SUPER SOLANKE
Nuno’s rocked by striker’s Domination
DOMINIC SOLANKE’S magnificent hat-trick shattered the prospect of a morale-boosing start for new Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
It did much else besides – such as underline why Manchester United are so keen on the former Liverpool striker – who has scored seven goals in his last six games, as well provide the Cherries with a fourth successive away win.
Andoni Iraola’s men have now taken 16 points from their last 18 available.
But spare a thought for Nuno. The former Wolves and Tottenham boss galvanised 10-man Forest to take a shock lead through Anthony Elanga after an awful howler from referee Rob Jones had seen Wily Boly sent off.
Gritty Forest came again to level at 2-2 through Chris Wood, only for Solanke to sink them with a 94th-minute winner, the second of two glorious headers.
Boly provided the grunt and the grit for Nuno when they were together at Wolves, so you can only image the manager’s outrage when the defender was sent off for the crime of doing his job.
Boly made a superb tackle on the counter-attacking Solanke and then lunged at the loose ball fractionally ahead of Bournemouth’s Adam Smith.
But referee Jones mistakenly thought Boly had caught Smith – when he hadn’t – and showed a second yellow card to the Ivorian, who had already been booked.
No worries, you might think. That’s what VAR is for, righting the clear and obvious wrongs.
Except, like a policeman without a warrant, VAR officials have no power to intervene over yellow card offences, so off Boly trudged.
“You’re not fit to referee” sang Forest fans but it’s the system that is not fit for purpose. Forest were solid enough until the break, restricting Andoni’s side to a couple of near misses by Antoine Semenyo.
But Forest had looked bright themselves before Boly’s exit with Wood and Elanga both forcing Neto into early saves.
They rekindled that spark at the start of the second half and took a shock lead through Elanga after Wood robbed Alex Scott and timed a perfect pass for his teammate to finish.
It was a slap in the face for Bournemouth, who responded with two goals in seven minutes through the impressive Solanke.
Firstly, he produced a superb header to twist Marcos Senesi’s cross past Matt Turner. Then, the in-form striker reacted calmly to make it 2-1 after Forest failed to clear a corner and the ball rebounded off Neco Williams and into Solanke’s path.
It stayed that way until 15 minutes from the end, when the physical presence of Wood was rewarded when the New Zealander headed in from a corner. But a rousing finish from Forest in a fervent atmosphere ended in heartbreak when Solanke found the net with another superb header from Smith’s cross.
A sinking feeling for Nuno – one that Steve Cooper, the man he replaced, knows well.
They are the only team in the Premier League not to score a goal beyond the 90th minute – but they are more than capable of letting them in.