Bournemouth booked a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for only the third time in their history with a penalty shootout victory over Wolves, who had goalscorer Matheus Cunha sent off.
Luis Sinisterra was the Cherries’ hero at Vitality Stadium after the fifth-round tie had ended 1-1 after extra time, converting the winning kick after Boubacar Traore, Matt Doherty and Dean Huijsen had missed.
The shootout drama came minutes after Cunha was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Milos Kerkez while the defender was on the ground – and aiming a headbutt at the Hungarian after he had got back to his feet.
Bournemouth shaded the first half and striker Evanilson, making his first start since suffering a broken foot at Everton in early January, put them ahead on the half-hour mark after Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone parried Antoine Semenyo’s initial effort.
The hosts thought they had doubled their advantage when Kerkez bundled home at the far post five minutes later, but the goal was disallowed for offside following an eight-minute check by the video assistant referee (VAR).
Midfielder Alex Scott also had a first-half effort chalked off after using his left hand to help Kerkez’s low cross over the line, before a sensational long-range strike from Cunha brought Wolves level.
Andoni Iraola’s side dominated the additional 30 minutes, with Tyler Adams sending a powerful shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box and firm headers from Sinisterra and Lewis Cook brilliantly tipped over the crossbar by Johnstone before Cunha’s dismissal.
Huijsen was first to miss from 12 yards in the shootout, but Doherty slid the next spot-kick wide of the target. Traore then fired his effort against the underside of the woodwork, allowing Sinisterra to secure his side’s place in the quarter-finals.
The draw for the last eight will take place after Sunday’s tie between Manchester United and Fulham, which kicks off at 16:30 GMT.
VAR controversy as Cherries are put on the spot
Eager to make amends for last weekend’s 1-0 Premier League defeat at home to Vitor Pereira’s side, Bournemouth started on the front foot.
But they could not fashion a shot on target until Johnstone parried Semenyo’s low drive into the path of Evanilson, who was left with a simple finish on the rebound.
The opener appeared to re-energise the home side, who had the ball in the net again when Kerkez and Huijsen combined to bundle home an inswinging David Brooks’ corner.
VARÂ reviewed the goal for eight minutes, initially ruling neither defender had used an arm to help the ball over the line before shifting their focus to whether it should be disallowed for offside.
Semi-automated offside technology is being used this season in fifth-round ties taking place at Premier League stadiums, but the complexity of the situation meant crosshairs were drawn instead to determine Huijsen was in an offside position from Kerkez’s touch.
The second half was a more scrappy affair – with the notable exception of Cunha’s stunning strike – as neither team managed to find a winner before the end of 90 minutes.
After failing to find a way past the impressive Johnstone in extra time, it looked as if Bournemouth’s FA Cup journey was coming to an end when Huijsen’s tame effort was saved by the Wolves keeper.
But Doherty and Traore failed to hit the target with their attempts and Sinisterra made no mistake with his, as Bournemouth reached the last eight for the third time after 1957 and 2021.
