Ipswich Town 1-2 AFC Bournemouth - Match Report Sunday, 8th Dec 2024 16:09 Late goals from subs Enes Unal and Dango Ouattara saw AFC Bournemouth come form behind to claim a 2-1 victory over the Blues at Portman Road in the first ever top-flight meeting between the teams, Conor Chaplin having given Town the lead with his first Premier League goal in the first half. Chaplin netted on 21 to put the Blues, who are still waiting for their first home win this season, in front, but Unal levelled on 87 and Ouattara grabbed the winner five minutes into injury time. Town made five changes from the team which lost 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace on Tuesday with Jack Taylor handed his first Premier League start. The midfielder, who had previously made nine appearances off the bench, came in for Jens Cajuste, who dropped to the bench alongside Kalvin Phillips, evidently not considered ready to start following his ankle injury. Cameron Burgess returned at centre-half and Ben Johnson at right-back with Jacob Greaves out of the 20-man squad and Harry Clarke among the subs, both having started against the Eagles. Chaplin came back into the XI as the number 10 with Omari Hutchinson moving to the right and Sammie Szmodics on the left. Wes Burns and Jack Clarke dropped to the bench. The Cherries made one change from the team which beat Tottenham 1-0 on Thursday with Lewis Cook replacing Tyler Adams in central midfield. There was controversy in the opening seconds when Justin Kluivert swung an arm into Sam Morsy’s face as the Town skipper ran past him off the ball as the centre was being taken. Play was stopped but neither referee Michael Salisbury nor VAR official Paul Tierney saw the challenge as worthy of censure. It was difficult to see what Kluivert was trying to do other than make deliberate contact with the Town captain. Once play had got back under way, the Blues started more positively than in recent matches, winning an early corner which Taylor nodded back across goal and Liam Delap headed across the face and well wide. However, the Cherries began to take charge and went close to opening the scoring in the eighth minute. Antoine Semenyo played Milos Kerkez in on the left of the box and the Hungarian international sent a ball across the six-yard box which Marcus Tavernier somehow failed to connect with at the far post. Town were next to threaten, Delap playing a pass forward for Szmodics to chase but visitors’ keeper Kepa was able to claim ahead of the Irish international. On 12, Delap was shown the game’s first yellow card for a late tackle on Illia Zabarnyi, not the first foul referee Salisbury had given against the Town striker, who is now on four Premier League bookings for the season. Two minutes later, with rain now falling very heavily, the Blues passed their way out from the back with Chaplin eventually crossing from the right and Zabarnyi turning behind after Szmodics had been unable to get a touch. Following the corner, Taylor shot wide from the edge of the box, then on 17 Szmodics was cautioned for a late tackle on Adam Smith as Bournemouth attacked after play had continued and the Blues had won a corner at the other end. In the wake of that flag-kick, Johnson and Hutchinson exchanged passes on the right before the ex-Chelsea man sent over a cross which Burgess powerfully headed onto the roof of the net. As the game moved towards the 20-minute mark, with the Blues on top, Hutchinson looped an effort over from outside the area after a Leif Davis long throw on the left. And a minute later, another throw from former Cherries loanee Davis on the left led to Town’s opening goal. Burgess challenged with defenders at the near post, Dara O’Shea, wearing a bandage following his clash of heads on Tuesday, battled for the next ball, which fell back to the Australian international. Burgess shaped to shoot, but cut back to Chaplin, who hit across Kepa and into the corner of the net to claim his first Premier League goal. Both Chaplin and the Portman Road crowd, which was already making significant noise, were elated, the Blues having netted first in a game for the first time since the victory over Spurs a month ago. Town looked to make their lead pay and on 26 won another corner, which the Cherries failed to deal with and Taylor was able to strike a shot from just inside the box which took a deflection and Kepa did well to palm wide to his right. From that flag-kick, the Blues had the ball in the net again, Burgess getting above Cook and the ball going in off one or other of them. Referee Salisbury, who had managed to irk both sets of fans in the opening half an hour, immediately gave a free-kick, apparently indicating a foul by the Town defender. VAR upheld the decision, although for a foul by Delap on keeper Kepa. Bournemouth were next to threaten in a game which was living up to Town manager Kieran McKenna’s expectations that it would be an open affair. After some loose passing at the back by the Blues, Kluivert was able to stab it out to Tavernier on the right, going to ground as he did so. The former Middlesbrough man shot across Aro Muric but off the Kosovan’s right post and to safety. VAR subsequently took a look at whether Kluivert had been fouled but there appeared no contact from O’Shea as he missed both player and ball with his kick and the Dutch international seeming to have collided with Burgess in the aftermath. Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was booked soon afterwards for his protests. The Cherries, who had been on top since the disallowed goal, were presented with a golden opportunity to level in the 36th minute when Town skipper Morsy lost his footing a third of the way inside the Blues’ half. Kluivert had a free run at goal but Burgess caught up with him and slid in to make a perfect challenge as the former Ajax and Roma man was about to unleash his shot. Burgess and O’Shea were once again putting in solid displays at the back, the former Accrington man heading a Semenyo cross behind in the 38th minute. Two minutes later, Evanilson flicked a header over at the near post with the Blues under pressure. On 43, Semenyo scraped a shot wide from the edge of the area after Town had again lost possession. The Blues were able to escape a minute later, but Szmodics’s effort from the edge of the area was too close to Kepa, who claimed comfortably. After Evanilson had been