Key events
47 min: Oof! Antoine Semenyo gets between defenders and smashes a header off the crossbar after getting on the end of a Kluivert cross. He should have scored!
Second half: Bournemouth 1-1 Brentford
46 min: Play resumes and in a half-time interview with Sky Sports, Andoni Iraola says he thought his team started well but dropped off after the first 20 minutes. Needless to say, he says he hopes his players start the second half in the same way they started the first. There are no changes in personnel on either side.
An email: “You’ve got the wrong Tavernier brother at 42 mins Barry,” writes Gerry Scott. “James is currently struggling to get to sleep worrying about what Daizen Maeda is going to do to him tomorrow.”
Half-time: Bournemouth 1-1 Brentford
Peep! Craig Pawson draws the first half to a close with a shrill blast of his whistle and the sides adjourn to their respective dressing-rooms with the scores all square. Bournemouth went ahead when Vitaly Janelt unwittingly diverted a Milos Kirkez cross into his own net but their opener was cancelled out by a towering header from Yoane Wissa from Bryan Mbeumo’s corner kick. It’s been an end-to-end game, with plenty of ebb and flow. More please …
45+1 min: Antoine Semenyo tries his luck with a shot from just outside the Brentford penalty area. His effort sails over the bar. And that’s yer lot for the first half …
44 min: It’s been an entertaining first half, with both sides landing punches. Brentford have probably had the better of the chances but are lacking a little bit of cutting-edge up front. We’ll have a minute of added time before the break.
42 min: James Marcus Tavernier plays a slide rule pass to Evanilson in the Brentford box. With his back to goal, the Brazilian controls the ball, turns and sends a low diagonal effort wide of the far upright.
40 min: Schade turns on his afterburners, gets the run on Huijsen down the ringht wing and squares the ball across the face of the Bournemouth goal. Incredibly, there’s nobody in a pink shirt on hand to tap it home.
38 min: Not as adept at getting the ball on target at the end of the pitch that matters, Janelt blazes over under pressure from a Bournemouth defender after connecting with a Kristoffer Ajer pullback from the byline. It was Damsgaard who played Ajer in behind with a beautifully weighted pass.
35 min: Dean Huijsen curls a wonderful ball across the face of the Brentford goal, picking out Evanilson at the far post. The Bournemouth striker stretches every sinew in his attempt to steer the ball underneath the crossbar but Flekken saves.
34 min: Another Brentford corner and the ball breaks to Schade, who fires narrowly wide with his shot on the turn. That was a decent chance!
32 min: Springheeled Yoane Wissa jumped early to reach that Mbeumo delivery and seemed to hang in the air. Kepa rushed out to try to claim the ball but didn’t get near it, making the Brentford striker’s task easier.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-1 Brentford (Wissa 30)
Brentford equalise! Bryan Mbeumo sends the corner to the far post, where Wissa rises unchallenged to send a header past Kepa. It looked fairly straightforward, but Wissa rushes to the Brentford bench to celebrate with Keith Andrews, the set-piece coach.
30 min: Tyler Adams punches the air in celebration after sliding in to prevent Damsgaard pulling the ball into the penalty from the byline. His celebration is shortlived as Brentford score from the corner …
28 min: Kerkez intercepts a Yoane Wissa pass and Bournemouth advance. A Justin Kluivert effort from distance deflects off Janelt but on this occasion, Flekken is on hand to prevent the ball trundling past him.
26 min: Not a great deal happens at considerable length. Four minutes to be exact. Brentford are on the ball and Wissa latches on to a pass in behind from Norgaard only to slice his shot from a narrow angle horribly wide.
22 min: Wissa plays a decent ball into Kevin Schade in a dangerous position not too far from the penalty spot, but a poor touch ruins any chance the German had of getting a shot away. It’s not quite happening for Brentford when they get near the Bournemouth goal.
20 min: Christian Norgaard receives a pass inside from Bryan Mbeumo and stands the ball up at the far post, where Kevin Schade cannot get enough power on his downward header to trouble Kepa Arrizabalaga.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Brentford (Janelt 18og)
Bournemouth lead! The ball is played wide to Semenyo, who picks out a good underlapping run up his inside by Kerkez. His cross is diverted into the Brentford net off the shoulder of Vitaly Janelt.
