Dango Ouattara nets 89th-minute equaliser as Bournemouth snatch point at Fulham
By Reuben Rosso-Powell, PA
Dango Ouattara scored an 89th-minute equaliser as Bournemouth snatched a point in a 2-2 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Raul Jimenez scored his sixth Premier League goal of the season before Evanilson struck early in the second half to level. After Harry Wilson scored his second in as many matches, Ouattara came off the bench to force the stalemate in the final minutes.
The draw extended both clubs’ unbeaten run to seven matches as Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva’s sides continue their bid for European football.
After a nervy opening spell where Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno was forced into action to deny Ryan Christie, Fulham grew into the match through the explosive Antonee Robinson, who continued his recent fine form.
The left-back was deployed further up the field in possession and the Cottagers were reaping the rewards. A neat one-two in their half resulted in Robinson having space to burst up the field, and his sprint led to a pass to Wilson and a shot straight at the keeper.
Bournemouth relished the physical battle and their aerial superiority paid dividends off a corner when James Hill nodded home past Leno. But the referee’s whistle was blown for a dubious-looking foul on Joachim Andersen which let Fulham off the hook.
Set-pieces became a theme and Fulham converted one of their own to go a goal up. Andreas Pereira used a whipped technique from the corner and the well-positioned Jimenez used the pace of the ball to guide his effort into the bottom left-hand corner.
Fulham finished the half strongly with a long-range effort by Alex Iwobi which narrowly missed the top corner.
After the break, Bournemouth flew out of the blocks as Evanilson netted a 51st-minute leveller. A cute curved pass by Hill played the striker in behind and once he showed great composure to hold off Andersen, he rifled his effort from close range into the roof of the net.
The contest began to hot up as both sides’ eagerness to score saw the match open up. After visiting keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga got down quickly to deny Jimenez’s header from six yards out, the Cherries went down the other end, with Leno denying Evanilson in a one-vs-one scenario.
Following his goal in Fulham’s 2-1 win over local rivals Chelsea on Boxing Day, Wilson scored in successive matches to put his side ahead.
Robinson, who was at the heart of the move, received the ball on the left, faked the first-time cross before lifting it in with his weaker right foot. Wilson surged in front of his man and left Kepa with no chance when his effort found the bottom corner.
Iraola turned to the bench, and after Bournemouth’s press forced the turnover, Ouattara held his nerve, producing a clever chip to finish past Leno.