Sunderland and Bournemouth have shared the points after a back-and-forth 90 minutes saw each side grab a single goal at the Stadium of Light.
Bournemouth struck first when Junior Stanislas fired in a cross from deep in the midfield, finding the head of Benik Afobe. Afobe muscled his way to the ball and headed it with enough pace to beat the Sunderland goalkeeper.
The Black Cats struck back on the brink of half time with a powerfully struck Patrick van Aanholt shot. Credit for the assist went to a well timed pass from Fabio Borini.
The second half brought each side a number of half chances and at least one clear-cut chance, but neither side was able to find the back of the next and secure the win.
The result means that Sunderland continued to linger in 19th position, while Eddie Howe’s men managed to put one more point between themselves and the relegation zone.
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Van Aanholt an attacking threat
Deployed at left-back, the Dutch defender has sprung up as one of Sunderland’s key attacking threats over the past couple of weeks. Van Aanholt continued his prowess in front of goal with a shot that rocketed past Artur Boruc’s near post.
Part of a traditional back four, the 25-year-old constantly finds a way to drift further forward than most coaches would allow. But his daring runs have led him to three goals so far this season, making him the highest scoring defender in the league.
Afobe on point again
Eddie Howe has established his side as one of the finest passing teams in the league and with the recent addition of Afobe, Howe has found a stirker that mixes passing prowess with an instinct in front of goal.
Afobe has scored in two of the three appearances he has made for the Cherries so far this season, giving the south coast club hope that he may have brought with him some of the form that saw him score 22 goals in 46 games for Wolves.
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Howe owes a great deal of his side’s ability to move the ball to his fast-passing midfield, but Afobe’s performance on saturday saw the 22-year-old achieve a greater pass accuracy than any other player in the team, with 94% of his pass attempts finding a team mate.
Stanislas pulling the strings for Bournemouth
While Stanislas was not a regular for Howe during their promotion campaign, he has managed to force his way into the starting team in the absence of Matt Ritchie and Max Gradel.
Now a major component of Howe’s starting lineup, Stanislas has really begun to put his stamp on the Bournemouth attack. With Gosling, Surman and Arter providing plenty of time on the ball, the former Hammer took the reigns when it came to creating chances. Stanislas created six chances in total, including a bouncing assist to Afobe early on in the first half.
With Ritchie still not fit enough to start games and Gradel expected to be out until at least May, Stanislas will likely be given many more opportunities to ply his trade in the Bournemouth midfield.
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