Match report
Thanks for reading. That was an excellent second half from Southampton and Davis, introduced at the break, was integral to it. He was everywhere and provided the burst that led to Rodriguez’s first goal. The striker’s second was an absolute peach. Bournemouth didn’t create a thing of note after the break, and looked surprisingly flat. No alarm bells for them, it’s still a good season – but they’ll want to put it right over Christmas.
Now, can I interest you in an MBM of Manchester City v Arsenal? Thought so – Simon Burnton has it here!
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and catch you again soon.
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Full-time: Bournemouth 1-3 Southampton
Comprehensive and deserved. Derby or not, Saints take the honours and go seventh!
90+4 min: Kristof in Berlin writes, quite rightly – “It’s a relief to see Jay Rodriguez in such good form, after these two horrible seasons full of Sturridge-style injury backlash. Hope he can maintain that for a while now!”
Yep. He’s a heck of a player when fit and it’s great to see that now.
90+3 min: Shane Long comes on for two-goal Rodriguez, who has more than earned the ovation he gets from the boisterous away following.
90+2 min: A slight fumble from Forster as Cook fires in from 25 yards, but no big drama.
90+1 min: Van Dijk, watching a looping ball come down, tries for a spectacular goal of his own but it’s gathered by Boruc. Five added minutes to play here.
89 min: Cedric Soares is having some treatment. I think he’ll be alright. Time is just running down now. Bournemouth, after that first 20 minutes, have been flat and disappointing. Couldn’t see this coming when, or in the minutes after, they took the lead – not remotely.
88 min: Let’s not forget what Bournemouth managed against Liverpool. Not looking very likely though; they apply a bit of pressure but it breaks down quickly.
Goal! Bournemouth 1-3 Southampton (Rodriguez 85)
What a goal! A Redmond sortie along the left edge of the box eventually sees the ball cannon off the winger’s face. So far, so scruffy, but it bounces perfectly for Rodriguez 20 yards out. He spins and volleys a vicious, dipping shot over Boruc and into the top corner. Make sure you see it later – it was a really marvellous strike. Game over, and this is what Saints deserve on their second-half performance.
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83 min: Fraser’s left-sided cross is deflected across goal but there is nobody waiting to convert, which annoys the home fans. They win another corner seconds later though, from which Van Dijk clear Ibe’s delivery.
82 min: Bournemouth corner, their first of the half. It’s sent right into Forster’s paws. An abject waste.
81 min: Redmond brings the ball forwards on the left, sets his sights and curls a right-footed dipper only just over. That would have closed the matter.
80 min: Some lengthy Bournemouth possession around the edge of the box is closed out by a fine Davis tackle on Wilshere. Davis has been the game’s best player since his arrival.
78 min: Another yellow, now for Davis, who sends Smith tumbling.
77 min: Clasie is booked for blocking Wilshere, who has stepped up a gear after a very quiet half so far. A few signs of a Bournemouth revival but it needs to happen soon.
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75 min: No shot, it goes short to Arter and takes some time to make its way into the box. Modest pressure is sustained until a Fraser header falls into Forster’s arms.
74 min: There is a wall of five Saints midfielders in front of Bournemouth whenever they try and build something. But one of them, Hojbjerg, now fouls Wilshere in shooting range...
72 min: Better from Bournemouth and Cook finds Francis for a right-sided cross. The home fans want a handball from Bertrand but it was more like midriff. They will now bring Jordon Ibe on for King.
69 min: Davis is at the heart of everything Saints do and almost releases Bertrand with a neat flick. They look much likelier to score again than Bournemouth do to equalise.
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67 min: Redmond sends Bertrand down to the line and his chip beyond the back post finds a poised Hojbjerg, who lashes past Boruc but sees Ake hack away from a yard or two in front of the line.
66 min: Good spell of Southampton pressure, with Tadic to the fore immediately, and they win a corner. Boruc catches Bertrand’s delivery with no fuss.
