The home side thought they had taken the lead with only seven minutes on the clock when Matheus Mane headed from close range, but the goal was ruled out after Rodrigo Gomes was adjudged to have just strayed offside before picking out the striker with his cross into the area from the right.
Despite Wolves having lost just one of their previous five league outings, there were still signs of the old, pre-Rob Edwards days that put them in their current position, and they struggled in attack throughout an insipid first half.
Despite recent morale-boosting wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, Bournemouth weren’t particularly impressive themselves in the first half.
However, the Cherries finally hit the front just after the half-hour mark, with a moment of magic from Eli Junior Kroupi.
After receiving Amine Adli’s pass, the forward fired an effort on the half-volley from just outside the area, which flew past Jose Sa to give the visitors a half-time lead with his eighth goal of a very impressive campaign to date.
Going into the break behind, Wolves supporters might have felt a second-half comeback was unlikely, given their team had scored nine of their 10 home league goals this season before half-time.
Rob Edwards’ side certainly improved in the second half, with the visitors seemingly content to sit on their one-goal lead as they surrendered possession and posed very little attacking threat.
For that reason, chances were few and far between for the Old Gold, with their best opportunity arriving inside the final 20 minutes, when Mane’s cross was headed only as far as Jorgen Strand Larsen, who could only shoot wide of the post with his effort from inside the six-yard box.
That miss summed up another frustrating afternoon for the home side, who ought to have taken something after a competitive display, and their misery was compounded in the first minute of added time when Alex Scott converted from close range to ensure victory for the visitors.
Still bottom of the league and 17 points adrift of safety, Wolves have now tasted defeat in each of the last four Premier League meetings in this fixture that they have hosted, while Bournemouth remain 13th after marking boss Iraola’s century of league matches in style.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth)
