Report: Saints hit by early Bournemouth double

Two goals in two minutes gave Saints a mountain to climb, as Dango Ouattara headed home Ryan Christie’s left-wing cross before Christie picked out the bottom corner from 25 yards to give the Cherries a 2-0 lead inside 16 minutes.

Saints’ best chance of the first half came at the end of a scintillating solo burst from Mateus Fernandes, but Kamaldeen Sulemana was beaten to Kyle Walker-Peters’s cross by a crucial last-ditch tackle.

Kamaldeen was ruthless with his finishing to give the hosts hope with 18 minutes left, as a sharp touch and shot halved the deficit, but Bournemouth substitute Marcus Tavernier extinguished any realistic hope of a revival with a late sucker punch to secure the points.

Ivan Jurić made four changes to his side who fell to clean-sheet specialists Burnley in the Emirates FA Cup last time out.

Aaron Ramsdale was fit to return in goal, while Paul Onuachu, Saints’ match-winner in their last Premier League game at Ipswich, led the line.

Elsewhere there was a first start in six weeks for Nathan Wood, who replaced Ryan Manning, and a first start since August for Will Smallbone, preferred to Lesley Ugochukwu as the midfield anchor.

Bournemouth captain Lewis Cook was booked for this robust early challenge on Kamaldeen Sulemana

Bournemouth started with trademark zest, winning two corners in the very first minute, while Saints promotion winner David Brooks snapped into a challenge on Kamaldeen to dispossess his former teammate on the edge of his own box in another statement of intent.

When Bournemouth kept pressing from the front, Welington pulled off a nutmeg on Ouattara to open up the pitch and fed Kamaldeen’s run into the channel, tempting makeshift right-back Lewis Cook into a lunge for the ball he was never likely to make for the game’s first yellow card.

Smallbone followed him into the book for nudging the ball away after bringing down Brooks, before Saints were hit by a quick-fire double from the Cherries.

There was a warning just before the opener when Cook crossed and Ouattara outjumped Jan Bednarek to head wide, but Saints were powerless to prevent it when Christie crossed from the opposite side and Ouattara again rose highest, this time glancing a header in off the far post to make the early breakthrough.

Saints barely had time to take stock of the situation before finding themselves 2-0 down. Giving the ball away inside their own half, the hosts were punished when Justin Kluivert found Christie to his left, whose low 25-yard strike beat Ramsdale down to his right.

Defender Dean Huijsen gets in front of Paul Onuachu to deny the Saints striker

Saints’ best moment arrived in the form of a driving run from Fernandes, straight at the heart of the Bournemouth backline, slipping in Walker-Peters to his right, whose low cross looked set to give Kamaldeen a tap in until Illia Zabarnyi slid in to make a vital clearance.

Kamaldeen dragged one wide late in the half as Saints tried to find a foothold, but Bournemouth remained in command, as Cook and Ouattara forced saves from Ramsdale.

There was a double change at half time, with Wood and Welington making way for Yukinari Sugawara and Ugochukwu, as Joe Aribo dropped back into defence.

Saints responded with some early pressure, as Onuachu turned smartly in the box, but Zabarnyi recovered well to block his shot.

At the other end, some dazzling footwork from Antoine Semenyo saw the winger beat Aribo, James Bree and Sugawara but not Ramsdale, who made a brilliant fingertip save to help his shot over the bar.

From the resulting corner, the former Cherry made an even better stop to claw out Christie’s header at his near post as the visitors claimed the ball had crossed the line.

Kamaldeen drills home a fine finish to give Saints hope of a late revival

Jurić introduced Tyler Dibling in a bid to turn the tide, and the 18-year-old was soon involved in some neat interplay on the edge of the Bournemouth box to combine with Ugochukwu, but Kamaldeen lashed at the chance when the ball fell his way.

But the Ghanaian made no mistake with an emphatic finish to halve the deficit 18 minutes from time, taking a touch and arrowing a low left-footed drive across Kepa’s dive to score his first Premier League goal of the season.

Now the home fans roared their team on, as Saints put Bournemouth under pressure with balls into the box.

There was an alarming moment as Ramsdale was required to extend himself when Walker-Peters got too much on a header back to his keeper, and would have lobbed him if not for Ramsdale’s acrobatics.

As the game entered its final 10 minutes, Saints worked the ball patiently from left to right across the face of the penalty area, but Sugawara’s low cross was easily gathered by Kepa.

Instead the visitors proved why they have designs on European football next season when they put the game to bed with another clinical finish, as Semenyo led a counter-attack and found Tavernier to his right, who cut inside on to his strong left foot and powered a shot past Ramsdale, as the keeper got a hand on it but could not keep it out.

Southampton: Ramsdale, Walker-Peters, Bree, Bednarek (c), Wood (Ugochukwu 45), Welington (Sugawara 45), Smallbone (Dibling 56), Aribo (Manning 85), Fernandes, Kamaldeen (Archer 85), Onuachu.

Unused substitutes: McCarthy, Bella-Kotchap, Taylor, Grønbæk.

Goals: Kamaldeen (72’).

Booked: Smallbone.

AFC Bournemouth: Kepa, Cook (c), Huijsen, Zabarnyi, Kerkez, Christie (Sinisterra 88), Adams, Brooks (Tavernier 67), Kluivert (Scott 77), Semenyo, Ouattara (Jebbison 88).

Unused substitutes: Dennis, Akinmboni, Kinsey, Winterburn, Rees-Dottin.

Goals: Ouattara (14’), Christie (16’), Tavernier (83’).

Booked: Cook, Semenyo, Tavernier.

Referee: Mr J Gillett.

Attendance: 31,037.