Nottingham, England (Reuters) – Dominic Solanke netted three goals, as Bournemouth spoiled Nuno Espirito Santo’s managerial debut at Nottingham Forest with a thrilling last-minute 3-2 Premier League win on Saturday.
Solanke completed his hat-trick in stoppage time, denying Forest a point after Chris Wood looked to have secured a draw with his fourth goal of the season following Anthony Elanga’s opener.
Forest remained in 17th place with 14 points from 18 games, while Bournemouth climbed to 11th with 22 points from 17 matches.
The home team felt hard done by after two contentious decisions went against them in the first half – a harsh yellow card that led to Wily Bony’s dismissal and a penalty that was not awarded after Video Assistant Referee review.
Nuno would have hoped for a positive outcome after taking over at Forest, but the team’s recurring defensive weaknesses were evident again.
Bournemouth capitalized on their chances, with two headers from Solanke and a neat finish when Forest failed to clear a cross into the box.
The hosts lost Boly midway through the first half when the defender received a second yellow card for a tackle on Bournemouth’s Adam Smith.
Replays suggested it was Smith who was at fault, but the decision stood as VAR cannot intervene on yellow cards.
Forest’s frustration continued when the VAR ruled a handball by Smith outside of the box.
The hosts took the lead when Wood stole possession and set up Elanga, who calmly finished into the far corner.
But Bournemouth responded quickly, with Solanke heading in Senesi’s cross and adding a second goal seven minutes later.
Wood leveled for Forest with a deflected header, but Bournemouth continued to press for a winner and Solanke delivered in stoppage time with a header of his own.
(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)
