AFC BOURNEMOUTH 0 – 1 EVERTON
By SCM Sports Writer
BOURNEMOUTH – The Vitality Stadium, a ground that feels less like a Premier League fortress and more like a snug fishing hut tucked away on the South Coast, has finally surrendered its hold over Everton.
For years, the Toffees have pitched up at this tiny, atmospheric ground and left with nothing but sand in their boots and a sinking feeling.
But last night, under the cold, crisp glare of the floodlights, a solitary, scrappy, deflected 78th-minute strike from Jack Grealish broke the hoodoo, giving David Moyes’s patched-up Blues a hard-fought 1-0 win.
The Vitality is known for being compact. The fans are practically breathing down the necks of the players, making every throw-in feel like a high-stakes confrontation.
In the first half, this tight-knit tension seemed to grip the game, turning it into a scrappy midfield wrestling match. Both sides were scratching for coherence, the chilly air filled more with the booming, frustrated bellows of the managers than any real roar from the terraces.
Bournemouth, who have been on a worrying slide, looked unusually passive on their own postage-stamp pitch.
They created a few fleeting chances—Jordan Pickford had to be sharp to deny Antoine Semenyo—but for the most part, the Cherries struggled to inject their usual high-energy chaos into the small-scale arena.
Everton had the better of the second half, with the returning Thierno Barry forcing a sharp stop from Djordje Petrovic. But in a game defined by fine margins, fortune decided to pay a visit to the away end.
With just 12 minutes left, Grealish received the ball outside the box.
As he took his shot, he slipped, sending the ball on a wicked, looping trajectory after it clattered off Cherries defender Bafodé Diakité. The deflection left Petrovic helpless, the ball spinning cruelly into the opposite corner.
The 1,307 travelling Evertonians packed into the corner section of the stadium erupted, knowing they had finally conquered the smallest ground in the Premier League. The Vitality Voodoo is gone, and for Everton, three huge points lifted them back into the top half.
For Bournemouth, the tiny, once-invincible home turf proved to be anything but.
