AFC Bournemouth were able to make it 2/2 in comebacks ad they came from behind to beat Stoke 2-1 at the Vitality. Goals from Dominic Solanke and Jamal Lowe took the three points.
An inspired second-half comeback saw AFC Bournemouth take all three points against ten men Stoke City, making it 4/4 and two complete comebacks on the bounce.
Goals from Dominic Solanke and Jamal Lowe saw the Cherries come back from a goal down. The home side were helped as Stoke defender Morgan Fox was sent off just 30 minutes into the game. The game looked to be ebbing away from the home side, but resilience and some inspired substitutions by Scott Parker made sure of a crucial win.
It was a quiet start for both teams with Bournemouth looking to break through the Stoke backline which featured veteran defender Phil Jagielka. From the off, the Stoke City midfield was struggling to keep up with the speed and tempo of the Bournemouth pressure but the final ball the only thing missing in the early stages.
As David Brooks' chant was echoed around the Vitality in the 7th minute, Stoke pressured the Bournemouth backline but often ended up back inside their own area, unable to find a way through.
Stoke broke the deadlock in the 19th minute. A cool first time finish by Tommy Smith from the edge of the area defeated Mark Travers in the Bournemouth goal as it hit the left post on its way to finding the back of the net. It came after a sustained period of pressure by the Potters and forced the home side to collect themselves and go again.
Mitsakes were costing the Cherries and they nearly gifted Stoke a second as Todd Cantwell played a pass straight into Jacob Brown of Stoke City. Mark Travers was called upon to make a very good save but acted as a severe warning for Bournemouth.
Play slowed down for Bournemouth as the half went on with players taking a lot of touches and having few threatening options.
The game exploded into life in the 31st minute as Fox was shown a red card for the visitors. An attempt to regain possession from Phillip Billing saw him clatter into the Dane. Referee Tim Robinson had no hesitation in producing the red card. Replays would suggest it was a harsh decision.
Bournemouth thought they had the ball in the net in the 34th minute, but the ball came off the hand of Dominic Solanke, so the goal was rightfully disallowed.
Relentless pressure since the red card nearly paid off for Bournemouth in the last real action of the half. Billing found himself in a good space inside the box with the ball but his shot dragged wide of the right-hand post.
The Cherries started the second half strongly as Todd Cantwell forced an incredible save from Stoke keeper Jack Bonham to deny the ball nestling in the top corner.
The general offensive play by Bournemouth increased the volume in the crowd as Billing hit the crossbar with a header in the 53rd minute.
As the second half continued on, the offensive and rapid play expressed by Bournemouth early in the half seemed to disappear. The overall tempo of the game slowed as Stoke looked to manage the game.
With 15 minutes left on the clock Scott Parker replaced Lewis Cook with the slightly more attack-minded Emiliano Marcondes. A change which saw the pace of the Bournemouth game return to the high tempo play seen at the start of the second half.
Bournemouth levelled the game in the 82nd minute after a striding run by Solanke won a free-kick deep into the Stoke half. Cantwell whipped it into the box onto the head of Lloyd Kelly, who knocked it across goal on a plate for Solanke who couldn’t miss from just two yards out.
A driving shot by Jamal Lowe nearly found the net just a minute later, but his effort flashed wide.
Just five minutes later, Bournemouth took the lead as Lowe finished off an excellent team move. The ball was well worked down the left and played into the box. The chance looked to have gone as the ball fell behind Solanke but Lowe was there to snaffle it into the back of the net. It was beautiful scenes on the Bournemouth bench and the surrounding stadium.
Stoke City came very close to an equaliser in the 93rd minute. Most of the Bournemouth team were scampering around their own area in a desperate bid to keep the ball out of the net, a task successfully achieved. Travers was called upon again with an excellent save.
Bournemouth saw the result out. As the referee blew for full-time jubilant scenes erupted around the Vitality.
Bournemouth remain in second nine points off leaders Fulham with two games in hand. They sit one point above Huddersfield who went third after today's results, but the Cherries have four games in hand on them.
Scott Parker's side feature again in the EFL Championship next Saturday (5th March) away to Preston.