Bournemouth vs Southampton match report: Benik Afobe header seals vital points for Cherries

Eddie Howe’s declaration that this is the defining period of Bournemouth’s season drew exactly the response the manager had hoped. Goals in each half from Steve Cook and Benik Afobe ensured Howe’s side ended a run of three successive home defeats to take a significant step towards securing Premier League survival.

Victory over their near neighbours means they will now face fellow strugglers Newcastle United and Swansea City strengthened by the belief they are now moving in the right direction. For Southampton, though, a second successive defeat weakened their hopes of a Europa League place and the loss came at the extra cost of an injury to Charlie Austin who limped off after an hour with a hamstring injury and could be out for several weeks, according to manager Ronald Koeman after the match.

The game was also held up briefly after fourth official Kevin Friend collapsed and banged his head against the dug-out before being taken to hospital and replaced by local official Dean Treleaven after regaining consciousness.

The weekend draw at Watford had brought to an end an alarming run of three successive defeats and provided Howe’s side with a timely confidence boost – but came at the cost of a hamstring injury to Junior Stanislas. The loss of the winger, however, was countered by the return of Max Gradel who was brought in for his first start since suffering cruciate ligament damage at the end of August.

Koeman was left with more to ponder this weekend after his side had conceded two goals in the last 15 minutes of their home meeting with Chelsea to bring to an end a six-game unbeaten. The Dutchman responded by making three changes, bringing in Maya Yoshida, James Ward-Prowse and Sadio Mané but his attempt to freshen up his line-up had little effect.

Howe’s side, who were clearly anxious to reverse their disappointing run of form at home, started well. Almost immediately, Joshua King exposed space on the left-hand side of the visitors’ defence before setting up Matt Ritchie for a low shot that forced a save out of Fraser Forster at his near post.

Southampton escaped on that occasion but provided a clear sign of where the danger would be coming from. The visitors did create an opening early on when Austin spurned a good opportunity after meeting Cedric Soares’ early cross but that proved to be a rare moment of threat. Ritchie and King continued to pose a threat and the opening goal came when King again exposed the weakness on the left side of the Saints defence.

This time, the forward proved to strong for Jose Fonte, working his way past the centre-back before drawing a foul on the edge of the penalty area. Ritchie drilled the ball in from a tight angle and Forster did well to save one-handed, only for Cook to volley home acrobatically in the 31st minute.

Koeman’s reaction was to hook Yoshida and introduce Steven Davis as he switched to a back four in an effort to provide Forster with more protection.

The change appeared to work as Southampton began to exert more control at the start of the second half, finally looking comfortable in the face of Bournemouth’s high-tempo performance.

But their chances of working their way back onto level terms disappeared when Afobe rose to head home from Ritchie’s free-kick in the 79th minute.