16 min: Brentford win a throw-in just inside their own half and Keane Lewis-Potter pleads with somebody, anybody in a Brentford shirt to make a run so he can chuck the ball their way. With a pianed expression on his face, he throws it straight to somebody in a Bournemouth shirt.
14 min: Ethan Pinnock ambles upfield and seven-irons a long pass towards Kevin Schade, who is beaten in the air. Bournemouth clear their lines.
12 min: Keane Lewis-Potter glides into the Bournemouth with the ball at his feet but eschews an excellent shooting opportunity in favour of laying the ball off to Kevin Schade, who almost certainly wasn’t expecting the pass and miscontrols. Another good Brentford chance goes to waste.
11 min: Vitaly Janelt picks out Mikkel Damsgaard with a pull-back from the byline but the Brentford midfielder’s first touch in the Bournemouth penalty area is a poor one. A good chance goes a begging.
9 min: Dean Huijsen advances towards the Brentford penalty area and unleashes a shot. Nathan Collins sticks out a leg to put the ball out for a corner, from which nothing comes.
8 min: Bournemouth corner, their first of the game. Kluivert’s inswinger is punched clear bvy Mark Flekken.
7 min: Milos Kerkez tries to pick out Semenyo with a long ball from deep but overhits his pass. The ball bounces all the way through to Mark Flekken in the Brentford goal.
6 min: Bournemouth get forward again and Evanilson has a shot from just outside the penalty area blocked moments after Antoine Semenyo had gone to ground just beside him. Bournemouth’s fans appeal for a penalty but tellingly, the home players don’t.
3 min: Play is stopped as Keane Lewis-Potter goes to ground with a head injury after landing face first on the turf following an aerial challenge with Marcus Tavernier. He’s OK.
2 min: An early chance for Bournemouth as Milos Kerkez shoots through traffic after being teed up by a Semenyo pull-back. He doesn’t get enough welly on his shot to trouble Mark Flekken unduly.
Bournemouth v Brentford is go …
1 min: Bournemouth get the ball rolling on a sunny evening at the Vitality Stadium. They wear their usual home kit, while the players of Brentford are a vision in pink shirts, maroon shorts and pink socks.
Not long now: Referee Craig Pawson and his fellow match officials lead both sets of players out for what will hopefully be a sort of Derby of Nice between two of the top flight’s more entertaining, largely likeable and inoffensive teams.
Lewis Cook and Christian Norgaard are the skippers, with the former possibly wondering what he has to do to get in an England squad where a 34-year-old Ajax substitute is getting the nod ahead of him. OK, so Cook has been playing at right-back for a lot of this season but for my money there is no better English defensive midfielder. It’s criminal that he only has one cap to his name, which came seven years ago.
Andoni Iraola: “We’re in a good moment”
Asked about his side’s recent wobble in form during his pre-match press conference, Andoni Iraola pointed out that while his side’s last three results might have been poor, their performances were decent. “The worst game [against Wolves] was different because we had 10 players. Against Brighton and Spurs, we played very good games against good opposition. We only got one point, but we kept the same level of performance. To win games we have to change things, but I think we’re in a good moment.”
On Brentford: “They’re always efficient,” he said. “They don’t change their starting XI a lot and their game management is really good. They’ve scored late goals against us in games we should have taken more points from. We have to be complete and play the 100 minutes because they’re always there and solid in their performance.”
A manager who is almost certainly on the radar of more elite clubs than Bournemouth, Iraola has become accustomed to being asked about his future. “I’m very happy,” he said yesterday. “I’ve said it a lot of times.”
Thomas Frank: “They are having an excellent season”
Thomas Frank was effusive in his praise for both his own team and Bournemouth during his pre-match press conference. “Bournemouth have been really, really impressive,” the Brentford manager said.
“They are the best team in the league on these half transitions. They pick up the second ball and drive forward with their front four. They are having an excellent season. Both teams are having an excellent season. I like the way they press, they press extremely aggressively. We need to do well against that pressure. They’re very good at playing direct and in behind, which is what they constantly do, and do very well.”
