Cherries put on brave show for battling Brooks
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THEIR early thoughts may have been directed towards David Brooks but Bournemouth soon set their minds on gliding to the Championship summit.
Both sets of fans gave a rousing and thunderous minute’s applause to the Cherries’ absent Wales star Brooks, who is starting treatment for stage two Hodgkin lymphoma.
There was also a warming moment when Bristol City supporters joined the away cheers after scorer Jamal Lowe held Brooks’ No.7 shirt aloft in celebration of putting his team ahead. His volley was emphatic in the 21st minute.
Jordan Zemura grabbed a breathtaking second in added time before the break, cutting in from the left and smashing the ball home. And the only real question was why Bournemouth did not score more. Cherries boss Scott Parker praised his side – but it might have been a different story if Nahki Wells had pulled a goal back for the visitors when he was a toenail width away from reaching a cross.
Parker said: “It was a superb performance. I thought we were top drawer in every aspect of our game.
“We were dynamic and had quality, although if I am being critical it should have been more than two goals.”
Parker was just as impressed by the fans’ response to Brooks’ cancer diagnosis as he was by his team-mates.
He added: “I said before that no matter what team you support or colours you wear, football has a knack of uniting in difficult moments.
“It was great to see the respect given to Brooksy from Bristol City.”
Robins boss Nigel Pearson has now gone 16 home matches without a win – the worst in the club’s history.
He said: “We have played okay at home this season and we should have won more games. But I don’t sense any real anxiety among the players.
“It is a record that’s quite bizarre. But it was a day when we were outplayed by a better team.”
BRISTOL CITY: Bentley 7; Tanner 6, Kalas 6, Baker 6, Pring 5 (Bakinson (66th) 5); James 5, King 4, Williams 5 (Wells (13th)
6); O’Dowda 7 (Dasilva (46th) 6), Weimann 5, Martin 4 BOURNEMOUTH: Travers 7; Stacey 7, Cahill 7, Kelly 8, Zemura
8; Kilkenny 7, Billing 7 (Stanislas 82nd), Christie 7 (Rogers
88th); Lowe 7 (Lerma (64th) 6), Solanke 6, Anthony 7 Jordan Zemura
G Ward