Stoke 2-1 Bournemouth: Diouf gives Potters first Premier League win of the season
Mark Hughes's side collected their first three
points of the season but it was a miserable
afternoon for the Cherries who saw striker Callum
Wilson stretchered offStoke picked up their first
Premier League win of the season thanks to
Mame Biram Diouf 's late winner with
Bournemouth's misery compounded by a serious-
looking knee injury to top scorer Callum Wilson .
Jonathan Walters gave the hosts the lead with a
tap-in after 32 minutes in a first half that was
severely delayed by the injury to Wilson.
The Premier League's joint top scorer needed
extensive medical treatment with just seven
minutes gone at the beginning of a difficult
afternoon for the visitors, who looked to have
rescued a point when Dan Gosling slotted home
midway through the second half only for Diouf to
head in Glen Johnson's superb cross.
The injury to Wilson left Bournemouth struggling to
replicate the attacking verve displayed in the win
over Sunderland last week and is likely to play on
the mind of manager Eddie Howe, with Max Gradel
and Tyrone Mings already long-term injury
concerns.
In contrast, the result will ease the pressure on
Stoke boss Mark Hughes, whose side were in the
midst of their worst start to a Premier League
season.
The crushing setback to Wilson came within a
sloppy opening 10 minutes, with the striker quickly
signalling to the bench following an innocuous
challenge from Philipp Wollscheid.
Despite his attempts to continue, the 23-year-old
was eventually forced off, giving way to close-
season signing Glenn Murray.
That blow allowed the hosts to build momentum
and Bojan Krkic should have done better to test
Artur Boruc with an angled drive inside the area
after 23 minutes, following some good work from
Walters on the right.
Boruc was called upon again to block Glenn
Whelan's drilled effort from distance a minute
later as Stoke continued to press.
Their efforts were rewarded just after half an hour
when Marko Arnautovic weaved his way to the
byline on the left, before pulling back for Walters to
tap home from six yards.
Only a last-ditch tackle from Erik Pieters
prevented Matt Ritchie from equalising just before
the break, but Stoke continued to look the better
team during the nine minutes of stoppage time,
with Arnautovic prodding wide after a sweeping
counter-attack.
Bojan was inches away from doubling the lead 10
minutes after the interval, but failed to connect
with Charlie Adam's whipped cross.
Bournemouth battled on as the game approached
the hour and did well to upset the rhythm of the
hosts, but Stoke still looked largely untroubled.
That all changed 14 minutes from time when
Gosling pounced on a loose ball inside the box
following Marc Pugh's drive to stroke home an
unlikely equaliser.
Gosling could have sealed a winner late on but
saw a bending effort parried away by Jack
Butland as Stoke, who looked comfortable before
the break, begun to falter.
But the hosts sealed the win when substitute
Diouf found himself on the end of Johnson's
pinpoint cross to head home.
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