Dominic Solanke grabbed a hat-trick as Bournemouth ruined Nuno Espirito Santo’s return to the Premier League by beating Nottingham Forest 3-2 on Saturday.
Solanke completed his treble four minutes into stoppage time to deny Forest a point after Chris Wood looked to have earned the home side a draw with his fourth goal of the season following Anthony Elanga’s opener.
Forest stayed in 17th place with 14 points from 18 games, two points above the relegation zone, while Bournemouth moved up to 11th with 22 points from 17 matches.
“To score that winner late on just makes it so much better,” Solanke said. “I love all goals but maybe the third one was my favourite. I had a meeting yesterday about scoring headers and I’ve scored two today. So happy to get the win as well.”
The home side will feel aggrieved after two controversial decisions in the first half went against them – the first a harsh yellow card that saw Wily Bony sent off on 23 minutes.
They also thought they should have had a penalty but Adam Smith’s handball was adjudged to be just outside the area by the Video Assistant Referee.
Nuno would have hoped for a positive result after replacing Steve Cooper at Forest this week, but it was never going to be a quick fix and the same defensive frailties that have dogged the side all season were on show again.
The home side lost Boly midway through the first half when the centre-back received a second yellow card following a tackle on Bournemouth’s Adam Smith.
Replays suggested it was Smith who was at fault, though, as he caught Boly in the follow-through, but as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) cannot intervene on yellow cards, the decision stood.
The hosts led when Wood robbed Alex Scott of possession and played in Elanga, who provided a composed low finish into the far corner.
The lead lasted only four minutes, however, when Marcos Senesi’s cross was headed in by Solanke and he added a second seven minutes.
Wood equalised for Forest 16 minutes from the end when his goal-bound header was deflected into the net, but Bournemouth kept seeking a winner and it arrived deep into stoppage-time via the head of Solanke.
“When you go down to 10 you have to fight and do things that are not in the game plan,” Wood told Sky Sports. “We did well to get in the game, unfortunately conceded some goals.
“At 2-2, you can’t concede you have to be resilient. It’s a hammer blow, it’s tough to take.”