64 min: And another Bournemouth change. Wilson off and Afobe, who he’d replaced in the starting lineup, on.
62 min: But then King gets the chance to stretch those legs out and sprint towards the box. For a moment it’s three against two, and he could just carry on and take on Van Dijk, but his ball left finds neither Fraser nor Wilson and the chance goes. Southampton replace the patchy Boufal with Tadic. Boufal looks annoyed.
60 min: Noticeable in this half is that Puel’s side are allowing Bournemouth much, much less time on the ball.
58 min: Bournemouth look really vulnerable now and Rodriguez, mugging Cook by the byline, runs inside and looks to power past Boruc from a sharp angle on the left. The goalkeeper comes out and blocks the shot really well.
56 min: Wilshere chips in to Pugh, who goes down after Yoshida slides in, and Bournemouth hope for a penalty but it goes the other way. We’ll see no more of Pugh – he’s replaced by Liverpool slayer Ryan Fraser!
54 min: Southampton’s fans are asking the home faithful how poor their team must be considering they’ve allowed Saints to score twice away. Not in as many words. They’d have had three if Boufal, dancing away down the left, had found Redmond with his final pass just then.
53 min: King takes the ball into the box and then lays left to Wilson, who takes it first-time but goes well over. The hosts need a response.
52 min: Perhaps they’ll look to turn the screw instead. But when they win a corner, they play it short and are then stupidly caught offside.
51 min: Imagine Saints will try and lock the door now – although Redmond gets to the line and his cross is cleared ahead of Rodriguez. They started this half the sharper and were rewarded.
Goal! Bournemouth 1-2 Southampton (Rodriguez 48)
And what that won’t tell you is just how well the half-time change worked! Davis, in trademark fashion, bursts into the right hand side of the box via a sublime Boufal backheel, draws Boruc from an angle and then centres for Rodriguez to slide in and finish from inches! That is exactly what Davis was brought on for – and it has paid instant dividends!
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46 min: Early chance for Redmond, teed up by an awful Francis header – but Ake comes over to take the sting out of his shot and Boruc saves. Escape for the home side there.
Peeeeeep! Second half begins!
They have changed ends.
Half-time sub for Saints: Davis on for Reed in midfield. Reed has done OK in his first start for a long, long time – but I call this an upgrade.
Wonder if Saints will find that Redmond miss costly. Clear chances have been few, all told. What do YOU think?
Half-time: Bournemouth 1-1 Southampton
The visitors finish the half with probably their longest spell of possession, and that’s your lot. Early goals traded between Ake and Bertrand, and a rattling first 25 minutes or so, before things calmed down rather. All to play for. I’ll be back.
44 min: Yoshida has had a good half and anticipates well to stop Daniels reaching the byline. Not the first time I’ve said something like that. Fonte watches on.
43 min: You’ll note that the speed – and much of the quality – has dropped over the last 10 or 15 minutes. Neither side looks particularly like being carved open anymore.
42 min: Bertrand just about reaches a ball down the line but can’t wrap his foot around the cross and his acceleration leads him to vault the advertising hoardings, which causes a chuckle.
39 min: Boufal is quite a talent but sums up his half with a wonderful piece of skill in the middle before an outside-of-the-boot pass straight to Pugh.
37 min: Daniels does well to intercept a through ball intended for Rodriguez and sets a counterattack in train, from which Pugh runs up the left and crosses for Wilson to head fairly harmlessly at Forster.
34 min: Boufal goes down dramatically on the edge of the area under Wilshere’s challenge but Clattenburg isn’t having it. Moments later, when play finally stops, he books Boufal for what replays show was an egregious dive when he’d made room for a shot.
33 min: A lengthy, Wilshere-dictated spell of home possession ends with Pugh trying to be too clever and ceding it.
