Bournemouth needed a spark. Eddie Howe had said so during the week. The home side, previously winless in the Premier League, were desperate for something to get their season up and running.
It might have come from Jack Wilshere, the high-profile loan signing from Arsenal, only for Howe to keep him largely in cold storage. Wilshere was used as a substitute from the 62nd minute and, apart from one smart flick that created an opportunity for Junior Stanislas, his debut was low-key. He came on in the No10 role, but was switched to right midfield after Howe made his other two changes.
Callum Wilson was the Bournemouth hero and what a feeling it was for him when he touched home the winner from Adam Smith’s cross as time ticked down. It was the striker’s first goal since he ruptured knee ligaments last September and Howe was not guilty of hyperbole when he said that it had meant everything to him.
“You could see that in the celebrations,” Howe said. “You almost don’t feel like you are back and fit until you do score. It’s been a long road for Callum, but he’s shown remarkable mental strength. He was at the peak of his career when he suffered the injury.”
For Tony Pulis and West Bromwich Albion, the frustration lay in their failure to capitalise on the chances they created – Saido Berahino was the biggest culprit – and it was compounded by the away fans’ unflattering comments in stoppage time.
Pulis said that the protracted take-over of the club by a Chinese company, fronted by Guochuan Lai, would happen next week, but they have been in limbo and it has been damaging, particularly during the summer transfer window when, to Pulis’s irritation, there was such an underwhelming return.
Pulis made the point that his remit during his 19 months in charge had been to keep the club in the Premier League while making a financial profit, which he has done. His team have finished 13th and 14th. But, he wanted to shout, it is difficult to do much more with the constraints that he is under.
“The only way you see yourself going forward is that you need to improve the squad,” he said. “You saw in this game that we needed to bring other players in. We’ve not been able to do that for all sorts of reasons.”
Howe’s decision to start Wilshere on the bench was a major talking point, particularly in light of the fanfare that had accompanied the midfielder’s arrival. But Howe said that caution had to be the watchword given Wilshere’s fitness record and current condition, after playing so little in recent times.
“With the data we have looked at, it was not a difficult decision,” Howe said. “We felt that half an hour was a good call for him. We don’t want to push him too early. The safest and best option was the decision we took.”
Wilshere said: “If there is a question mark about me, I know that it’s my fitness so I hope to get as many minutes in, prove everyone wrong and re-kick my career. The manager has a plan for me, so I was happy to be on the bench.”
Bournemouth were the better team in the first half as Albion stood off them in overly accommodating fashion, but they created little of clear-cut note, despite Jordon Ibe enjoying some nice moments. Wilson had the best chance after Ben Foster had beaten out Stanislas’s shot, but he could not capitalise after a ricochet.
Berahino blew a clear chance before the interval and he would be denied by Artur Boruc at point-blank range on 53 minutes after the Bournemouth goalkeeper had been worked by Brendan Galloway.
Boruc also saved well from Gareth McAuley and Matt Phillips hit the crossbar with a free-kick from the flank, which he appeared to have intended as a cross.
Ibe went close to scoring on 54 minutes and Stanislas was denied by Foster after Wilshere’s touch of quality, but – thanks to Wilson – Bournemouth got the job done.
