BY TOM PRENTKI | Bournemouth are back in the big time. There is indeed life after Eddie Howe in this corner of Dorset.
Kieffer Moore struck late to seal the Cherries’ return to the top flight and end Nottingham Forest’s automatic promotion hopes.
Moore, on as a second half substitute for Jefferson Lerma, brilliantly converted Philip Billing’s disguised free-kick and ensured that Bournemouth’s stay in the Championship lasted only two seasons.
With hundreds of millions of pounds potentially at stake for the winners of this shootout between second and third, it was no surprise that this was cagey but that won’t bother Scott Parker.
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Parker will now join his old club Fulham in the Premier League. Forest enter the lottery of the Playoffs.
This game didn’t need any extra edge, but it had one. Forest made a formal complaint to the EFL after Bournemouth called off this fixture in February just four and a half hours before kick-off, a decision which came too late for many of the travelling support who had already made the 200-mile trip.
It came following the advice of the club’s Safety Advisory Group who said the game should not go ahead due to damage caused to the Vitality Stadium by Storm Eunice.
It led to some bad blood between the two sets of supporters, with Bournemouth having a number of senior players out injured at the time and Forest wanting the fixture to be played the next day.
Championship table
Fulham P45 W27 D9 L9 PTS 90 GD+67
Bournemouth P45 W24 D13 L8 PTS 85 GD+34
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Nottingham Forest P45 W23 D10 L12 PTS 79 GD+33
Huddersfield P45 W22 D13 L10 PTS 79 GD+15
Sheffield United P45 W20 D12 L13 PTS 72 GD+14
Luton P45 W20 D12 L13 PTS 72 GD+7
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Middlesbrough P45 W20 D10 L15 PTS 70 GD+12
Millwall P45 W18 D15 L12 PTS 69 GD+9Who needs what?
- Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield are guaranteed play-off spots and will host the second legs of their semi-finals
- Nottingham Forest only need to match Huddersfield’s result to guarantee third place
- Millwall need to win and hope Luton lose, or a win and a Sheffield United loss with a five-goal swing
- Middlesbrough have to win and hope Luton or Sheffield United lose; a Luton draw and Middlesbrough win would also see Chris Wilder’s side go up if Sheffield United lose
It was just another narrative to weave into this fascinating clash with so much riding on it.
On such occasions it is often those with the most mental fortitude who emerge victorious and the best early chance went the way of Steve Cooper’s side with former Cherry Sam Surridge crashing a shot against the bar on nine minutes after being found by Djed Spence.
Surridge was joined in the Forest line up by Steve Cook, who played 351 times for Bournemouth before Scott Parker deemed him surplus to requirements in January.
A nasty clash of heads with Nat Phillips left Cook with a considerable amount of blood coming from the top of his head but he played on after twice receiving treatment. There was no chance he was missing this.
The visitors’ Philip Zinckernagel was the game’s best player in the first half and he broke down the left and pulled the ball across for Brennan Johnson whose shot was blocked by Jordan Zemura.
There was controversy to end the half as Bournemouth keeper caught Surridge as he skipped round him. Rather than a penalty, the referee indicated offside but the replays showed it was marginal.
Final day fixtures
All kick-off 12.30pm, Saturday 7 May
Teams still eligible for promotion via the play-offs in bold
- Bournemouth vs Millwall
- Birmingham vs Blackburn
- Stoke City vs Coventry
- West Brom vs Barnsley
- Huddersfield vs Bristol City
- Hull vs Nottingham Forest
- Luton vs Reading
- Preston vs Middlesbrough
- Sheffield United vs Fulham
- Swansea vs QPR
- Peterborough vs Blackpool
- Derby vs Cardiff
Bournemouth were dominating possession but struggling for a breakthrough. The nearly found one seven minutes into the second half as Ryan Christie found Dom Solanke who pivoted and fired into the side-netting.
The Cherries were finally finding their rhythm with Christie becoming increasingly prominent.
They suffered a blow when Lerma left the field with a hamstring injury to be replaced by Moore. Striker for midfielder – perhaps the best substitution Parker has ever made.
It was Forest who needed to go for it, but Bournemouth were showing more urgency.
Billing found himself clear as Ryan Yates slipped but the Danish midfielder lacked composure choosing neither shot nor cross as Brice Samba gratefully gathered the ball.
Play-off dates
- Friday, May 13: 6th vs 3rd (7.45pm)
- Saturday, May 14: 5th vs 4th (3pm)
- Monday, May 16: 3rd vs 6th (7.45pm)
- Tuesday, May 17: 4th vs 5th (7.45pm)
The Championship play-off final will then be played on Sunday, May 29.
There are no away goals in the play-off matches.
Moore was providing more of a focal point and he played a neat one-two with Jaidon Anthony whose angled shot was beaten away by Samba. But the pivotal moment came when Zemura ran infield and was tripped by Scott McKenna on the edge of the area.
Billing stepped up to strike the free kick but rolled it to his left where Moore finished first time into the bottom corner to put the cherry on Bournemouth’s promotion cake and spark a final-whistle pitch invasion.
For a club as storied as Forest, 23 years out of the Premier League is far too long. This may yet prove to be their year too.
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