By OkayGoal
Bournemouth won 2-1 at Ipswich Town on Sunday to make it eight wins in a row in all competitions, after Christian Walton tried to dribble round Evanilson in the fifth minute and gifted them the opener.
Marco Rose’s side added a second 27 seconds into the second half through a deflected Ryan Christie shot, and although Jack Clarke pulled one back from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute, AFC Bournemouth held on through nine minutes of stoppage time.
It was their fourth straight Premier League win. They go into the international break seventh on 15 points, three behind Liverpool in fourth. Ipswich stay 14th on 11.
How did Walton gift Evanilson his goal?
Walton had the ball at his feet with Evanilson closing him down and, rather than clear it, tried to take it round the Brazilian. Evanilson took it off him and finished from the right side of the six-yard box into the bottom corner.
That makes it five Premier League games in a row with a goal for Evanilson, and it set the tone for a first half in which Bournemouth were sharper on almost every ball. Walton did make up for it in part, saving from Marcus Tavernier at close range two minutes later and turning a Justin Kluivert strike behind before the break.
Ipswich’s best moments went through Julio Enciso. He had two efforts blocked from outside the box and set up Jaden Philogene for a shot that Djordje Petrovic saved low down.
A second goal 27 seconds after the restart
Whatever Gary O’Neil said at half-time did not last long. Abdoul Ouattara gave the ball away to Evanilson, Bournemouth moved it on to Christie, and his rising shot hit Issa Diop and then the chest of Leif Davis on its way in. It goes down as an own goal by the Ipswich left-back.
O’Neil sent on Clarke and Zian Flemming for Philogene and Emersonn after 54 minutes, then Abdul Fatawu for Daizen Maeda. For almost 20 minutes it changed little. Ipswich did not register a shot, or even a touch in the Bournemouth box, in the second half until the penalty.
Ipswich 1-2 Bournemouth: did the Cherries tire at the end?
A little. Lewis Cook, on for Christie, fouled Ouattara, just handed his first senior Ivory Coast call-up, in the area in the 72nd minute, and Clarke sent the penalty into the bottom right corner.
Enciso put one free-kick just over and dragged another wide in stoppage time, while at the other end Walton saved from substitute Álvaro Rodríguez in the 100th minute. Bafodé Diakité, on for Adam Smith, needed treatment soon after coming on.
The numbers sum up Ipswich’s afternoon. They had 55.9% of the ball and ten shots, but only two on target, and they were worth just 0.30 expected goals from open play. It is the same story as the draw at Hull last weekend, plenty of the ball and not enough in the final third.
What did Rose say?
Bournemouth’s head coach was pleased with how his side handled the end. Rose said: “We were 2-0 up and I didn’t feel that we struggled or that we could get into problems, but it’s the Premier League and one goal changed the momentum of the game. That’s why I’m pleased about the last 20 minutes, we suffered, but we did it together.”
He also pointed to the travel after Thursday’s Europa League win: “Especially if you come back on Thursday night from a European game then you know that you maybe lose some per cent in the plane or on the bus but we were sharp, we were good and that’s what I really appreciate.”
‘Hard to take’: O’Neil on the two gifts
The Ipswich Town boss felt the game was closer than the table might suggest. O’Neil said: “Gutted with the result, firstly, because it’s what we are here for and probably performance-wise not much in it. To lose a football match you’ve not been outclassed in is hard to take.”
He was clear about where it was lost: “If you give the ball to the opposition No 9 twice, it’s going to be difficult and that was the story of the game really.”
And he wants more from performances like this one: “It’s the level so we have to find a way of not only being competitive in games, but can we now find a way to make sure these Hull and Bournemouth performances are four points and not one.”
Verdict: Bournemouth are thriving on the extra games
European football is supposed to wear a squad down. Bournemouth have played nine times in a month and won eight in a row, and on Sunday they still looked the fresher side for most of the game. Alex Scott was back on the bench too, another option for Rose after the break.
Ipswich were not outclassed, as O’Neil said, but they will not get away with two errors like that very often in this league. Enciso is their creative spark, and when Bournemouth shut him out, there was very little else. For a newly promoted side, finding a second way to hurt teams is the job for the break.