A ten-man AFC Bournemouth side secured all three points at Vitality Stadium to return to second spot in the Championship.
A ten-man AFC Bournemouth side secured all three points at Vitality Stadium to return to second spot in the Championship with goals from Ryan Christie, Dominic Solanke and Jaidon Anthony sealing the win
Christie put the Cherries 1-0 up after 15 minutes before Solanke slotted home his 20th goal of the season as Scott Parker’s side dominated the first half.
It was a different story in the second half, however, as Jefferson Lerma was sent off for rash challenge on Onel Hernandez before a Nat Phillips own goal had the home side on the back foot in a five minute spell that threatened the home sides chances of victory.
Mark Travers produced a series of fine saves in the second half to keep the Cherries in front with Anthony securing all three points for the home side with his first goal in nine games 14 minutes before time.
Bournemouth came into the game off the back of a shock defeat to National League side Boreham Wood and in desperate need of a win to keep up momentum on their push for promotion
Parker reshuffled his pack again with nine changes from the 1-0 defeat to the non-league as the former England international reverted back to the team that started against Barnsley with the exception of Nat Phillips and Todd Cantwell who both made their league debuts after joining on transfer deadline day.
Bournemouth’s fans were in fine voice as the game kicked off and Cantwell almost made an immediate impact after whipping in an inswinging cross from the left which flashed agonisingly close to the outstretched leg of Dominic Solanke six yards out from goal.
Birmingham, however, went straight up the other end with Nat Phillips forced into a goal line clearance As Taylor’s goal bound header threatened Mark Travers' goal.
Bournemouth registered their first shot on target after 13 minutes when Christie looked to bend a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box as the Cherries looked for an early goal.
Christie then struck the bar with a wicked curling effort from just inside the box and it was not long before the Scot did make his way onto the scoresheet.
Philip Billing picked up on a loose ball after Jordan Zemura’s cross ricocheted off a Birmingham defender and the Danish midfielder pulled the ball back for Christie to power home from close range after 16 minutes.
Bournemouth doubled their lead just after the half hour mark this time through Solanke with his 20th goal of the campaign.
Jaidon Anthony picked up the ball near the halfway line and found Christie on the right wing who then turned provider as he slipped in Solanke who finished low and hard from just inside
the box and into the far corner.
Billing then came close to putting the game well out of Birmingham’s reach as he met Anthony’s cross with a header from six yards. The towering Dane was denied by the foot of the post however, as Parker’s side put on an impressive display in the opening 45 minutes.
It was Birmingham who created the first opportunity of the second half though, as Travers was called into action with a fine reaction save from Gary Gardener’s point blank header.
As the game looked to be fizzling out with just over an hour played, a rash challenge by Jefferson spun the game on its head. The Colombian received his marching orders as he hacked down Onel Hernandez on the left wing.
Just minutes later Birmingham’s cuban winger fired a shot off from the edge of the box which took a massive deflection off Phillips - wrong footing Travers - and set up a nervy final 20 minutes for the home side.
With Bowyer’s side on the ascendancy Travers was again called upon to make an excellent save as Juninho Bacuna’s wonderfully weighted cross was met first time by Lukas Jutkiewicz who blasted the ball goalwards from just inside the box forcing Travers to tip the ball over the bar.
Just as Birmingham looked set to lay siege to Bournemouth’s goal for the last 15 minutes in search of an equaliser, up popped Anthony to claim his first goal in league games to restore the Cherries two goal advantage.
The winger - now positioned on the right after the introduction of Siriki Dembele - drove into the box shrugging off a challenge by Ivan Sunjic to rifle home his seventh goal of the campaign.
Travers produced another fine save from Sunjic as the game entered the final minutes with the Republic of Ireland international’s saves throughout proving key as the Dorset club leapfrogged Blackburn back into the automatic promotion places.