It took until a 98th minute penalty for AFC Bournemouth to equalise against Championship leaders Fulham as Dominic Solanke gave the Cherries a crucial point in their automatic promotion ambitions.
It took until a 98th minute penalty for AFC Bournemouth to equalise against Championship leaders Fulham as Dominic Solanke gave the Cherries a crucial point in their automatic promotion ambitions. The result meant that head coach Scott Parker was able to delay the title celebrations of his former side.
In an expected edgy affair against league leaders and recently promoted Fulham, Parker's Cherries had everything to play for on Saturday afternoon as their push for automatic promotion took another twist this weekend.
Sitting in 2nd place, Bournemouth needed a strong performance following Huddersfield’s win on Friday night which saw them one point behind the Cherries ahead of the blockbuster Saturday fixture between the top two teams.
Chances in the first half were few and far between with the most noteworthy story of the first 45 minutes being an intense battle between attacker Ryan Christie and Fulham left back Joe Bryan, leading to the latter being booked.
Fulham opened the scoring early in the second half after Championship top scorer Alexander Mitrovic headed past Mark Travers. Despite his best efforts, Travers was not able to keep the ball out with a matter of inches between the ball and the goal line.
Parker attempted a last gasp comeback replacing Jefferson Lerma with Norwich loanee Todd Cantwell with 12 minutes to go. The 24-year-old was lively after coming on with a half chance late on but overall proved ineffective.
Drama struck late on as former Bournemouth man Harry Wilson cost his team the three points after fouling Adam Smith and conceding a penalty. Reliable as ever, Cherries top scorer Solanke slotted past Marek Rodak in the 98th minute after much deliberation between the benches forced the number nine to wait longer than usual.
The goal sees Solanke up to 27 goals this season seeing him achieve the highest league goals tally for a Bournemouth player in a single season since Ted MacDougall's 35 in 1971-72.
Fulham boss Marco Silva was also sent off during the aftermath of Wilson's foul following his clear disappointment to the penalty decision.
The draw means that the Whites are still nine points clear from Bournemouth who have a remaining 12 points available. A 32+ gap in goal difference further seperates them meaning Fulham are all but crowned champions and a comeback is unlikely.
Bournemouth have again seemed to struggle with goals from open play this afternoon with the three strikes against Coventry seemingly an anomaly as they have now struggled to score in 4/5 of their last fixtures.
Results elsewhere mean the pressure has further cranked up on Parker’s men as Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield both enjoyed wins over the weekend. Forest sit in fourth place five points behind the Cherries and Huddersfield only two points behind. The Terriers have played two extra games on their promotion rivals and the second automatic place is still in the hands of Parker's side. They travel to Swansea City next with nothing but three points needed.