30 min: Southampton are certainly giving as good as they get now. They’re starting to control the ball rather better ... and should take the lead! It’s Bertrand running down the left, cutting back wonderfully for Redmond, and he lets the ball run across his body before completely miscuing from 12 yards! If he connects properly, which he should do, it’s a goal.
28 min: Yet another Bournemouth corner, won by Wilshere from Reed, and they go short again but end up in their own half. Not really the idea.
26 min: Arter gives the ball away to Hojbjerg, who has not started the game well, and that pattern continues with a ballooned 25-yarder.
25 min: Bournemouth are still causing most of the problems. Their movement is very sharp .. although, of course, as I write that Boufal nudges Redmond through to the byline and his low centre across goal is desperately hacked away. I think that was Redmond’s first real involvement.
22 min: Yoshida again is sharp to thwart King after Hojbjerg gets into a rather unseemly tangle in midfield that threatens to send the forward away.
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21 min: For the first time, a lull. The match has been played at remarkable pace.
19 min: Smith’s cross deflects and falls to Pugh, whose shot cannons wide off Cedric. Bournemouth win another corner. Arter swings towards the far post but Forster claims. Breathless stuff so far.
17 min: Boufal is now involved more positively, benefiting from more overplaying by Wilshere on the edge of the box but seeing his shot deflect off Cook and into Boruc’s arms.
16 min: Boufal has a nibble at Wilson after being fouled by the striker. He gets a word in his ear, as does his opponent. Heck of a start to this game; two goals and full of fizz and crackle.
Goal! Bournemouth 1-1 Southampton (Bertrand 14)
But now it’s all square! There’s little on when Bertrand receives the ball wide on the left but, slaloming inside Smith rather easily, he works his way into the box and, given time to size up a shot, cracks a superb one across Boruc and into the far corner. That had not been on the cards.
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13 min: Could have been two! A sumptuous switch from Steve Cook sends Francis galloping all the way down towards the corner flag; he loses the ball, wins it back and finds King, who jinks inside his man before firing in a left-footer that Forster does just about enough to block, recovering to gather as it spins behind him.
11 min: Darting run from Smith down that left side now, before Pugh crosses too high. Home side’s tails well and truly up.
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10 min: Bournemouth have looked composed since the goal and Daniels has a go at Cedric down the left before Yoshida comes across to clear. Saints need to make sure they keep a foothold.
8 min: Just what the doctor ordered for neutrals, there. It had been a really high-paced start. Ake is really looking like a player, isn’t he?
Goal! Bournemouth 1-0 Southampton (Ake 6)
What a start! Bournemouth win a second corner and it’s headed behind for a third. This time they work it short and out to Wilshere, beyond the right corner of the area, who floats in a superb ball towards the back stick. Ake, flinging himself ahead of Hojbjerg, heads low inside Forster’s near post!
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4 min: Now Saints win a corner and Bertrand takes. Boruc gets across to fist clear at his near post before Bertrand, with a second bite, fires into the crowd.
3 min: It’s twice-taken, but cleared at the second time of asking. “The south coast is ours” is the home fans’ early refrain.
2 min: And now Smith wins a corner for Bournemouth. Open start here...
1 min: Some early trickery from Boufal on the left, before Wilshere almost plays Bournemouth into trouble inside his own box, but the danger is cleared.
Peeeeeeep!
“Clatts”, as he probably likes players to call him, starts us off. Bournemouth kick from right to left. Saints play in white shirts, red shorts.
The oddest piece of team news today might be Maya Yoshida’s selection in place of Jose Fonte. Saints have made six changes, including an all-new midfield. Bold.
@NickAmes82 Yeah, the only people from Southampton who think we hate Bournemouth are the sort who also think Upper Shirley is a real place.
— Primordius Nul (@PrimordiusNul) December 18, 2016
Ooooof.
The teams are walking out at what we used, once upon a time, call Dean Court. You ready?
Puel: “[Goalscoring] is a job for all the players. Sometimes we have to take more responsibility, perhaps. At the moment it’s a pity because we can do many good things on the ground but are not taking many chances and we must correct this. It’s important to be more clinical.”
