Key events
Half-time reading
Half time: Bournemouth 1-0 Fulham
Entertaining stuff on the south coast. Antoine Semenyo ended his goal drought in the first minute after a mistake by Antonee Robinson; and though it took a while for the game to settle down, when it did both teams created some good chances. Evanilson hit the bar for Bournemouth, Rodrigo Muniz and Ryan Sessegnon spurned Fulham’s best opportunities.
45+2 min: Good save by Leno! Scott zips infield from the right and tries to flick the ball through to Semenyo. Instead it hits Berge and rebounds perfectly for Scott, whose first-time drive from the edge of the area is turned round the post by the sprawling Leno. Excellent goalkeeping.
45 min A terrific cross from Cook just evades two Bournemouth players in the middle. Two minutes of added time.
44 min: Check complete The VAR concludes that it was a reckless tackle, so the yellow card stands. Had Michael Oliver sent Senesi off on the field, I’m not sure it would have been overturned.
43 min Senesi is booked for a late tackle on Andersen, who looks in a fair bit of pain. He led with his studs and caught Andersen just below the shin; it’s being checked by VAR.
40 min Fulham continue to press for an equaliser. Sessegnon runs at Kerkez, who times his challenge perfectly to win a goalkick off Sessegnon. He bounces to his feet in triumph and Joelintons to the home crowd.
37 min: Big chance for Fulham! Iwobi cuts inside from the left and floats a gorgeous ball to the far post. It drops over the head of Senesi and is met by Sessegnon, who plants his header straight at Kepa from six yards.
35 min Semenyo finds the overlapping Smith, who slips his man and wins a corner for Bournemouth.
33 min “The battle of the Brazilian No. 9s is intriguing,” writes Peter Oh. “Fulham’s Muniz played in the Flamengo youth system. Bournemouth’s Evanilson is a product of Rio de Janeiro crosstown rival Fluminense. It’s a mini-Fla-Flu derby right there in Bournemouth!”
If only the greatest of all Brazilian No9s was playing.
32 min It’s livening up. There are blocked shots at both ends – Castagne did particularly well to stop Semenyo’s – before Muniz hooks a speculative shot straight at Kepa from 15 yards.
31 min: Good chance for Muniz! Huijsen, playing on his 20th birthday, gets in a tangle with his fellow centre-back Senesi. Muniz helps himself to the ball, gallops into the area but drags his shot wide of the far post. The angle was tight but he’d usually hit the target at least.
31 min Fulham are having more of the ball, 55 per cent, but Bournemouth have had seven attempts at goal to Fulham’s two. Stats > prose.
30 min “Keep your hands to yourself Matt Dony, Robinson’s ours!” says Richard Hirst. “This could mean war in the mean streets of the MBM.”
Be careful. If I know Dony, he’ll come tooled up with bon mots, playful self-loathing and an encyclopaedic knowledge of Welsh guitar music.
27 min A Bournemouth corner is headed away as far as Cook on the edge of the area. He spanks a half-volley that fades well wide of the post. A very difficult ball to control.
26 min Bournemouth enquire about a possible penalty when Evanilson’s shot from the edge of the area hits the arm of Castagne. It was tight to his body so there’s nothing to see here.
25 min Sessegnon’s stray arm catches Kerkez in the face. Nothing vicious, or deliberate, so it’s just a free-kick to Bournemouth.
23 min “Awful, slip-shod defending from Robinson,” says Matt Dony. “Absolutely shocking. (Hopefully knocked £12-15m off his value…)”
Wait till Kerkez blooters one into his own net from 50 yards.
22 min Rodrigo Muniz is moving a little uncomfortably, which isn’t great news for Fulham. They have Raul Jimenez on the bench if necessary.
20 min A free-kick from the left is headed towards goal by Andersen and saved by Kepa. A comfortable save.
19 min “I am in my late 60s,” says Joe Pearson, “and I exclusively wear shorts all year round, unless the wind chill gets below 10 degrees Fahrenheit (that’s -12 to you), which is basically February here in Indiana. So let those knees out!”
17 min: Evanilson hits the bar! A big chance to make it 2-0. Kerkez, on the left, stood up a superb cross beyond the far post. Scott headed it down and Evanilson, four yards out, stretched to slap the bouncing ball past Leno and off the underside of the bar. Not a complete sitter, but still a very good chance.
