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Bournemouth vs Norwich City. Premier League.

3:00pm, Saturday 19th October 2019.

Vitality StadiumAttendance10,669.

Bournemouth 0-0 Norwich: Canaries pick up first away point

Report and highlights as Teemu Pukki and Dominic Solanke go closest

Ron Walker

Digital Football Journalist @Ronnabe

Saturday 19 October 2019 18:35, UK

Bournemouth and Norwich both earned their first clean sheets of the season as they played out a drab 0-0 draw at the Vitality Stadium.

In a game including only three shots on target, Bournemouth came closest before half-time when Dominic Solanke turned Callum Wilson's clever reverse pass goalwards, but Tim Krul saved.

After the break, Teemu Pukki's low effort tested Aaron Ramsdale as Norwich began to take control, while Cherries substitute Arnaut Danjuma's shot was held by Krul at the other end.

The point keeps Norwich second-bottom of the Premier League but does get them off the mark away from Carrow Road, but Bournemouth will rue missing a fine chance to cement their top-half hopes with a sluggish performance.

Norwich step it up to earn first away point

Coming into the game off a battering by Aston Villa on home soil, Norwich boss Daniel Farke had a job on his hands to get his players back up for another fixture on the road - having lost all four away from home so far this season.

Bournemouth smelt blood early on but could not turn their dominance of possession into anything concrete, and Norwich used their bright defensive showing to grow in confidence.

That confidence was almost burst in an instant when Wilson's superb hold-up play left Solanke with the job of slotting home, but the striker's wait for a first Bournemouth goal went on when he shot straight at Krul.

After half-time, the Canaries improved again and could have snatched the lead if Pukki had connected better with an effort from outside the area, which Ramsdale still needed to be alert to save.

Bournemouth were stuttering until the introduction of Danjuma which did briefly spur them into life, and he went close when he turned inside Todd Cantwell only to send a low effort straight at Krul.

That was as good as it got for the hosts, who were booed by a small section of their home support when the full-time whistle went, leaving Norwich to celebrate their first point on the road this season.

Man of the match: Ibrahim Amadou

Norwich's increasingly full-time centre-back Amadou arrived at Carrow Road primarily as a defensive midfielder at the start of the season, but has filled in at the back during their injury crisis to good effect.

Bournemouth put plenty of balls into the box with Norwich sitting deep but he gobbled up everything thrown at him, making more interceptions than anyone else in a yellow shirt and also more clearances.

What the managers said

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "Someone said to me before the game, we're guaranteed goals today, and obviously it wasn't to be. We huffed and puffed, started the game well, I thought we could go on from there but we flat-lined from there.

"You have to be positive about a first clean sheet, another point, but I just don't think we held our own in the final third. We put in a lot of crosses from deep, which isn't really our game."

Norwich boss Daniel Farke: "It's a great point, a first clean sheet, and in the circumstances having to play with four injured centre-backs. I love Manchester City but I would like to see them play with [Ilkay] Gundogan and [David] Silva having to play centre-back! I can't praise the lads enough.

"I'm a bit disappointed if anything, we had the momentum in the second half and I would have preferred the three points, it would have been a massive step, but I'm happy with one point."

Opta facts

Norwich's tally of seven points is their lowest after nine league games of a season since 2012-13, also in the Premier League, when they also had seven.
This stalemate ended a seven-game losing run away from home in the Premier League for Norwich, and was their first draw on the road in the competition in 20 such games since a 2-2 draw at West Ham in September 2015.
This was Bournemouth's first goalless draw in the Premier League in almost exactly a year, having last played out a goalless stalemate on October 20th 2018 against Southampton, 364 days ago.