Jermain Defoe scored his first goal since his return to AFC Bournemouth to help them secure a hard-fought 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, inspired by substitute Jordon Ibe.
Solly March gave the visitors a 1-0 lead ten minutes after the break, following a goalless first half.
However, Ibe came off the bench to provide two assists to inspire the comeback.
First was an excellent back heel pass, just two minutes after coming on, which found Andrew Surman, who did well to evade Lewis Dunk before putting past Mat Ryan to level scores at 1-1 in the 67th minute.
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Six minutes later, Ibe was at it again, as his wonderful pass found former Sunderland striker, Defoe, who gleefully slotted home for his first goal for the Cherries.
The home side held on for a win and their first points of the campaign, as they move within a point of their visitors, Brighton but remain 19th on the log.
After the match, Bournemouth manager, Eddie Howe was full of praise for Ibe’s game changing performance.
“He made a huge difference,” Howe said of Ibe. “The ability to beat people and be positive with the ball. The two assists were excellent and I am really pleased for him.”
On what he had made of his side’s win, Howe said; “A lot of emotions, relief is probably the biggest one. We have had a tough run of fixtures and today was really important.
“They played deep, they were compact and we knew it would be difficult. The two goals have given everyone a confidence lift.”
Howe’s opposite number, Chris Hughton, was however disappointed with how the game ended.
“Incredibly disappointed,” Hughton said. “They have a lot of quality and move the ball well, but we handled it well for a lot of the game. It was two poor goals we conceded that we never looked like conceding before then.
“I thought it was a really good period for us just before we scored. Up until then they had a lot of possession but I felt we were always in the game.”
Up next for these two teams, they meet again in four days but this time in the Carabao Cup at the Vitality stadium.
