Soccer

Enes Unal’s stunning free-kick earns Bournemouth point against West Ham

Paquetá's penalty had given Hammers the lead in the late stages of the game

Bournemouth's Enes Unal after scoring. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/Getty
Bournemouth's Enes Unal after scoring. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/Getty
Ben Fisher at the Vitality Stadium
Mon Dec 16 2024 - 22:23
Premier League: Bournemouth 1 (Unal 90) West Ham United 1 (Paqueta 87 pen)

Bournemouth simply do not know when they are beaten. The substitute Enes Unal powered an unstoppable free-kick into the top corner, seconds after West Ham snatched an unlikely lead courtesy of a contentious penalty. Another Bournemouth substitute, Tyler Adams, was penalised for handling Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross from the right and Lucas Paquetá converted the subsequent spot-kick, awarded following a VAR review.

Lopetegui insisted the uplift from a welcome victory at home to Wolves had been forgotten as West Ham targeted back-to-back league wins for the first time this season. The West Ham manager made two changes, one enforced with Emerson suspended, so Wan-Bissaka shifted to left-back and Vladimir Coufal came into the starting line-up at right-back. Lucas Paquetá, who has struggled for form, was a surprise inclusion in place of Crysencio Summerville.

West Ham’s players wore black armbands in tribute to their former academy goalkeeper Oscar Fairs who died aged 15 and on nine minutes the away support sang the name of their No 9 Michail Antonio, who miraculously survived a car crash earlier this month. They visited Antonio, who is expected to be sidelined for at least a year, in hospital in London over the weekend. It was a fine touch from the Bournemouth head coach, Andoni Iraola, despite being engrossed in a lively match, to join in the applause that rippled around the stadium.

From the moment Ryan Christie clipped Mohammed Kudus inside 13 seconds, this was a frenetic occasion. Milos Kerkez won Bournemouth an early corner at the end of one his trademark marauding runs from full-back. Bournemouth had the first chance of note, Antoine Semenyo sending a bouncing ball against a post on 12 minutes. The move stemmed from a Kepa Arrizabalaga ball downfield. Semenyo beat Wan-Bissaka to the header, Evanilson got the better of Konstantinos Mavropanos and then Justin Kluivert headed the loose ball into the path of Semenyo, who got over the ball to shave the post with a right-foot shot. That chance seemed to jolt West Ham. Just before the interval Lukasz Fabianski repelled a tame Dango Ouattara shot at the back post.

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Lopetegui cut a frustrated figure as West Ham, continuing the theme of recent weeks, failed to make the most of their chances. He spun on his heels as Jarrod Bowen sent a clever left-foot shot against the crossbar after the West Ham captain, from a Kudus through ball, dropped off Illia Zabarnyi and Lewis Cook to establish some room to send an effort at goal. Bowen then forced another fine save after Kudus whipped a cross towards the front post. Bowen’s first touch took him away from Zabarnyi but left him with an awkward angle to play with, but still forced an instinctive save.

Lopetegui arched his back after Carlos Soler, after checking on to his right foot to elude the Bournemouth captain Adam Smith, dropped a shot just wide of the far post. Soucek then sent an effort wide under pressure from Ouattara after Dean Huijsen and Kerkez failed to clear.

The second half was difficult viewing from a West Ham perspective. Bournemouth returned with their usual endearing intensity and West Ham had to withstand pressure, surviving a few scares along the way. Ouattara saw an effort, engineered from a short-corner routine, deflect wide two minutes into the restart and then Fabianski gathered a Semenyo daisy-cutter. Christie had no such problem with conviction, his stinging left-foot shot from Evanilson’s lay-off triggering a right-handed save. The bad news for West Ham was there were still 40-plus minutes to play.

Lopetegui seemingly recognised as much and soon Niclas Füllkrug replaced the cautioned Soler. West Ham needed to stem the flow. Maximilian Kilman, who impressed at centre-back, made a vital interception to shuffle across and block Semenyo’s shot after Bournemouth accelerated upfield, via Evanilson’s back-heel. Zabarnyi then headed wide from a recycled corner. West Ham’s creative juices, meanwhile, had run dry.

When West Ham did get a rare glimpse of the Bournemouth goal in the second half, Zabarnyi was quickly on the scene to extinguish the danger. After Füllkrug clipped a pass through for Kudus, Zabarnyi flung his body to the floor to make a timely intervention. Fabianski made a fine stop at his front post to push Evanilson’s header from Christie’s corner to safety late on and West Ham’s focus was on keeping the ball out, not attacking at the other end.

Lopetegui’s switch to a back five, handing Ollie Scarles his Premier League debut and only second senior appearance, was indicative of the plan.

It seemed a dangerous game to play against a team with a habit of scoring late, having now registered a league-high 10 goals in the final 15 minutes of matches, including five in stoppage time. The substitute Enes Unal cancelled out Paquetá’s penalty with a thumping free-kick from 30 yards that rifled into the top-left corner. – Guardian