The Cherries deservedly beat Crystal Palace 2-1 and go to seventh in the Premier League. The game started well for AFC Bournemouth when Brooks calmly drilled the ball in from the edge of the box after only 5 minutes. The Cherries continued to dominate for long periods of the first half and it was not until the second half did we see Palace attack in a meaningful way.
In the 55th minute the game was level when Van Arnholt hammered home from an offside position. This was clear for all to see except the linesman and advocates of VAR will cite this as a good example of how technology can help the officials.
Cherries boss Eddie Howe made tactical switches and moved to a 4-5-1 and regained control of the game. Both Wilson and Gosling had good chances saved by Hennessey which could have killed the game off.
Pre-match pub, the Cricketers, was really empty.
The decisive moment came in the 87th minute when Sakho elbowed Lerma as the ball came in from a free kick off into the Palace area. It was an easy one for the referee to see and he did not hesitate in awarding the penalty. Substitute Junior Stanislas who had at that point had not touched the ball stepped up and calmly slotted the penalty in. Another deserved win, although Wilson will be wondering when he will be able to start scoring his chances.
