SAK WHACK HAS EAGLES ON RACK

Hodgson fuming after defender’s moment of madness

ROY HODGSON was left fuming after Mamadou Sakho gifted Bournemouth all three points with a moment of madness.

Crystal Palace’s former Liverpool defender, 28, elbowed Jefferson Lerma in the box – right in front of referee Mike Dean – with just three minutes left.

Substitute Junior Stanislas – who had come on just three minutes earlier – ended a fiercely-contested affair with the resulting penalty.

It was a result which lifted Eddie Howe’s team up to seventh. But it also saw the Bournemouth boss breathe a sigh of relief after his men nearly threw it away.

Highly-rated Wales midfielder David Brooks lit up the Vitality Stadium after just five minutes with an outstanding, curling effort in off the bar. At just 21 years and 84 days, Brooks also became the youngest player to score for the Cherries in the Premier League.

Eyebrows were raised in the summer when Howe splashed out £10million to sign him from Sheffield United – after only nine Football League starts.

It looks to have been money well spent, though, with Brooks displaying a maturity that suggests he could have a long, fruitful career in a Bournemouth shirt ahead of him.

The trouble was, for all their subsequent first-half dominance – and the Cherries completely bossed it during the first 45 minutes – they just could not finish Palace off.

Adam Smith and Ryan Fraser combined to cause havoc down the left with Nathan Ake heading wide after 12 minutes. Fraser even popped up on a set-piece from the right, sweeping in a high ball from which Steve Cook headed straight at Eagles keeper Wayne Hennessey. Hodgson’s sleepy side could not possibly be as bad during the second period. They weren’t.

Palace reappeared to take the game to their hosts, who came back patting themselves on the back, believing it was job done.

Within nine minutes of the restart they knew better. Wilf Zaha set Patrick van Aanholt free on the left and, from inside the box, the Dutch left-back sent his rising drive past Asmir Begovic.

You felt for Bournemouth. Van Aanholt looked offside and, from almost total control, they were suddenly staring down the barrel of a smash-and-grab raid.

The tension began to tell on some of their stars with James Tomkins involved in a face-off with Cook which continued after the final whistle.

Yet the hosts were left grateful for Sakho’s premeditated act which left him facing the wrath of manager Hodgson.