THE BOURNE SUPREMACY
Cherries pounce after Kasper cock-up
IF BOURNEMOUTH do survive this nervy relegation fight they will have to send a thank you card to Kasper Schmeichel.
The Cherries were staring down the barrel of another defeat at the Vitality Stadium after Jamie Vardy bundled in his 23rd goal of the season.
But then Schmeichel, out of nowhere in the 66th minute, blasted a clearance straight into Wilfred Ndidi.
The ball rebounded to Callum Wilson, who raced in and when Ndidi brought him down, Junior Stanislas stepped up and nervelessly scored the penalty.
Suddenly, where there had only been gloom as the sun set in the Dorset sky, there was hope.
Bournemouth pulled off one of the great escapes in football in 2009 when, under current boss Eddie Howe, they won their last three games to escape relegation from the Football League.
And a minute after the penalty leveller, suddenly it seemed as if another Great Escape might be on.
Wilson played Dominic Solanke clear and the former Chelsea and Liverpool striker slid the ball under the advancing Schmeichel.
It was the £17m man’s first goal Bournemouth – in 39 league games.
And to make matters worse for Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers, defender Caglar Soyuncu was sent off for booting Wilson, who had followed the ball into the goal, in frustration.
As a turnaround it was incredible and it was not finished there.
A Jonny Evans own goal made it 3-1 seven minutes from time before the rout was completed by Solanke in the 87th minute.
The omens had been bad for for Howe from the start last night, when striker Josh King was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Leicester, back in form after wobbly start to their return, were always likely to be awkward opponents and the Cherries looked nervous from the start.
Rodgers has warned his Foxes side not to think about the Champions League and they looked focussed.
Twice Vardy went close and when Dan Gosling lost the ball, Ayoze Perez played in Kelechi Iheanacho.
He lifted the ball over Aaron Ramsdale but Lloyd Kelly blocked on the line. In though came Vardy to bundle the ball over the line.
There was a sense of instant gloom over Bournemouth all of a sudden and every time Leicester came forward they looked like scoring.
The hosts kept fighting, though, and David Brooks forced a brilliant save out of Schmeichel with a 30-yard effort.
Rodgers’ side could not find the killer second goal and the second half proved a vastly different affair to the first.
After Schmeichel’s calamity and Soyuncu’s red card Leicester folded like a deck of cards.
Individual errors and bad decision making leave their Champions League dream hanging by a thread now.
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