Ibe inspires Bournemouth to first win against Brighton 2-1

Match Report

15 September 2017

AFCB 2 v 1 Brighton & Hove Albion

Attendance: 10, 369

Simon Francis is back to lead the side out.

Everybody in the ground knew that Bournemouth needed a win and the win did come but only after a lot of huffing and puffing against a determined Brighton side who could have felt hard done by to come away with nothing. The Cherries had a dominant first half, but it was a stalemate with neither side doing a lot to keep the keepers busy, but the second half came to life after Shane Duffy had a header cleared off the line by Andrew Surman, and from the following corner Brighton were unlucky again to see the ball come off the underside of the bar before Begovic grabbed it. The warnings were not taken by Bournemouth though and Brighton took the lead following a deep cross from Pascal Gross that was headed in by Solly March. The substitution of Jordan Ibe turned things around though for Eddie Howe's side as first Ibe's back heel opened the door for Andrew Surman to slip int he equaliser, and that was quickly followed by a slide pass to Defoe who won the game with his first Bournemouth goal in 16 years.

Goal scorers Defoe and Surman pre-match.

Steve Cook was missing from the squad having taken a knock in training earlier in the day, but Marc Pugh, Andrew Surman and Simon Francis all cam into the starting 11. Benike Afobe was back on the bench and Mings and Gosling joined him there having started in the previous match.

Brighton players finish their warm up.

More pictures are on Match Day Gallery.

Bournemouth found it hard to get going in the match despite having much of the possession. It was not that they were a bag of nerves but when they weaved their intricate patterns in front of Brighton's box they could not unlock the defence with runners. Instead, we saw Brighton make the first attempt on goal when Anthony Knockaert turned Charlie Daniels on half was and ran inside to shoot wide from 30 yards outs.

Arter's reply was much more wayward after 11 minutes but at least it was a shot from the Cherries who were beginning to look a little ill at ease when confronted with two lines of yellow shirts to get through. 

Josh King did a little better when he pounced on a misdirected Brighton pass in their own half and his 30 yard shot from in front of the D deflected for a Bournemouth corner on 14 minutes. Brighton had a threat to though and Simon Francis had to tidy up ahead of Tomer Hemed's intent to get past Bournemouth's back line.

Surman's passing of the ball to the touchline hoping for Adam Smith to speed in and cross was just a sign of how out of kilter the Cherries were when they got into the final third. Arter put a defence splitting pass in for Daniels but when the next pass to Pugh enabled a shot, it was driven well over the goal.

Pugh then slipped Defoe in and while the striker turned quickly he could not get his shot on target as it sped past the right post o 30 minutes. At the break it was still goalless, even if AFCB had looked the team that had the most intention of getting forward.

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Second half

The second half would see much more goal mouth action from the start as Shane Duffy rose well to head the ball towards goal before Surman managed to head it off the line before Davy Propper headed back again and Begovic and Surman both kept the attempt out. Another Duffy header moments later from a Brighton corner was redirected by Dale Stephens header that crashed against the underside of the bar.

Bournemouth were living dangerously and they succumbed to another flighted ball from Pascal Gross that was headed in by Solly March on 55 minutes. Daniels had not stopped the cross from coming in and the ball had drifted over Francis perfectly for the goalscorer with Adam Smith unable to get off the ground.

Bournemouth fans were quiet but then soon turned to calls for Lewis Cook with Arter and Surman misfiring in the middle. Eddie Howe did make a sub, but not the one that the fans were shouting for. It was Jordan Ibe who replaced Ryan Fraser on 65 minutes and within a minute of coming on he had made the perfect assist, back heeling the ball in the box to Surman, who neatly slipped the ball from his right foot to his left, slinking past Lewis Dunk, before sweeping his left foot shot wide of Mathew Ryan's right arm  to make it 1-1 on 67 minutes.

The relief was immense and it was like a big weight being taken off the players' shoulders. Now they were in a game and Jordan Ibe made another impact by firing a shot that was deflected over second later. The winner came when he held off two Brighton defenders outside the box before wrapping his right foot round the ball to flick it through to Defoe who turned with a predator instinct to score in the bottom left corner. It was 2-1 with 73 minutes gone.

Composure was what Bournemouth needed now. Brighton subbed Knockaert for Jose Izquierdo and Pascal Gross for the returning Glenn Murray on 76 minutes.

Benike Afobe then replaced goalscorer Jermain Defoe on 78 minutes. Afobe was the energy man and he made it difficult for Brighton players to build their attacks.  While Liam Rosenoir had a go from range that flew well over, Begovic would see it the match will little more to worry him.

In fact, it was Bournemouth looking for their third as full time approached. Josh King was felled in the D as he looked about to pull the trigger. The free kick just went wide of the right post from Jordan Ibe, but it didn't matter.

Four minutes of extra time saw Dan Gosling replace Josh King, but it was all celebrations come  the final whistle for Bournemouth fans who has at least seen their team lay with a bit of defiance and pride in their performance.

The result was very hard to come by but AFCB
get over the line to get their first win of 2017-18.

Summary
This game could easily have gone either way, but for a few goal line clearances and a cross bar. It was not a majestic win by the Cherries, more of a scrambled comeback or salvage operation that generated three points. Bournemouth did play well in parts, but it still wasn't characterised with the kind of movement that is sharp enough to get behind Brighton's back line often. Teams have learnt to be well-organised against Eddie Howe's side and it's becoming a rarity to see a clean sheet at Dean Court these days. So it is still work in progress, but this was more of a team performance to dig out the win and that should give the whole team a lift. But it can only really be enjoyed if the players believe that what they are doing now is capable of getting them up the league. At the moment, the fans can see that there is much more to come from this squad, but hopefully they will be patient and remain behind the team and Howe and Tindall as they look to build on the positives from this game.

Gosling just came on for a few minutes at the end of the game.

Afobe acknowledges the home support.

Defoe and Ibe talk to Sky Sports.

Eddie at last has something to smile about.

AFCB
Begovic, A Smith, Francis, Aké, Daniels, Fraser (Ibe 65), Arter, Surman, Pugh, King (Gosling 90+1),
Defoe (Afobe 78)

AFCB Substitutes
Boruc, Mings, Gosling, L Cook, Mousset, Ibe, Afobe

AFCB Ratings

Begovic 6, A Smith 5, Francis 5, Aké 7, Daniels 6, Fraser 5 (Ibe 7), Arter 5, Surman 6,
Pugh 5, King 5, Defoe 6 (Afobe 6)

Cherry Chimes' MOM - Jordan Ibe

Brighton
Ryan, Rosenior, Duffy, Dunk, Suttner, Knockaert (Izquierdo 76), Stephens, Pröpper, March,
Gross (Murray), Hemed

Brighton Substitutes
Hünemeier, Mäenpää, Murphy, Murray, Goldson, Izquierdo, Schelotto

Referee Watch: Craig Dawson 5/10 - did not want to get any yellow cards out, but he kept the game flowing well even if there were some dubious free kicks awarded.