Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth. Premier League.
The City GroundAttendance29,188.
Report and highlights as Dominic Solanke hits second-half hat-trick as Bournemouth extend unbeaten run with 3-2 win at Nuno Espirito Santo's Nottingham Forest; Willy Boly sent off early for hosts, while Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood goals almost earn hosts point for new boss
Sunday 24 December 2023 07:21, UK
Dominic Solanke's 95th-minute header completed a hat-trick to earn Bournemouth a 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest, and deny new boss Nuno Espirito Santo an unbeaten start.
Solanke leapt unmarked to guide Adam Smith's cross over Matt Turner and into the top corner, and leave Forest with only a sense of injustice to hold onto after Willy Boly's harsh early red card.
The Ivory Coast defender was shown a second booking by Rob Jones for the follow-through on a clean challenge against Adam Smith, which VAR could not correct as it was not a straight red card.
The home side still took the lead moments after the interval when Anthony Elanga slid home from Chris Wood's pass, though Solanke turned the game on its head inside six minutes with a fine header and a poacher's finish from a corner.
Wood turned provider to goalscorer late on with a powerful header from a corner but just as Nuno's side appeared to be heading for a hard-fought and valuable point, Solanke popped up again with another fine effort to snatch victory in the final seconds.
Despite seeing little of the ball in the opening stages Nuno's new side began brightly at the City Ground, with Elanga and Wood both forcing Neto into early stops.
The hosts' porous defence looked marginally sturdier with his arrival, but Boly was still forced to bring down Solanke when left exposed for an early booking.
There was no argument about that yellow card, but his second which followed shortly after was a bewildering decision. Having won a sliding challenge on Smith, he caught the Bournemouth defender with his boot, but without his studs raised and with his leg on the ground.
Even so, Jones drew the ire of the City Ground in sending him for an early bath, before the officials' performance came under further scrutiny when a potential penalty for a handball against Smith was turned down by VAR, who said they "could not confirm" whether the offence happened inside the Bournemouth box or not.
Perhaps spurred on by their growing frustration, Forest shocked the Cherries by taking the lead 90 seconds after half-time, when Wood robbed Alex Scott and played in Elanga, who finished smartly into the far corner.
Within 10 minutes, the hosts were behind. First Solanke sent a fine header over Turner from Marcos Senesi's cross, before he turned home a second from the same player's flick following a short corner.
Forest were stunned, and looked odds-on for defeat given their earlier red card, but persisted and found themselves level when Wood scored the goal his performance deserved from Morgan Gibbs-White's corner.
It would have seemed a point gained for Forest given the adversity they had faced but Bournemouth were in no mood for sympathy, and instead took home the victory themselves late on when Smith's cross was turned home by another excellent Solanke header in the final minute of stoppage time.
Nottingham Forest go to Newcastle on Boxing Day; kick-off 12.30pm. Forest's final fixture of 2023 is a home game against Manchester United on December 30, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 5.30pm.
Bournemouth are next in action on Boxing Day as they host Fulham; kick-off 3pm. The Cherries then face a trip to top-four chasing Tottenham in their last game of 2023 on New Year's Eve; kick-off 2pm.
