Bournemouth 1-1 Wolves: Three penalties in Vitality Stadium draw

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo said referees have a "difficult task" after three dubious penalties were awarded - two against his side - in a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.

Cherries striker Joshua King scored from the spot after going down easily under Joao Moutinho's challenge, and then missed in the second half following a foul - which was outside the box - on Ryan Fraser.

Referee Roger East was at the centre of the action and turned down a penalty shout from the visitors when defender Chris Mepham misjudged a clearance and the ball bounced off his arm.

But he did award Wolves a spot-kick when Adam Smith was judged to have brought down Matt Doherty, with Raul Jimenez coolly converting the equaliser.

The official also showed Bournemouth midfielder Jefferson Lerma only a yellow card for an elbow into the face of Moutinho.

The point was enough to move Eddie Howe's side up to 10th in the table, six points and two places adrift of Wolves.

"Football is not always fair, it was a very competitive and emotional game against a very tough team," said Nuno.

"Eddie Howe is doing a fantastic job. When incidents happen in the game you cannot lose focus. Until the first penalty we were on top, but then we lost composure and we must improve.

"It is a very difficult task for referees. I don't want to talk about VAR [video assistant referee]. As long as the officials are fair nobody can complain."

East, 53, started badly when he pointed to the spot for Bournemouth's first penalty, despite there appearing to be little contact on King in the box.

With uncertainty surrounding the opening goal, East then made further debatable decisions - the most questionable one being to keep Lerma on the field, one of 10 yellow cards handed out in the match.

The Colombia midfielder jumped for a high ball with Moutinho, but the Portuguese was left furious about the challenge and needing medical attention with blood inside his mouth.

"Joao Moutinho is bleeding heavily from his mouth," added Nuno. "He was not happy at all, and when a short man is angry it's tough."

Striker Jimenez, who had a goal ruled out in the opening period, grabbed a point with seven minutes left after Doherty's coming together with Smith, which East felt warranted a second penalty of the game.

And there was still time for the referee to complete a hat-trick - but King struck his effort wide of the target on this occasion.

Bournemouth manager Howe said: "My initial reaction to the first one was that it was a penalty.

"You're always slightly biased, but I thought theirs was harsh on us. The player got his shot away and you don't see players penalised for the follow-through in that scenario very often.

"The third one, there is a debate over whether it is inside the box. I haven't seen it again.

"We should score and win. King has been a reliable taker for us - but it wasn't to be."

Bournemouth were heading towards a third straight clean sheet at home before Jimenez's goal seven minutes from time.

Up until that point, the Cherries had restricted the visitors to one effort on target - Leander Dendoncker's header which was tipped over the crossbar by Artur Boruc.

Netherlands centre-back Nathan Ake was at the heart of his side's excellent defensive work, making 14 clearances as well as winning the ball back four times and contributing three tackles.

On-loan Liverpool right-back Nathaniel Clyne played well too, but two former Reds could have won the contest.

Dominic Solanke, signed for £19m in January, had a glorious opportunity to make it 2-0 but shot straight at Rui Patricio when through on goal and also flicked a header straight at the keeper, while winger Jordon Ibe smashed an effort against the crossbar.

The draw took Wolves to 40 points from 27 matches, which equals their best Premier League tally, set in 2010-11.

A year later, they finished bottom of the table and only returned to the top flight this term after a six-season absence by winning the Championship.

Santo's side were far from their best on the south coast but will be pleased to nick something from the game.

They have shown their battling qualities throughout the campaign and did so once more, netting their 26th second-half goal of the season.

Santo added: "We dig deep in the second half. Both teams could win but the draw says that it was a competitive game and a good spectacle."

Bournemouth travel to face Arsenal on Wednesday (kick-off 19:45 GMT), while Wolves go to bottom side Huddersfield on Tuesday (19:45).