bypassed with Strand-Larsen immobile, isolated and increasingly peripheral up front. Cunha’s scintillating intervention extended the tie and remarkably we contrived to blow a glorious chance in the shoot-out. In retrospect, it’s hugely regrettable that the game went beyond 90 minutes. The ramifications for us could be considerable.

Harry Lee

The good, the bad, and the very ugly. A fitting way to describe the tale of Matheus Cunha’s antics on the pitch away at Bournemouth. 

It feels as though no matter what the result of the games, the past few months have centred around our star man, and this game summed up his season, the sublime to the ridiculous. 

Wolves are far too reliant on his creativity and spark, and this could well come back to haunt them with the impending ban for his unbelievably needless outburst. At least a three game ban in what feels like the most important period of the season, Vitor Pereira will need to find some attacking ‘solutions’. 

Overall, Wolves did not deserve anything from the game and lacked going forwards throughout. But to take the game to penalties and lose is always going to feel twice as painful. 

There were some positives from the game, Djiga looked shakey at times but to get minutes under his belt will do him the world of good. Toti had a great game, throwing his body on the line when it was needed most.  

Wolves desperately need the likes of R.Gomes and Guedes back fit in time for this crucial period they find themselves in.

Liam Berry

Wolves crash out of the FA Cup, losing to AFC Bournemouth on penalties.

Obviously, it feels like an opportunity missed, however it seemed like the players were really struggling both fitness and injury wise. You could see that Wolves’ game plan shifted in extra time, with penalties being the target instead of trying to win it in real time. 

It felt like we were just containing Bournemouth from that point, which whilst it not being encouraging to watch, I don’t see how we could have done anything different. For Wolves to stay in the Premier League next season we need to throw everything we have at the league, and extra games will only detriment the players fitness, so whilst it would have been nice to go on a cup run, Wolves’ squad may not be cut out to do so at such an important stage of the season. 

In the ending stages of the game, Matheus Cunha went from hero to zero, with a moment of madness leading to him gain a straight red card, which could lead to a further ban for the Brazilian. We all know that without his contributions we would be in a very different position, however he cannot lose his head like that, especially after doing so only a couple of months ago. It will be interesting to see which players will step up to try and fill the huge void he has left.

With Bournemouth drawing Manchester City at home in the next round, it would have felt like it would have took a lot out of this thin Wolves squad to try and get to the next round. With this coming at a time of uncertainty over our Premier League status, I think we can benefit from not having that extra game. Whilst I would love for us to try and get to Wembley, I just don’t think that is our main priority at the moment.