Sky’s mic is exemplary.
Ben Hendy is somewhere close to the fence, it seems:
“Born and bred in Southampton but universitied in Bournemouth leading up to the turn of the century. I ended up going to most of Bournemouth’s home games in my last two years, witnessing the start of what we thought could be an England level career for a 19 year old centre back by the name of Eddie Howe (whatever happened to him?), as well as a debut own goal for on loan star John O’Shea, amongst other highlights.
“I always found it kind of cute how the Bournemouth fans would chant anti-Southampton songs while Saints fans were either neutral or had a bit or a soft spot the Cherries. A rivalry isn’t a rivalry if the other team doesn’t consider it one and from a Saints perspective all the hatred is directed at Pompey and Pompey alone. Personally I’m delighted by Bournemouth and Howe’s success and this game is a tricky one for my allegiances. I just hope it’s an entertaining one.”
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@NickAmes82 I don't hate Bournemouth. More a friendly rivalry than anything. I'd not be more upset at losing this than Palace (for example).
— Martin St. Hill (@MartinStHill) December 18, 2016
A Saints fan speaks.
Haven’t heard any pre-match chat from Puel yet. I’m yet to attend a Southampton game this season but someone recently told me that Puel has the quietest voice in football – apparently even those in the front row struggle at his press conferences. I’d just invest in stronger mics.
Eddie Howe speaks:
“This year we’ve done very well at home, we’ve played at a good tempo.”
On bringing in Callum Wilson up front for Benik Afobe:
“Just rotating the workload and keeping players fresh.”
If you support one of these clubs, please tell me how you feel about the other. I covered the game at St Mary’s last season and the antagonism seemed fairly low-level: mainly involved Bournemouth fans voicing discontent that, in their opinion, they have to contribute a disproportionate amount of money to their opposite numbers’ standard of living.
Of course. Of course. “El Clasicoast”. Forgive me, it’s early.
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I’ll not talk too much yet as there is a lot of other stuff going on. Yer man has just put Real Madrid 3-2 up in the World Club Cup final, during extra-time – here’s Lawrence Ostlere’s MBM.
And in the Championship, Simon Burnton is taking in QPR v Villa. He’s seen a missed penalty already.
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Today's teams
AFC Bournemouth: Boruc; Francis, Steve Cook, Ake, Daniels; Arter, Wilshere; Adam Smith, King, Pugh; Callum Wilson. Subs: Gosling, Afobe, Brad Smith, Federici, Fraser, Mings, Ibe.
Southampton: Forster; Cedric, Yoshida, van Dijk, Bertrand; Reed, Clasie, Hojbjerg; Boufal, Rodriguez, Redmond. Subs: Fonte, Long, Davis, Tadic, Martina, Ward-Prowse, Taylor.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Afternoon
Welcome to El ... errrr ... one of the south coast derbies. It’s looking like a Premier League fixture, this one, after a long time away until last season – so expect a feisty one down at the Vitality Stadium.
How feisty? Well, both sides have the same goal for the afternoon – three points and seventh place, which would be the prize at least until Everton face Liverpool tomorrow night. Bournemouth, in particular, feel fairly buoyant – sure, they tend to win one, lose one, but it’s been entertaining and their last two home games have brought successes over Liverpool ... spectacularly ... and Leicester. Before that, Sunderland travelled down and toppled them – so what do we know?
Southampton, currently ninth, sit above them with a goal difference two better. It’s been fairly slow and steady for Claude Puel’s team, for whom four points from the last two games have done something to quieten a few mumblings about the excitement on offer. They don’t score many though – only 14 goals, the same as Hull – and while they’re about where you might expect to see them in the table there’s a sense that people want more.
We’re about to give you a whole lot more. Stay close for buildup and live action – and ping your emails and tweets over too.
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Nick will be here shortly.
