Bournemouth vs Sheffield Wednesday match report: Eddie Howe stays strong after Chris Maguire’s heartbreaker
Bournemouth 2 Sheffield Wednesday 2
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Your support makes all the difference.Eddie Howe is certain that Bournemouth can use their stumble against Sheffield Wednesday to their advantage, as they face the final two games in second place.
A last-minute penalty from Chris Maguire denied the hosts the win that would have seen them return to the top of the Championship. But the Bournemouth manager believes his side have shown the ability to respond from setbacks already this season.
“Hopefully the pain and frustration we feel tonight can transfer into motivation into the next game – we’ve had many moments when we’ve been down and had to respond to adversity,” said Howe, who was restrained in his views on two denied penalty claims. “I don’t know what to say about the penalties, because I don’t want to get myself in trouble. Let’s just say I disagree with the decision.”
Kieran Lee scored for Wednesday after 36 minutes when his diving header met the cross of Lewis Buxton. In response, Harry Arter had a long range effort palmed over the bar by Chris Kirkland just before the break.
Bournemouth felt they should have been awarded an injury time penalty, but referee Paul Tierney deemed Jeremy Helan to have tackled Andrew Surman fairly.
Maguire further frayed Bournemouth’s nerves when his free-kick bounced off the post before Cherries striker Callum Wilson was denied another spot kick to the anger of the crowd.
Jeers turned to cheers after 70 minutes when Yann Kermorgant scored with a free header from Matt Ritchie’s delivery. Despite the dismissal of Simon Francis, Ritchie delivered what appeared to be the fatal blow for Wednesday with a stunning 30-yard free kick.
But Maguire broke hearts after Adam Smith fouled Atdhe Nuhiu, and Wednesday were awarded penalty deep in injury time. “I thought if I left this building today without something, it would have been very, very disappointing,” said Wednesday manager Stuart Gray. “At half time we rode our luck a little bit, but I thought we deserved our lead. To go 2-1 down I thought we didn’t deserve it.”
Bournemouth: (4-4-2) Boruc; Francis, Elphick, Cook (Jones, 64), Daniels; Ritchie, Arter, Surman, Pugh (Smith, 57); Kermorgant (Ward, 81), C Wilson.
Sheffield Wed: (4-4-2) Kirkland; Buxton, Zayatte (Vermijl, 46); Lees, Hutchinson (Maghoma, 14); Helan, Lee, Melo, Isgrove (Nuhiu, 63); Maguire, Lavery.
Referee: Paul Tierney
Man of the match: Ritchie (Bournemouth)
Match rating: 8/10
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