Hwang Hee-chan gets first assist as Wolves beat Bournemouth 2-1

Football

Published: 22 Oct. 2023, 10:00 Updated: 22 Oct. 2023, 17:51

Hwang Hee-chan gets first assist as Wolves beat Bournemouth 2-1

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan rues a missed chance during a Premier League match against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Wolverhampton Wanderers returned from the international break with another win on Saturday, coming from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 as Hwang Hee-chan picked up his first assist of the season.

Wolves fell behind early at Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England, conceding a 17th-minute goal to Dominic Solanke as the Cherries seize the momentum early on.

The visitors bounced back shortly after the break, Pedro Neto driving through the Bournemouth defense to create space for Matheus Cunha to slot the ball into the top corner.

Less than 10 minutes later, Bournemouth went down to ten men after Lewis Cook headbutted Hwang in a terse exchange after Cook fouled Hwang. The fiery Korean midfielder, known as The Bull, immediately jumped up and pushed Cook, with the Bournemouth midfielder appearing to then headbutt Hwang.

Cook was handed a direct red card for violent conduct and will likely be suspended for three games, with Hwang also receiving a yellow for his part in the exchange. According to manager Andoni Iraola, Cook did not question the red card and immediately apologized to his teammates and took responsibility for the mistake.

Bournemouth’s second big mistake came in the 88th minute, when goalkeeper Neto passed a goalkick straight to midfielder Philip Billing, who was surrounded by Wolves players and immediately lost possession. Hwang took advantage of the confusion, passing around two defenders to Sasa Kalajdzic who fired the late winner passed Neto.

Speaking after the game, Wolves manager Gary O’Neil praised his team’s comeback in the second half and avoided criticizing Bournemouth, the team that sacked him over the summer after he was monumental in helping them avoid relegation last season.

“It’s not about me or returning to AFC Bournemouth, just a really good win for a group that are making progress and working extremely hard,” O’Neil said. “Honestly, I feel no different to when we beat Manchester City, when we beat Everton. It feels exactly the same.

“My team gave an awful lot. I thought we were the better side for most of it and were hard done by going in 1-0 down at half-time. We had big moments we didn’t manage to capitalize on, and they capitalized properly on their only real situation.

“I told the boys to keep believing. It’s possible to go 1-0 down in football matches, it doesn’t mean we have to panic. We needed a little bit more urgency in our play and they showed it second half. The goal for Cunha is a really good move, something we worked on hard. There’s satisfaction around the performance and how all the boys did today.”

Wolves have now gone four games without a loss in the Premier League, since a 3-1 loss to Liverpool on Sept. 16. Hwang, who is in the middle of a banner season, has scored three times and picked up an assist in that period, totaling five goals and one assist in nine games so far.

Wolves will be back in action next Saturday as they take on Newcastle at home.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]