- Sonny March put Brighton up after halftime
- Andrew Surman and Jermain Defoe brought the Cherries back
- Jordon Ibe produced two assists for Bournemouth
Jermain Defoe had done little through the first 70 minutes, and it seems that’s when he’s most dangerous. The former England international struck with 15 minutes to go, giving the Cherries their first win and first points of the 2017/18 Premier League season.
There was an opening 45 minutes. It was so awful that these two sentences will be all we have to describe it.
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Don’t believe us? Fine, here’s one more sentence: the first half featured one shot on target, one corner, zero serious chances on goal, zero offside calls, seven fouls, and zero Brighton touches in the Bournemouth penalty area.
May we continue?
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Moving on to the second half, things were just as cagey, but Brighton began to attack with more venom. Shane Duffy had a header cleared off the line 51 minutes in. That would prove prophetic, as the visitors scored minutes later. A wonderful through-ball down the left sprung Pascal Gross, and he delivered a pinpoint cross to the head of Solly March who headed in from point-blank range.
4 - Pascal Groß has been involved in all four of Brighton's goals in the Premier League this season (two goals, two assists). Talisman.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 15, 2017
The game opened up ,and Bournemouth responded, leveling things up 10 minutes later. Jordon Ibe produced a wonderful back-heel assist to put Andrew Surman on the ball, and the 31-year-old South African skipped past a defender and delivered the ball into the far corner of the net.
The Cherries nearly got another as Ibe collected a poor Brighton clearance at the top of the box and rifled on net, with the shot destined for the far corner but blocked by a sliding Lewis Dunk. During that chance, Gross was injured under a challenge from Nathan Ake and required a physio visit. That forced him off momentarily, and soon after the restart before Gross could come back on, the Cherries struck with the temporary advantage.
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Ibe again played creator as he stayed on the ball under heavy contact, feeding Defoe with an outside-foot pass. The 34-year-old took his chance, burying the shot past Maty Ryan for a 2-1 lead in the 73rd minute. The goal is his first of the season.
That was it the rest of the way, as Brighton had little ability to push the attack to look for a late point.
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The points for Bournemouth were massive, moving them out of 19th and even with Leicester City and West Ham. That leaves Crystal Palace as the only team without a point this season. Brighton remains in 14th with four points.