Bournemouth secured promotion back to the Premier League after a tense 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the Vitality Stadium.
The only goal of the game came after 83 minutes on the south coast, when substitute Kieffer Moore slotted past Brice Samba from close range, finishing a move straight off the training ground, after he was picked out by Philip Billing.
The goal sparked wild celebrations from a capacity crowd and ensured Scott Parker’s Cherries will join Fulham in the top flight next season after a two-season absence and condemned Forest to the play-offs.
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Kieffer Moore scores the goal that seals promotion for Bournemouth, finishing off a well-worked set-piece.
How Bournemouth secured
A day of potential celebration got off the perfect start when Bournemouth’s David Brooks announced the news that he is free from cancer, having completed treatment after being diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin Lymphoma in October.
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Nottingham Forest forward Sam Surridge hits the crossbar in a crucial game in the race for promotion to the Premier League against Bournemouth.
When the match – which was postponed back in February after damage was caused to the Vitality Stadium by Storm Eunice – got going, it immediately lived up to the hype that had been promised in the build-up; every tackle was jeered, every attack roared on as though it were a play-off final.
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Michael Dawson and Glenn Murray share their thoughts on whether Nottingham Forest were denied a penalty after Sam Surridge was brought down by Bournemouth’s Mark Travers.
As a light drizzle fell upon the south coast, Bournemouth took the game to their visitors, but were soon left with their hearts in their mouths when ex-Cherries frontman Surridge collected a stunning Djed Spence pass and rifled a shot off the crossbar.
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Dominic Solanke has a chance to give Bournemouth the lead, but his shot goes into the side-netting.
The hosts had their moments going forward, but, in truth, they were fleeting, with 30-goal striker Dominic Solanke kept quiet in the final third.
With around half an hour gone, Forest came again, when Philip Zinckernagel’s square ball evaded Surridge and fell for Brennan Johnson, whose sound connection was rebuffed by Jordan Zemura on the line.
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Phillip Billing squanders a decent chance for Bournemouth as they look for the opening goal against Nottingham Forest.
And five minutes before the break, they were denied a penalty when Surridge was felled by Mark Travers in the box, with a controversial offside flag sparing the hosts’ blushes.
Parker’s men stepped their game up after the break. An intuitive pass through the lines from Ryan Christie set Solanke free, but he fired into the side netting, while Samba was called into action to punch away efforts from Lewis Cook and Jaidon Anthony.
And just as they looked set to finish without a goal, taking the drama to the final day, Bournemouth consolidated their second half toils. Billing played a free-kick across to Moore, who was waiting at the far post to slot home the priceless winner.
Man of the match – Kieffer Moore
Glenn Murray on Sky Sports Football:
“I thought Moore played really well tonight. He changed the game when he came on. When he got his opportunity, he buried it.”
What’s next?
Both teams are back in action at 12.30pm on the final day of the season, Saturday May 7. Bournemouth host Millwall at the Vitality Stadium, while Nottingham Forest travel to the MKM Stadium to take on Hull.
