Antoine Semenyo
BOURNEMOUTH ENDED a six-game winless league run with a 1-0 home victory over Fulham as Antoine Semenyo’s goal inside the opening minute reignited their hopes of European qualification.
Semenyo capitalised on Antonee Robinson’s mistake to arrow a low finish into the bottom corner after just 53 seconds at the Vitality Stadium.
It proved to be the difference between the two European-chasing sides as Bournemouth leapfrogged Fulham into eighth on goal difference, with the top eight likely to be enough to qualify for Europe unless Crystal Palace win the FA Cup.
Following the victory, match-winner Semenyo revealed Cherries boss Andoni Iraola had billed the game as “make-or-break” for their season.
“The win was definitely vital for us. The manager has been saying all week that it is a make-or-break game for us.
“We came into the game wanting to give our all and you could see at the end in the celebrations that it meant a lot. It has been a tough couple of weeks, but it is good to be back on the board.”
Bournemouth’s lightning-quick start nearly rewarded them with two goals as Evanilson struck the bar from close range in the 17th minute. It was the 21st time the south coast side have struck the woodwork in the Premier League this season, more than any other side.
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola said he was “very pleased with the performance. I think we needed this performance, to defend our own box well, the clearances, the blocks, the basics, the set plays.”
“To finish with a clean sheet is so valuable because normally offensively when we create chances we score goals, defensively where we have lacked something in recent games, and today we were very good defensively,” he added.