For Bournemouth, this appeared to be the night where it was not meant to be.
Eddie Howe endured the mighty injustice of an offside equaliser against his team and he will then have been cursing the profligacy of his forward Callum Wilson, who should have converted late on when Ryan Fraser nutmegged Mamadou Sakho on the half-way line, scurried towards goal and laid it on a plate.
Instead, Wilson’s tame finish was well saved by Wayne Hennessy. The goalkeeper then responded superbly well to deny Dan Gosling’s header. Palace appeared to be out of the woods but here came an example of how one rogue act by an individual can undermine the collective.
Bournemouth’s Junior Stanislas celebrates scoring their second goal of the game which would prove to be the winner
Crystal Palace defender Mamadou Sakho (12) in the moments before he fouls Jefferson Lerma and concedes a penalty kick
Referee Mike Dean points to the penalty sport in the 86th minute while Jefferson Lerma lies on the floor after being elbowed
Sakho (right) defends his case as Lerma lays motionless on the ground after referee Dean gives Bournemouth a penalty
Stanislas calmly chips the ball down the centre of the Crystal Palace goal as Wayne Hennessey dives early to his left
Bournemouth players celebrate with Stanislas following his converted penalty which would turn out to be the match winner
Bournemouth’s David Brooks celebrates scoring the opening goal of the game against Crystal Palace at the Vitality Stadium
MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS AND MATCH ZONE
Bournemouth (3-5-2): Begovic 6; Francis 7, Cook 6, Ake 7, A. Smith 7; Brooks 7.5 (Gosling 57, 6), L. Cook 7, Lerma 7, Fraser 7; Wilson 6.5, King 6.5 (Stanislas 84)
Subs not used: Boruc, Surman, Mousset, Defoe, Rico
Manager: Eddie Howe 6.5
Goals: Brooks 5, Stanislas (pen) 87
Booked: Brooks, Lerma, Fraser
Crystal Palace (4-3-3): Hennessey 6; Wan-Bissaka 6, Sakho 6, Tomkins 6, Van Aanholt 6.5; McArthur 6 (Schlupp 77), Milivojevic 6, Meyer 6 (Kouyate 84); Townsend 6, Ayew 5 (Sorloth 82), Zaha 6
Subs not used: Guaita, Ward, Kelly, Puncheon.
Manager: Roy Hodgson 6.5
Goals: Van Aanholt 55
Booked: Tomkins, Sakho, Kouyate, Townsend
Referee: Mike Dean 7
Attendance: 10,199
- Premier League
- Premier League
- Championship
- League One
- League Two
- Scottish Premiership
- Scottish Div 1
- Scottish Div 2
- Scottish Div 3
- Ligue 1
- Serie A
- La Liga
- Bundesliga
David Brooks scores for Bournemouth to give them the lead over Crystal Palace. For more from Match Zone, click here.
Palace’s defender Sakho gifted Bournemouth the victory. As a free-kick was floated over from the right-flank, there appeared to be little danger for Palace. Then Sakho recklessly intervened, sticking out an arm on Jefferson Lerma, and the Colombian crashed to the floor from the set-piece. Referee Mike Dean pointed to the penalty spot, substitute Junior Stanislas converted and in a flash, Bournemouth’s victory was assured.
For Bournemouth, this was a result they deserved after a commanding first-half display and then a sharp response to being pegged back as they carved the clearer openings in the latter stages.
Before the 87th minute penalty, Bournemouth would have been be pining for the introduction of video replays in the Premier League. For 55 minutes, they had been the more coherent and the superior side against Palace. Yet the path to victory was complicated by a quite rotten call from the assistant referee.
True, Palace had returned from an insipid first-half display with an enhanced level of commitment, pinning the home team back at the start of the second half and they might have equalised sooner had James McArthur not spurned an opening by leaning back and scooping the ball over the bar.
Yet Bournemouth were broadly in control, thanks to a superbly worked early strike by young David Brooks, when the officials fatally erred. Wilfried Zaha, contained until this point, collected possession 30 yards from goal and slid the ball down the inside left channel. Patrick van Aanholt controlled instantly and thrashed a right-footed strike into the roof of the goal.
Yet replays demonstrated that the left-back was a yard offside when the pass was played and with the assistant referee in line, it was a dreadful decision. Of course, video assistance would have overturned the call but the truth is that it should not have been required for a straightforward call.
