Solanke earns Bournemouth point at home to West Ham

Updated: Aug 12, 2023, 06:46 pm

A late equaliser by Dominic Solanke ensured Bournemouth's new manager Andoni Iraola marked his first game in the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at home to West Ham United on Saturday.

Jarrod Bowen's superbly taken goal, curled in with his left foot just after halftime, had put the visitors ahead.

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But Bournemouth worked tirelessly to get back into the match and were rewarded when Solanke pounced on a wayward shot in the area to round Alphonse Areola for a tap-in.

West Ham will feel it was two points dropped after they twice hit the woodwork, once with Tomas Soucek in the first half and again late on when Lucas Paqueta's low shot hit the post.

Bournemouth were also denied by the goal frame though with Joe Rothwell crashing an effort off the crossbar.

Bowen is a cult hero with West Ham fans after his winning goal in the Europa Conference final last season, and he cemented that status when he picked out the top corner with a superb strike.

West Ham had looked marginally the more dangerous up until that point despite Bournemouth's possession, but the hosts responded well to the setback.

Their equaliser was a curious affair with Antoine Semenyo's shot going well wide but instead it turned in to a perfect pass for Solanke, a target for West Ham in the transfer window, who coolly slotted home.

Bournemouth and West Ham shared the points in their opening Premier League game of the season.
Photo by West Ham United FC/Getty Images

Paqueta, himself a target for Manchester City, thought he had won it for West Ham but a point apiece seemed about fair.

"We huffed and puffed at times. The first game of season, you're never sure," West Ham manager David Moyes, who said.

"One point isn't bad but for long periods it looked like we'd win."

Moyes confirmed that Southampton's James Ward-Prowse was undergoing a medical ahead of a move.

Iraola said his side needed to improve.

"We improved during both halves and finished better than them. We had more of the ball but didn't have so many clear chances. A draw is quite fair," he said.

"I wasn't pleased with our performance but the second half finished much better."