Burnley 1-2 Bournemouth: Callum Wilson's late strike sinks hosts

Richard Morgan

Football journalist @Richiereds1976

Thursday 17 May 2018 07:47, UK

Substitute Callum Wilson's injury-time strike saw Bournemouth come from behind to beat Burnley 2-1 on the final day of the season at Turf Moor on Sunday.

Burnley striker Chris Wood had opened the scoring six minutes before half-time thanks to a fortuitous close-range finish.

However, the visitors hit back in the second half, with first Joshua King equalising (74), before Wilson won it in the third minute of stoppage time.

As a result, Burnley - who will be playing Europa League football next season - stayed seventh in the Premier League, their best top-flight finish since 1974, while Eddie Howe's side remained 12th in the table.

The contest did not really come alive until the 20th minute when England hopeful Nick Pope had to be alert to keep out Lys Mousset's low drive after nice build-up play down the right by Jordon Ibe.

However, it was Burnley who went in ahead at the break thanks to a fortuitous goal from Wood - in for the injured Ashley Barnes - the striker's 11th in all competitions this season.

The hosts worked the ball around nicely, before Ashley Ward escaped to the left-hand byline and pulled the ball back for the waiting Ashley Westwood.

The midfielder - who has not scored all season - saw his goalbound strike deflect off Wood and into the back of the net, the New Zealand international's 11th goal in all competitions this season.

Bournemouth turned the game around in the second half, though, with two goals in the final quarter of an hour, the leveller an absolute beauty from King.

The visitors were initially unlucky not to equalise through substitute Jermain Defoe's bullet header, only for Pope to deny the substitute with an outstanding reaction stop.

However, Bournemouth kept the ball alive, before King curled an unstoppable shot into the top right-hand corner of the net, before a terrible mistake at the back gifted Howe's team their winner.

Burnley centre-back Kevin Long slipped over, allowing Defoe a clear run on goal, and the striker then drew in the final man before releasing the unmarked Wilson, who made no mistake with a composed finish.

England watch

Burnley No 1 Nick Pope gave England boss Gareth Southgate a reminder of his undoubted abilities with a string of eye-catching saves at Turf Moor, the best of which to deny Lys Mousset in the first half. James Tarkowski, meanwhile, turned in another solid display at the back for the hosts.

As for Bournemouth, Jermain Defoe’s late cameo off the bench - the veteran striker was unlucky not to score with a close-range header, before creating Callum Wilson’s winner – may have also given Southgate a timely nudge before he names his final 23-man squad for Russia.

Opta stats

Burnley have won the lowest percentage of their Premier League points in home games this season (48% - 26/54). Last season, they won a league-high 82.5% of their Premier League points at home (33/40)
Bournemouth have picked up a divisional-high 21 points from losing positions this season
The Cherries enjoyed their first-ever victory in 15 visits to Burnley in all competitions (D6 L8)
Wood has netted six goals in his last nine Premier League games this season, after scoring just four in his first 15
Wood is only the third Burnley player to score 10+ goals in a single Premier League campaign (10 goals), after Danny Ings in 14/15 (11) and Sam Vokes in 16/17 (10)
King netted his 30th Premier League goal for Bournemouth, 11 more than any other player for the Cherries
King has now scored in each of his last three Premier League appearances against Burnley; against no other side has he scored in more consecutive games in the competition (also in three in a row v Swansea)
Wilson's winner ended a run of 12 Premier League appearances from the attacker without a goal, his longest goal-drought in the competition

Managers

Sean Dyche: "Not the end we wanted to a magnificent season. Two horrible goals, no lack of effort, we had the game under control and then we gave two awful goals away.

"But that sometimes happens. My disappointment is about today though as the season has been absolutely fantastic.

"It is a very difficult task just being in the Premier League in the first place, then you have to stay in the Premier League and then you have to see how far you can take it.

"And to take it where we have taken it this season is a marker for everyone - the players, myself, the staff and everyone involved at the club.

"The winning instinct leaves a bad taste in the mouth when you do not win like today, but overall over a season I certainly have not forgotten all the good work that has been done."

Eddie Howe: "The only disappointment would be from the outsiders looking in to our club that we finished below where we were last season.

"But I think that is more of a compliment to last season than a criticism of this - to finish 12th in the Premier League , when you look at the teams below us, and the size of those clubs, is a huge achievement again from a really talented group of players.

"The marker that I laid down to the players at the end of the game there is that we can do better, we must do better and the work is already starting towards that."

Man of the Match - Jordon Ibe

The twinkle-toed winger was a constant threat with his pace and trickery throughout the afternoon at Turf Moor, helping to create the first real opening of the clash for Mousset.

And despite not being involved in either of his side's two goals, Bournemouth's club-record signing from Liverpool was still a thorn in the opposition's side after the break as the visitors turned the contest on its head.