Premier League newcomers Bournemouth rued a string of missed opportunities as a bullet header from Aston Villa substitute Rudy Gestede settled a nervy affair at the Vitality Stadium.
Eddie Howe’s men will regret wasting a number of first half chances against an all-change Villa side which fielded six summer signings throughout the game. And it was 6’4″ Gestede, a £6 million signing from Blackburn Rovers, who rose tallest to power home a floated Ashley Westwood corner with 18 minutes left on the clock.
In front of an eager and expectant home crowd, Dan Gosling and Callum Wilson spurned good openings before Marc Pugh wasted a magnificent chance on the stroke of half time. His effort from 12-yards should have left the net rippling but instead the winger blasted it into the ground allowing Brad Guzan to make the save.
The away side would have had few complaints had the Cherries taken a 1-0 scoreline in at the interval but instead Tim Sherwood’s men, who looked strangely out of sorts in the first half, used it to their advantage on a gloriously sunny day on the South Coast.
A more energetic Villa side emerged after the break and with new signings Jordan Amavi and Idrissa Gueye creating good space down the left-flank, Bournemouth finally had some defending of their own to do. The Midlands side, which finished 17th last season, failed to score a single goal from a substitute appearance last season. So it was perhaps telling that its new target man had the final say after coming off the bench to mark his debut with what could be a crucial goal and three points.
Making home comforts count
Fine margins may dictate whether Eddie Howe’s side is good enough to beat the drop this season and taking full advantage of its home games will be central to this. The Cherries perhaps had the chances to win, spurred on by a raucous atmosphere, but their quality in front of goal will leave them with plenty of food for thought.
The fact they held 58% of possession and bossed sizeable periods of the match will, however, please the Premier League debutants.
Wing wizard to the rescue
Out of all Villa’s new signings, and some of course are yet to play, Amavi looks like one of the finds of the summer. He took his encouraging preseason form into this fixture and looked a menace every time he surged down the flank. The French under-21 international proved too that the defensive part of his game is solid, winning 10 of his 15 defensive duels.
Time is a luxury neither side can afford
Both sides were busy in the transfer market and how quickly Howe and Sherwood can settle these new signings into the team will probably dictate the course of their seasons. For Villa, it took a good 50 minutes to get any balance into their play and they posed a far greater danger with a big target man being supported with plenty of pace down the channels.
Bournemouth’s players looked more comfortable with the ball and Howe will be hoping Ivorian Max Gradel will offer his side greater composure in front of goal.
Gabby still the flavour of the month?
Nobody seems to divide opinion quite like Gabriel Agbonlahor. But how much will we see of the Brummie-born striker this season? He was deployed as the central striker in the first 45 minutes but too often failed to hold the ball up which put the Villans on the back foot for large periods. He looked far more at home out wide later in the game, using his pace on the counter-attack to stretch the Cherries. But is his contribution enough to warrant a regular starting place in this new-look Villa side?
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