Everton 1-3 Bournemouth: Cherries are RELEGATED despite winning
Everton 1-3 Bournemouth: Cherries are RELEGATED despite winning at Goodison Park thanks to goals from Josh King, Dominic Solanke and Junior Stanislas
- Bournemouth are relegated from the Premier League despiting winning 3-1
- Josh King gave Eddie Howe’s side the lead in the first half from the penalty spot
- Moise Kean equalised at Goodison Park for the hosts with a tap-in at the far post
- Dominic Solanke gave the Cherries the lead again just before the half-time break
- Junior Stanislas rounded off the win with a goal but it wasn’t enough for his side
It will be of no consolation to Eddie Howe that there were echoes of the expressive, imaginative Bournemouth of old on the afternoon that brought the curtain down on their five years in the Premier League.
Man-for-man, they were on a different plain to Everton, the club Howe supported as a boy, and if there were any thoughts of Aston Villa and Watford, then they certainly didn’t show.
Amid these last knockings, they revealed flair, fluidity, confidence. Josh King, Callum Wilson and David Brooks operated with intelligence and vision in front of Everton’s defence. Dan Gosling eased through Everton from deep lying midfield, on Goodison turf where he promised so much as a young player.
Callum Wilson looks dejected as it is confirmed that Bournemouth are relegated on final day
Bournemouth goalkeeper Adam Ramsdale looks unhappy as the Cherries are confirmed down
Bournemouth’s Junior Stanislas celebrates scoring his side’s third goal of the game
Dominic Solanke scores his side’s second goal just before half-time as the Cherries went in 1-2
Solanke (rght) of AFC Bournemouth celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal
Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford 5.5; Coleman 7 (Sidibe 58), Keane 6, Branthwaite 5.5, Digne 5 (Baines 71); Gomes 6, Davies 6; Walcott 6.5 (Gordon 58), Sigurdsson 6, Richarlison 6; Kean 6 (Calvert-Lewin 71).
Unused substitutes: Stekelenburg, Joao Virginia, Bernard, Baningie, Simms
Manager: C Ancelotti 5
Goals: Kean 41′
Bournemouth (4-4-1-1): Ramsdale 6, Smith 6, S Cook 6.5, Kelly 6, Rico 6.5; Brooks 7, Gosling 7 (Stanislas 64 6.5), Lerma 6, King 8 (H Wilson 89); Solanke 6 (Billing 64 6); C Wilson 7.5.
Unused subs: Boruc, Stacey, Ake, L Cook, Billing, Danjuma, Surridge
Manager: E. Howe 8
Goals: King 13′ , Solanke 45+1′, Stanislas 80′
Referee: C Cavanagh 6
But there is a reckoning after all, for a desperate string of results since the re-start: weeks in which Howe’s side have struggled to find form and ultimately been pipped by an Aston Villa side who made far use of the enforced break.
The standard of Everton’s football since the restart did not suggest they would be an immovable object either, yet Bournemouth provided something in the first half that no-one saw coming.
They could have been three goals to the good by the first drinks break. They converted through a penalty when Richarlison’s arm was slightly extended to control the bouncing ball which Callum Wilson had headed down. But they were denied a second spot kick in similar circumstances when Lucas Digne seemed to block Brooks’ shot with his arm unnaturally extended.
There was far more to Howe’s side than than debatable spot-kicks. A beautiful chest trap from King during the opening exchange preceded the pass to Callum Wilson for a shot which Jordan Pickford saved right-handed. Wilson’s angular header forced the goalkeeper to save again.
But Bournemouth’s defensive weaknesses dictate that they cannot spurn chances. Theo Walcott has already gone close when Everton’s equalising goal was walked in. An exquisite ball from Seamus Coleman’s outstep was a key part of the build but when Walcott had latched onto it and crossed, Moise Kean was utterly inhibited for a tap-in.
Bournemouth’s Premier League adventure has begun to unravel because of some deeply questionable work in the transfer market and the £20, paid to Liverpool for Dominic Solanke has always seemed a metaphor for that.
Moise Kean of Everton celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal at Goodison Park
Kean of Everton strikes in the first half during the Premier League match to level the scores
Overall, he did little to challenge that notion, arriving too late to connect with a dangerous Diego Rico cross over the six-yard box in the opening minutes, though he did provide the crucial header to send Diego Rico’s free kick from the left beyond Pickford.
The away team’s superiority was maintained after the interval as Everton continued to display the kind of ineffectual defending that is a concern with a new season 50 days or so away.
Howe strengthened the midfield, bringing on Phillip Billing for Solanke and Junior Stanislas for Brooks just beyond the hour, but his side continued to make the chances.
Bournemouth’s Joshua King celebrates scoring his side’s first goal of the game on Sunday
Joshua King of AFC Bournemouth scored his team’s first goal from the penalty spot
Wilson should have scored a third but substitute Leighton Baines made the tackle when he tried to drag a ball past him.
Then Stanislas, on for Solanke, secured the win, giving the ball to King, taking it back and slipping the ball under Pickford with Micheal Keane and Jarrod Branthwaite trailing in his wake.
The first of the two goals at West Ham came four minutes later. Howe, out on the edge of his touchline, knew because he radio commentators screamed this news out in the deserted stand behind him.
It is 1,912 days since his side beat Charlton 3-0 on a golden spring afternoon in 2015 to win promotion and though this will hurt, he knew it was probably coming.
Bournemouth’s Spanish defender Diego Rico (L) fights for the ball with Everton’s Moise Kean
Gylfi Sigurdsson (L) of Everton crosses the ball past Diego Rico at Goodinson Park on Sunday
Richarlison of Everton battles for possession with Adam Smith of AFC Bournemouth
Theo Walcott of Everton strikes the ball during the match at Goodison Park on Sunday
Gylfi Sigurdsson and Diego Rico challenge for the ball during the Premier League match
Andre Gomes of Everton battles for possession with Jefferson Lerma of AFC Bournemouth
Joshua King of AFC Bournemouth runs with the ball under pressure from Seamus Coleman
Bournemouth’s Adam Smith in action, as play resumes behind closed doors on Sunday
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