13 min … and Scott heads it away at the near post.
12 min Robinson gallops down the left to win Fulham’s first corner. Andreas wanders across to take it…
11 min Bassey times his tackle perfectly to dispossess Evanilson just outside the area. Bournemouth look dangerous in transition.
10 min Nothing much to report since the goal. It’s a decent, open game but there haven’t been any more chances.
6 min Evanilson breaks into the area on the left and screws a cross that is booted away. Bournemouth are full of the joys and Fulham manager Marco Silva is wearing his best hangdog expression.
3 min Antonee Robinson has got a heap of assists this season so he’s still well in credit. Even so that was an untimely slip, especially given Bournemouth’s fragile morale going into the game.
Antoine Semenyo has put Bournemouth ahead inside 60 seconds. Bournemouth broke through Scott, who lost his balance as he tried to push a pass out to Semenyo on the right. It was intercepted by Robinson – but then he was robbed by Semenyo, who cut inside Andersen on the edge of the area and shaped an excellent left-foot shot into the far corner. That’s a really good finish, although Robinson will know that his mistake led to the goal.
Edit: Scott was actually fouled, so that was a really good advantage from Michael Oliver.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Fulham (Semenyo 1)
Well that escalated quickly.
1 min Peep peep! Bournemouth kick off from right to left as we watch.
A reminder of the teams
Bournemouth (4-2-3-1) Kepa; Smith, Huijsen, Senesi, Kerkez; Cook, Adams; Semenyo, Scott, Dango; Evanilson.
Substitutes: Dennis, Brooks, Tavernier, Soler, Jebbison, Araujo, Hill, Zabarnyi, Winterburn.
Fulham (4-2-3-1) Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Sessegnon, Andreas, Iwobi; Muniz.
Substitutes: Benda, Tete, Cuenca, Reed, Cairney, Smith Rowe, Traore, Willian, Jimenez.
Referee Michael Oliver.
A bit of pre-match reading
Former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, who was taken ill last weekend, has been diagnosed with pneumonia and is likely to miss Newcastle’s games against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa this week.
A huge thank you to everyone connected with Newcastle United and the wider football community for your messages and warm wishes. They have meant a lot to me and my family.
I also want to pay tribute to our incredible NHS and the hospital staff who have treated me. I’m immensely grateful for the specialist care I’m receiving and, after a period of recovery, I look forward to being back as soon as possible.
Team news
One change for Bournemouth, with Marcos Senesi replacing Illia Zabarnyi at centre-back. Fulham are unchanged, which is no surprise after their brilliant win over Liverpool last weekend.
Bournemouth (4-2-3-1) Kepa; Smith, Huijsen, Senesi, Kerkez; Cook, Adams; Semenyo, Scott, Dango; Evanilson.
Substitutes: Dennis, Brooks, Tavernier, Soler, Jebbison, Araujo, Hill, Zabarnyi, Winterburn.
Fulham (4-2-3-1) Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Sessegnon, Andreas, Iwobi; Muniz.
Substitutes: Benda, Tete, Cuenca, Reed, Cairney, Smith Rowe, Traore, Willian, Jimenez.
Referee Michael Oliver.
This is such an important night for Bournemouth, who have their last four league games at home. They were also beaten by Manchester City in the FA Cup. They have to get something tonight.
Preamble
Look, it’s complicated. It’s always complicated at this time of year. We’re talking, of course, about whether it’s acceptable for a weathered quadragenarian man to wear shorts in a public place European qualification. England will have between eight and 11 teams in Europe next season, and both Bournemouth and Fulham still hope to be among their number.
At this stage it looks more likely than not that eighth place will be good enough to quality for the Conference League. Despite a downturn in form, particularly for Bournemouth, that remains a realistic ambition for both these sides. Fulham start the night in eighth; Bournemouth will leapfrog them if they win.
The focus on the rich and famous makes it easy to lose sight of what a big deal it would be to qualify. Bournemouth have never played in Europe; the last time Fulham did so, in 2011, Martin Jol was their manager, Ryan Sessegnon was 11 years old and Willian wa- actually, Willian already a Brazil international, because he was playing top-level football before the electric light was invented. But you get the point.
Kick off 8pm.
