Antoine Semenyo’s latest dazzling performance, in a spectacular season, leaves Bournemouth on the cusp of FA Cup history.
Bournemouth played out a tempestuous fifth round FA Cup tie against Wolves on Saturday at the Vitality Stadium, one which saw 11 cards dished out, including a late sending off in extra time for Wolves forward Matheus Cunha.
The Cherries drew first blood when forward Evanilson’s clever strike got the home crowd rocking inside half an hour.
The Cherries, who were culpable of profligacy, were denied a second by the video assistant referee (VAR) ten minutes before the break.
Wolves, to their credit, fought back after Cunha’s lovely hit from range flew past Bournemouth goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga on the hour mark.
Bournemouth, however, were fortunate to win the game 5-4 on penalties, with Antoine Semenyo playing a huge role.
The Ghanaian forward once again put in a shift for his side, working tirelessly on and off the ball.
He won five of his six aerial duels, won four out of 12 ground duels, and had two shots on target.
Much of the talk ahead of the game was centred on his fourth round spot kick against Everton, due to how unorthodox his run-up was.
But by the time the shootout came around at the Vitality, Semenyo had ran his race and had been replaced by Jebbison after 106 minutes.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, managed to seal a historic qualification to the quarter finals of the FA Cup – just a third in their history.
The win, however, was not as straightforward as the Cherries had to dig deep, an act Semenyo felt was very avoidable in regulation time.
“It was end-to-end stuff. I feel like everyone’s legs started to go after 90 minutes. It went to penalties and luckily we won; I’m grateful,” he said.
“I feel we could have won it in 90 minutes, but the most important thing is we got the win and we are into the next round,” he added.
Bournemouth await their quarter final opponents in Sunday’s draw, with their sights set on making a first-ever semi final appearance.
