Wilson’s heroic return makes Boro pay the penalty

CALLUM WILSON tucked away the penalty that sent Bournemouth into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and there couldn’t have been a more popular match-winner at the Vitality Stadium. The striker was making his first appearance since suffering an horrendous cruciate knee ligament injury in January. With the score at 1-1 and 15 minutes left, Middlesbrough’s Dael Fry dragged down Jack Simpson in the area, giving Wilson (right) the chance to make his return in style. He wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity, sending Dimi Konstantopoulos the wrong way to seal the win. It wasn’t the first time Fry had tried to get a grasp on 20-year-old debutant Simpson. He failed to get a grip on 49 minutes, with Simpson wriggling away to volley home Ryan Fraser’s corner for the opener. But their lead was short-lived, with another youngster, 18-year-old Marcus Tavernier, firing Boro level. It already looked like a long trip home for the Boro die-hards who made a 650-mile round trip and the hosts made sure when Benik Afobe slid in a third late on. Bournemouth had a grip on the game from the start, finding particular joy out wide, and they should have led by half-time. Lys Mousset headed home in the opening minutes and started celebrating — only to discover the linesman had correctly raised his flag for offside. Wilson got a hearty round of applause before kick-off on his return: a 32-minute hat-trick in a 4-2 win for the reserves at Southend last week gave him the scent for goals and he was only just off target when Charlie Daniels’ cross bounced his way. Boro improved as the game went on, with Adam Clayton driving a shot wide and the lively Adama Traore not too far away with an effort that curled away from the post. It was Traore’s lovely pass that set up Tavernier for the equaliser, but Boro’s brief revival was nipped in the bud by a local hero making the return he would have dreamed of.