fortunate not to be shown a yellow card after going in on Muric as the keeper claimed the ball, the Blues saw out the rest of the three additional minutes. Town had started more brightly in previous recent games before the visitors came more into it. However, the Blues got back on top again and were regularly creating half-chances if not chances and deserved their goal when it came. After the correctly disallowed goal, it had been almost all Bournemouth with the Blues grateful that Tavernier’s shot struck the post and for Burgess’s superbly timed challenge. The second half began in much the same manner as the first had ended with the visitors on top but making errors in and around the box. They struck their first effort since the break on 52, Cook blasting well into the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand from the edge of the area from a Kluivert cutback after a Tow defender had slipped. Two minutes later, a clever Szmodics flick sent Davis away on the left, the full-back winning a corner. At the other end, Morsy allowed Semenyo to get round the back on the touchline as he looked to see the ball out but Kluivert scuffed the Ghana international’s cross in completely the wrong direction. A minute later, Evanilson got in behind to the left and drew Muric but couldn’t find the space to get in a shot and Burgess was able to clear. Hutchinson briefly relieved the pressure with a run forward with the ball before losing possession but Town were quickly back under pressure, Chaplin relieving the situation a little with what looked a tactical injury break. The visitors made their first changes on 63, Kluivert and Tavernier making way for by Enes Unal and Dango Ouattara. Delap, who had looked either injured or tired, played a great ball through for Szmodics soon afterwards, but a defender’s toe intervened. Then, after a lengthy spell of Town possession, rare since the break, Delap slammed a Morsy pass against a defender. But it was still mainly Bournemouth and on 67, Unal sent a header well wide from a Dean Huijsen cross from the left. Town created their first big chance of the half in the 71st minute, Delap playing in Szmodics on the right of the area but Kepa batted it away. The Blues were starting to get more of a foothold in the game, Delap laying the ball to Szmodics in the area on 72 but this time the former Colchester man’s shot was blocked. A minute later, Taylor won a free-kick on the left and a loose ball fell to Chaplin on the volley but the earlier scorer’s effort was blocked. In the aftermath, there was an appeal for a handball against a Cherries player but the claims came to nothing. Bournemouth, perhaps starting to show the effects of Thursday’s game, made two further changes on 74, David Brooks and Philip Billing taking over from Evanilson and Smith. Four minutes later, Delap, who looked to be suffering with an ankle problem, lost out midway inside the Town half and eventually Semenyo hit a shot from the left of the box which Muric bundled behind to his right. Semenyo subsequently underwent treatment for a knock and while that was happening the Blues swapped Szmodics and Delap for Jack Clarke and Ali Al-Hamadi. The Iraq international was quickly into the action, winning a throw on the right, from which Town created an opportunity. After Bournemouth had half-cleared, Taylor looped it back in to Chaplin, who worked the room to hit an effort which struck Huijsen and went past the post. Referee Salisbury awarded a goal-kick. The Blues had Burgess to thank once again a minute later as Bournemouth broke forward three against two. Semenyo looked to find the unmarked Unal with a pass but Burgess got in the way. Town had defended staunchly, but as at Brentford and at home to Leicester weren’t able to hold out for the full 90 plus time added on. On 87, sub Ouattara was played in on the left and broke into the area before lifting it over Muric, who had advanced well out of his goal. Burgess attempted to hook away at the far post but could only waft it against Unal, which was enough to divert it over the line. VAR took a look but saw no infringements. The Blues swapped Taylor and Hutchinson for Cajuste and Burns as they looked to restore their advantage. But it was Bournemouth seeing most of the ball and in the third of six additional minutes, Billing looped over from distance following a corner. And in the 95th minute, the Cherries won it. After a sweeping move from left to right, Semenyo played in Billing to his right. The German cut back to Brooks, the Wales international’s shot was blocked but fell to Ouattara, who smashed home from close range. The travelling fans had a few moments of nervousness before VAR confirmed the goal. There was no time for Town to hit back and the final whistle confirmed the Blues’ third defeat - all by a single goal - in a row. This was the most frustrating of all, Town having got their noses in front and having had subsequent spells on top and opportunities to add to their lead. However, at the same time, they had had to dig very deep into their defensive reserves and had ridden their luck at times to maintain their lead. When the first Bournemouth goal finally came, it was unfortunate for Burgess in particular, who had had an outstanding game. Both were poor goals to concede from a Town perspective with the Blues’ lack of experienced options off the bench once again looking to have been a factor with manager McKenna presumably ideally wanting to make changes earlier in the half. Town, who remain 18th, still await their first home win and concerns regarding the Blues’ prospects for the season grow, two home games which may have viewed as more winnable having yielded no points. A visit to similarly struggling Wolves follows next week before an even tougher run of games over Christmas. Town: Muric, Johnson, Burgess, O’Shea, Davis, Morsy, Taylor (Cajuste 91), Hutchinson (Burns 91), Chaplin, Szmodics (J Clarke 80), Delap (Al-Hamadi 80). Unused: Walton, H Clarke, Phillips, Townsend, Broadhead. AFC Bournemouth: Kepa, Smith (Billing 74), Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez, Cook, Christie, Kluivert (Ouattara 64), Semenyo, Tavernier (Unal 64), Evanilson (Brooks 74). Unused: Dennis, Travers, Hill, Aarons, Kinsey. Referee: Michael Salisbury (Preston). VAR official: Paul Tierney. Att: 29,180 (Bournemouth: 2,144).
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