Practice pays as Stanislas hits bullseye
THE sight of Bournemouth scoring their first free-kick in the Premier League may have left manager Eddie Howe feeling ever so slightly smug on Saturday evening. It was January 2016 when, after selling Yann Kermorgant to Reading for £500,000, panic spread as Bournemouth realised they no longer had a recognised free-kick taker. Yet Howe had an idea. He sent Junior Stanislas on a crash course in the hope he could become a set-piece specialist, and against West Bromwich it paid off. All those sessions at the training complex and hours of ‘practice, practice, practice’ — as Howe described it — came down to one chance to score from 25 yards at the Vitality Stadium. Stanislas stood over the ball, then placed it into the top corner, taking Bournemouth a step closer to survival and a fourth season in the Premier League. They are turning into top-flight regulars. Do not underestimate the job Howe has done and is continuing to do at this club. ‘Until we are mathematically safe we keep going,’ Howe said after Stanislas’s 89th-minute strike. ‘I always appreciate every day in the Premier League. ‘We must never take it for granted or think we have a divine right to be here. We have to earn that right every single day. The players have given everything they can to try to achieve that. ‘It’s a difficult league, every point is so hard-fought, none more so than here. West Brom are a good team, even though their position is so tough for them.’ The last time Bournemouth scored from a free-kick in a league game was more than 1,000 days ago — Matt Ritchie against Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship in April 2015. What a time this was to end that drought. As the international break begins, Howe’s side sit 10th in the Premier League and are four points off that magic 40 mark. ‘They are a great group of players who want to win and who never know when they are beaten,’ Howe said. ‘And when you have those characteristics, you never quit.’ Bournemouth will fly to Dubai for warm-weather training but it is Alan Pardew and West Brom who are feeling the heat after a seventh successive league defeat. This was crushing for the Baggies because it told them that even when they play well, they lose. West Brom took the lead through Jay Rodriguez in the second half, then threw it all away. A blunder by goalkeeper Ben Foster allowed Jordon Ibe to score in the 77th minute, before Stanislas’s screamer. Pardew’s side sit bottom of the Premier League table, 10 points from safety. Worse still, they face losing Jonny Evans for just £3million this summer because of an escape clause in his contract in the event of relegation. Nothing is going their way.
AFC BOURNEMOUTH (4-4-2): Begovic 6; Francis 6 (Daniels 17min, 6), Cook 6, Ake 6, Smith 6 (Mousset 57, 6); Ibe 7, Gosling 6.5, Cook 6, STANISLAS 7.5; King 6, Wilson 6 (Defoe 73, 6). Subs not used: Boruc, Surman, Pugh, Fraser. Scorers: Ibe 77, Stanislas 89. Booked: Smith. Manager: Eddie Howe 6. WEST BROMWICH ALBION (5-3-2): Foster 4.5; Nyom 6, Dawson 5.5, Evans 5.5 (Phillips 77), Hegazi 5.5, Gibbs 5.5; Livermore 5.5, Yacob 6, Brunt 6 (Field 82); Rodriguez 6 (Robson-Kanu 86), Rondon 6.5. Subs not used: Myhill, McClean, Burke, Krychowiak. Scorer: Rodriguez 49. Booked: Dawson, Livermore. Manager: Alan Pardew 5.5. Referee: Graham Scott 6. Attendance: 10,242.