Jermain Defoe's clincial late finish breaks Brighton hearts as Bournemouth come from behind to win
AFC Bournemouth 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 1: Solly March gave the away side the lead, but goals from Andrew Surman and Jermain Defoe turned the game around
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Your support makes all the difference.Jermain Defoe scored his first Bournemouth goal since 2001 to inspire the Cherries to their first points of the season as they came from behind to beat Brighton.
Jordon Ibe, largely disappointing since his £15 move from Liverpool just over a year ago, came off the bench to set up Andrew Surman for the equaliser and Defoe for the winner to haul the Dorset club off the foot of the league.
Four games, four defeats, eight conceded and one scored made grim reading for Eddie Howe and his staff before kick-off.
The longer term trend is a source of some worry for the Cherries. They had won just five of their 23 league fixtures in 2017 prior to this visit of their South Coast rivals.
Howe insists that he takes “full responsibility for everything that’s happened so far” this season but, given his previous achievements with the Dorset club, he still has plenty of credit in the bank.
The chink of light in the early season darkness has been the performances of Nathan Ake, the club’s £20 million record purchase from Chelsea in the summer.
The Dutchman was named player of the month ahead of kick-off and dealt comfortable with the limited threat offered by Brighton here.
Anthony Knockaert had the Seagulls’ first effort at goal, shooting wide of the right post after neatly checking inside Charlie Daniels.
That was one of the rare occasions Brighton ventured into Bournemouth territory, though Davy Propper did threaten with a weaving run and chip midway through the half.
For all their possession though, Howe’s side found it difficult to make inroads against the Seagulls’ obdurate and well-drilled defensive lines.
Marc Pugh ought to have done better after being found by Daniels on the edge of the area whilst Joshua King’s shot was well-blocked by Lewis Dunk after Shane Duffy’s careless pass had made its way to him.
The Cherries’ best effort came when Defoe used all his experience to spin past Duffy and fire just wide of the upright from 15 yards out in a forgettable first half.
Sensing home nerves, Brighton emerged for the second half with renewed purpose and three times almost took the lead.
Surman headed smartly off the line from Shane Duffy and Propper before Dale Stephens then headed onto the crossbar following a corner after Duffy had nodded down to him in the build up.
With their tails up, the Seagulls took the lead whilst Bournemouth were struggling to find their composure.
Pascal Gross exchanged passes with Knockaert before lofting a cross to the far post where Solly March was waiting to head home.
Howe had to change something and replaced the ineffectual Ryan Fraser with Ibe.
It paid off immediately with the winger finding Surman’s run and the midfielder showed composure and a sureness of foot to stroke in the equaliser.
Six minutes later, Ibe picked out the same run from Defoe who executed one of his trademark finishes low across the goalkeeper to bring palpable relief to the Vitality stadium.
If the Cherries are able to extend their stay in the Premier League to a third season then this is just the sort of match the need to be winning.
And occasions like this, were just why they signed Defoe. 16 years after joining the club on loan, he has lost none of his instinct.
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