Tuesday 1 March 2016 22:43, UK
Bournemouth eased their relegation fears with a 2-0 victory over Southampton at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday.
A goal in each half did the damage for the hosts with Steve Cook and Benik Afobe getting on the scoresheet, both courtesy of dangerous Matt Ritchie free-kicks which were poorly dealt with by Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Southampton lost Charlie Austin to a knee injury while Shane Long also hobbled off late in the match, on a miserable night for Ronald Koeman's side.
There was worrying scenes just before half-time when fourth official Kevin Friend lost consciousness on the sidelines and hit his head on the dugout. He was treated in the tunnel and was taken to hospital as a precaution.
The result moves the Cherries eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Koeman made three changes to the team that were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea at the weekend but it was Eddie Howe's side that grabbed the early initiative.
Strikers Josh King and Afobe caused plenty of problems for the visitors defence with direct running and hard graft presenting a chance for Ritchie inside three minutes - the Scotland international's well-struck effort from a tight angle cleared by Forster.
Austin, who Howe came close to signing in his first spell as Bournemouth boss, should have done better on 17 minutes but he blazed wide from 10 yards.
That was about as good as it got for the Saints and it was the Cherries who took the lead on 30 minutes.
King won a free-kick down the right flank in a position that was perfect for the left footed Ritchie, whose delivery was was palmed, rather flimsily, away from goal by Forster only for Cook to acrobatically turn home from close range for his second goal of the season.
The start of the second half was delayed by five minutes as Friend was replaced by Dean Treleaven, a trained referee who was watching the match.
Southampton started the second period much in the same vein, sloppily. Their play was slow and predictable with the Cherries backline very comfortable in dealing with Austin.
The former QPR man, who signed in the January window for £4m, was replaced by Graziano Pelle on 59 minutes after suffering a knee injury. He was followed down the tunnel later in the half by Shane Long, who hobbled off also with a knee injury after a collision with Cook.
Harry Arter, so dominant in the Bournemouth midfield, was the next man to go down with a problem as the second half never really settled into a rhythm which suited Bournemouth. He was replaced by Dan Gosling.
Pelle made space for himself to work an opening from 25 yards but yet again Arthur Boruc remained untested as the shot whistled past the post.
Minutes later, Bournemouth doubled their lead. Ritchie, a Portsmouth fan, curled another wonderful free-kick from the right into the danger area and with Forster rooted to his line, Afobe nipped in to flick a header into the net for his fourth goal since arriving from Wolves in January.
Southampton offered little in response and although Sadio Mane forced Boruc into action in the closing stages, the hosts saw the game out comfortably.
Player Ratings
Bournemouth: Boruc (7), Smith (7), Francis (7), Cook (8), Daniels (8), Ritchie (8), Arter (7), Surman (8), Gradel (7), King (7), Afobe (7)
Subs: Gosling (7), Pugh (6)
Southampton: Forster (4), Cedric (6), Yoshida (5), Fonte (6), Long (6), Mane (6), Romeu (6), Ward-Prowse (6), Van Dijk (7), Bertrand (6), Austin (5).
Subs: Davis (6), Tadic (6), Pelle (6)
Man of the match: Matt Ritchie
