Bournemouth vs West Ham United. Premier League.
Vitality StadiumAttendance10,729.
Report and highlights as Hammers rescue draw in topsy-turvy encounter on the south coast
Saturday 28 September 2019 21:04, UK
Aaron Cresswell's 74th-minute strike secured West Ham a hard-earned point from an entertaining 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
The Hammers took the lead when Andriy Yarmolenko struck his third Premier League goal in four games (10), but Bournemouth levelled when VAR overturned referee Stuart Attwell's on-field decision to rule out Joshua King's finish for offside (17).
The Cherries completed the turnaround 29 seconds into the second half through Callum Wilson's seventh goal in as many matches against West Ham, before Nathan Ake's strike for the hosts was correctly ruled out for offside.
But Cresswell, on target last weekend in his side's 2-0 win over Manchester United, had the final say, hauling the Hammers up to third in the table by firing home from Felipe Anderson's pull-back.
"I don't know where to start," said Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, whose side now sit seventh after a thrilling contest that included 30 attempts on goal.
"It was another game with so much to talk about but ultimately I'm left with a feeling of disappointment. We had a chance to go 3-1 up, so it's two points dropped."
Callum Wilson was guilty of missing the gilt-edged chance that Howe referenced, denied by West Ham's substitute goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez, having been put through by his namesake Harry Wilson - but a point apiece was a fair reflection of a contest that was open from start to finish.
Both sides were smarting from humiliating Carabao Cup exits at the hands of League One opposition in midweek, but in blustery conditions on the south coast, it was a strike of real quality that broke the deadlock after just 10 minutes.
The impressive Yarmolenko continued his scoring streak by collecting the ball, after Sebastien Haller's brilliant control and pass, to curl a trademark strike beyond Aaron Ramsdale.
But the visitors' lead lasted all of seven minutes as a well-worked corner involving Harry Wilson and Diego Rico resulted in Ake setting up King for a simple finish beyond Lukasz Fabianski.
Assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis immediately flagged for offside, but, upon VAR review, the decision was overturned with King fractionally behind the last defender.
West Ham were denied the chance to restore their lead on the stroke of half-time when Ramsdale saved superbly from Anderson's acrobatic effort.
By then, Lukasz Fabianski had been replaced by Roberto in the West Ham goal after pulling up with a thigh injury, and the Spaniard - on his first league appearance since April 2018 which came for Espanyol - was picking the ball out of his net immediately after the restart.
Attwell played a good advantage after Dominic Solanke was fouled in the build-up, before King set up Callum Wilson for a pinpoint finish at the near post, becoming the first Bournemouth player to score in four consecutive Premier League games.
Howe saw his side denied a third when Solanke was deemed to have been in an offside position when Ake struck via Rico's corner, but Callum Wilson ought to have then put the game to bed.
Roberto's save from point-blank range proved pivotal as West Ham levelled barely 90 seconds later, with Cresswell's shot deflecting past Ramsdale off Steve Cook as West Ham stretched their unbeaten Premier League run to six matches.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "It was quite an open game as we expected it to be. West Ham will probably look at their situations and be frustrated not to win, it was that type of game. But with the moment we had with 2-1 to 3-1 and we end up coming away with a 2-2, we're disappointed."
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini: "No, I never talked about the VAR decisions [with Howe at full-time]. I talk about the assistant coach of him [Jason Tindall], the complete game with the referee trying to pressurise in every decision.
"That's all what I complain [about], not about the VAR. It's his assistant. I think they don't need it because they are a good team that play offensive football.
"I think Eddie has done very good work here - his assistant doesn't need to do those kind of things because I don't think it's fair for the referee."
Yarmolenko is making up for lost time - having now netted three goals in his last four Premier League games, one more than he managed in his previous 11 (two).
The Ukrainian missed much of last season through an Achilles injury, but he was the stand-out performer, opening the scoring with a strike that was a carbon copy of his finish against Manchester United last weekend.
The former Dynamo Kiev wideman also played his part in levelling with his cross being worked back by Anderson for Cresswell's crisp finish.
Bournemouth travel to face Arsenal at Emirates Stadium next Sunday, kick-off at 2pm. West Ham host Crystal Palace, live on Sky Sports Premier League the previous day. Coverage starts at 5pm with kick-off at 5.30pm.