The Bournemouth No 20 curled his effort on the Crystal Palace goal from inside the penalty box and found the back of the net
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey stretches but fails to stop the ball which bounces off the bar and into the net
Brooks celebrates his opening goal with Bournemouth players as the Vitality Stadium is brought to its feet early in the game
Crystal Palace defender Patrick van Aanholt celebrates his goal, which brings the game level early on in the second half
Van Aanholt is pictured shooting into the Bournemouth net with his weaker right foot to bring Crystal Palace back on terms
Crystal Palace and Bournemouth players clash as tempers boil over in the closing minutes on Monday’s Premier League clash
Crystal Palace defender James Tomkins (centre) appears to be restrained by Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson (right)
Eddie Howe will have been frustrated, as the pendulum of this game then swung considerably. Palace, so inhibited for 45 minutes, grew in authority and it was now Bournemouth who appeared the limper of the two sides. For that, the officials cannot be blamed and Howe will certainly wonder how his side contrived to drop their pace so alarmingly after a terrific first period.
As the second-half evolved, matters might have worsened still. Andros Townsend’s rasping effort flew wide and Palace’s counter-attacking threat emerged. Indeed, Howe was even forced to substitute Brooks, the star of the first-half, within moments of the equaliser, as he sought to reassert his team’s domination of the game.
Still, there remained cause for optimism and Bournemouth dug into their reservoirs of resilience to hit back. Bournemouth have made an encouraging start to the campaign – they are now only two points behind the top four – and their fast start to this one swiftly confirmed that the unexpected 4-0 defeat at Burnley last week can be cast as an aberration rather than a warning sign.
Howe did not feel compelled to panic after the reverse at Turf Moor and he made only two changes to his team, with Simon Francis and Lewis Cook returning to the team. His faith was justified by an excellent start. Bournemouth played with the greater thrust, and when they cut open the visitors in the opening moments, Callum Wilson was caught on his heels as the ball rolled across the six-yard box. The goal instead came after only five minutes and it was a magnificent strike by David Brooks.
Adam Smith raided down the left flank and measured a low cross. Wilson held off Sakho and teed up Brooks who side-footed the ball, hard and true, and it crashed off the underside of the cross-bar and into the goal. Brooks, a 20-year-old Welshman signed from Sheffield United in the summer for a modern-day snip of £12m, merited his goal. Operating on the same flank as Palace’s talisman Wilfried Zaha, this slight and dainty wideman eclipsed his more illustrious opponent.
Bournemouth striker Wilson skies a shot on goal as a good goal-scoring opportunity goes to waste for the home side
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Hennessey denies Bournemouth striker Hennessey from point-blank range late in the second half
Wilson looks dejected after seeing his shot from close range go flying over the Crystal Palace bar shortly after their equaliser
Wilfried Zaha looks dejected after missing a chance to score for Crystal Palace during the first-half at the Vitality Stadium
Not only did Brooks illuminate this game with an outstanding early finish; he also showcased strength and resilience to earn free-kicks in tight spaces and dropped shoulders to deceive opponents. Brooks, it is jarring to remember, might have fallen out of the English game when he was released by Manchester City at the age of 16.
Thankfully, Sheffield United took a chance and his first Premier League goal here further vindicated that decision, even if his withdrawal on the hour mark and a rash challenge to earn a booking provided a reminder of the maturity that must still develop.
Brooks was the stand-out individual in a terrific Bournemouth first-half display. Howe adopted the bolder approach than his counterpart Roy Hodgson, playing with two wingers, two speedy frontmen and a midfield blessed with guile and creativity. The wizards of the wing set the tempo, as Brooks committed defenders from the right and Ryan Fraser, excellent so far this season, dazzled with fleet-footed assurances as he drifted inside from the left side.
The result was a performance of vigour and conviction that unsettled the usually well-drilled Palace. Watford striker Troy Deeney revealed last week that his side ganged up on Zaha, taking turns to kick him down but here Bournemouth controlled the forward by dominating the game, and on the rare occasions Palace were allowed to counter, Bournemouth swiftly crowded him out, with Lewis Cook, peculiarly making his first start of the season, to the fore.
With Zaha seemingly tamed, Palace’s threat diminished and in the first-half, the closest Palace came was when Luka Milivojevic’s free-kick deflected narrowly wide. In the second-half, Palace posed a greater threat, but Bournemouth might yet have stolen the victory when Nathan Ake headed wide.
Defender Sakho completes a slide tackle on Bournemouth striker Wilson during Monday’s Premier League clash
Zaha battles for possession with Bournemouth goal-scorer Brooks on the edge of the penalty box during the opening half
Referee Mike Dean talks to Crystal Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic but does not book him following a foul in the second half
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson (left) and his Bournemouth counterpart Eddie Howe watch on from the sidelines