NONE of Bournemouth’s starting XI were alive the last time a top-flight game was shown on the BBC 32 years ago.
And they defended like they were born yesterday as Crystal Palace schooled them inside 23 minutes in front of the Beeb cameras.
Luka Milivojevic opened the scoring after just 12 minutesCredit: Reuters
Auntie’s maiden Premier League game was over as a contest almost before it began.
Luka Milivojevic and Jordan Ayew dealt the hammer blows with only half of the first period played.
Eddie Howe’s side could not recover in what was a devastating dent to their survival hopes.
With a tough run-in including trips to Wolves, Everton and both Manchester clubs, the Cherries chief would have been eyeing this game as a possible route to three points.
Instead his side were left stuck in the relegation zone as Roy Hodgson’s wily Eagles clocked up their fourth league win on the trot without shipping a goal.
Even the return of David Brooks could not lift them out of their funk.
This may have been both sides’ first competitive match for 105 days due to lockdown – but it was Brooks’ first for more than a year.
The Welshman picked up what at first seemed an innocuous ankle injury in a friendly at Brentford a week before the season started.
It ended up requiring TWO surgeries and would have kept him out for the entire campaign were it not the pandemic pause. Unsurprisingly, he limped off with cramp just after the hour.
One man who was nowhere to be seen was Ryan Fraser.
The Scot – linked to Everton – has snubbed a short-term contract to complete the season and will walk away at the end of the month.
Jordan Ayew scored his side’s second goal in the first halfCredit: AP:Associated Press
Howe said it was a “sad” way to end Fraser’s seven years at the club and opted not to include the player for his final two eligible games.
With relegation rivals Brighton, Watford and Aston Villa all picking up points, you could hear in the empty ground how desperate the Bournemouth players were to begin well.
But the fast start instead fell to their visitors as Milivojevic broke the deadlock on 12 minutes with a stunning free-kick.
Cherries keeper Aaron Ramsdale, starting after contracting and then recovering from Covid-19 in May, could only tip the ball onto the bar before it dropped in.
The opener had come after Brooks had felled Wilfried Zaha 22 yards out.
That was ironic because the hope had been the Ivorian would be fouled LESS with no fans present – as fouls on dribblers had curiously declined in the Bundesliga since football returned behind closed doors.
Skipper Milivojevic – Palace’s top-scorer last term – looked to have found his shooting boots as his pinpoint set-piece marked his first goal since October.
The goal rattled the hosts and 11 minutes later they were further behind.
Again Zaha was involved as he fed Patrick van Aanholt who cut back for Ayew to dispatch coolly past Ramsdale.
It was a lovely move but a nightmare for Howe, who looked on in horror at his players doing the same.
As the pressure cranked up on the hosts, so did their swearing.
Howe must have felt like turning the air blue himself when Josh King was forced off with an ankle injury just after the break.
The Norwegian instantly called to the bench to be brought off when caught by Gary Cahill, who survived a VAR red card review for serious foul play shortly after.
Talisman King, wanted by Manchester United in January, already missed large parts of the season through injury so Cherries supporters will be praying the damage is not too severe.
The Vitality Stadium may be small but Bournemouth have often used its raucous atmosphere to their advantage over the years.
Fans certainly played their part in the crucial 3-1 win over Brighton in January, while 2016’s 4-3 comeback against Liverpool lives long in the memory.
For that reason, the fear is these supporter-less games could affect them more than most which will not help their fight to stay up.
Palace certainly never looked in any real danger of throwing this one away.
From the Beeb’s perspective, at least there were goals and a story.
But worryingly for Bournemouth, that narrative was centred around them moving another step closer to the Premier League trap door.
Crystal Palace have rocketed themselves above ArsenalCredit: AFP AFP or Licensors AFP or Licensors
Injured Bernd Leno rages at Neal Maupay as he gets stretchered off at Brighton
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