Frank also added that, like the rest of us no doubt, he is looking forward to this evening’s battle between his right winger Bryan Mbeumo and Bournemouth’s highly regarded left-back Milos Kerkez.
An email: “What a season it has been for Forest!” writes Krishnamoorthy. “Brian Clough would have been so proud. How many of the Guardian writers guessed Forest in the top four, honestly?”
I have no idea how many Guardian writers tipped Forest to finish in the top four but my educated guess would be none. I can only speak for myself and I tipped them to be relegated.
Needless to say, I am looking forward to all those Forest fans blessed with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight ridiculing me for my stupidity, while overlooking the fact that they almost certainly presumed their team would struggle too.
I’m also not convinced that Brian Clough would be proud of this Forest side. My guess is that he would be appalled by a style of play in which they habitually concede the lion’s share of possession to their opponents and try to hit them on the break. I’m not sure Old Big ‘Ead would approve of that approach at all, however successful it might be for Nuno’s side.
Today’s Premier League results
Wolves get over the line against Southampton, while Ipswich’s defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest means the side from Molineux are nine points clear of the drop zone. Forest are now just a point behind Arsenal in second, albeit having played one game more.
Manchester City’s draw with Brighton leaves them in fifth place, one point clear of Newcastle and the Seagulls, with tomorrow’s Carabao Cup finalists from the north-east having played one game fewer. A win for Bournemouth today will take them to sixth place in the table, a point behind City.
Today’s match officials
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Referee: Craig Pawson.
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Assistants: Timothy Wood and Wade Smith.
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Fourth official: David Webb.
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VAR: Paul Tierney.
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Assistant VAR: Lee Betts.
Those teams: As expected, Illia Zabarnyi returns from the Naughty Step to take his place in Bournemouth’s defence. It’s Andoni Iraola’s only change to the team that lined up against Spurs last weekend. James Hill drops to the bench, having deputised ably for Zabarnyi during his suspension.
Brentford field the same side that started their game against Aston Villa last weekend, a match in which they had two legitimate penalty appeals turned down and were perhaps a little unlucky to lose.
Bournemouth v Brentford line-ups
Bournemouth: Arrizabalaga, Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez, Christie, Adams, Tavernier, Kluivert, Semenyo, Evanilson.
Subs: Dennis, Brooks, Scott, Ouattara, Sinisterra, Soler, Jebbison, Hill, Winterburn.
Brentford: Flekken, Ajer, Collins, Pinnock, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Janelt, Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade, Wissa.
Subs: Valdimarsson, Van den Berg, Mee, Yarmolyuk, Konak, Maghoma, Kim, Morgan, Fredrick.
Early team news
Regularly serenaded by Bournemouth fans who have tailored the lyrics of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ in homage to their Ukrainian centre-back, Illia Zabarnyi is expected to start today after serving a three-match ban. Out injured since November, Julian Araujo and Marcos Senesi are both back in training but will not feature today. Adam Smith and Enes Unal remain sidelined.
During his pre-match press conference, Thomas Frank said there is “a good chance” Brentford defender Sepp van den Berg will be back today after three matches out with a knee injury. Michael Kayode, Aaron Hickey and Rico Henry are all back in full training but are unlikely to be fit enough to feature, while Josh Dasilva, Igor Thiago, Fabio Carvalho and Gustavo Nunes are all out.
Premier League: Bournemouth v Brentford
Without a win in three Premier League games following defeats at the hands of Wolves and Brighton followed by last Sunday’s draw against Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth welcome a Brentford side seeking a club record fifth consecutive top flight win on the road to the Vitality Stadium.
Despite their poor recent results, Bournemouth haven’t actually played that badly and actually monstered Spurs last Sunday, only to gift them a point courtesy of an act of unnecessary largesse on the part of their goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Qualification for next season’s Champions League remains a very real possibility for Andoni Iraola’s side but this evening they host a Brentford side with European aspirations of their own. Kick-off at the Vitality Stadium is at 5.30pm (GMT) but we’ll have team news and build-up in the meantime.