Venue’s BIG HEART Wins Day as Cherries Snatch Dramatic Draw
By Emmanuel Thomas l Nov.22.25
BOURNEMOUTH — It was a tale of two halves, two heroes, and one famously TINY stadium as AFC Bournemouth mounted a sensational comeback at the Vitality Stadium last night, clawing back from two goals down to snatch a dramatic 2-2 draw against West Ham United.
The Cherries’ home ground, the Premier League’s smallest at just over 11,300 capacity, erupted as goals from Marcus Tavernier and Enes Ünal cancelled out a brilliant first-half double from Hammers talisman Callum Wilson.
The compact nature of the Vitality Stadium—once known as Dean Court—always seems to inject an extra dose of tension into the atmosphere, and that energy proved critical as the home side rallied.
David Moyes’ West Ham looked comfortable in the opening exchanges, with striker Wilson, formerly a Bournemouth favourite, proving the difference.
He opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a smart finish and doubled his tally in the 35th minute, leaving the Cherries faithful fearing a rout. At the break, the small venue was silenced, save for the travelling London support.
But the second half was a different story, with the home side feeding off the close-quarters support from the stands.
The fightback began in the 69th minute when Bournemouth were awarded a penalty. Midfielder Marcus Tavernier stepped up to calmly slot the ball home, giving the home crowd something to cheer and piling the pressure on the Hammers.
The noise inside the Vitality was deafening just 12 minutes later. On-loan striker Enes Ünal was the hero, smashing the ball past the West Ham keeper in the 81st minute to level the score and send the small arena into delirium.
The two-two scoreline was a fair reflection of the thrilling contest, but it’s the intense, match-changing atmosphere generated inside Bournemouth’s famously small home that will be remembered by all who saw it.
The Vitality Stadium proves once again that size isn’t everything when it comes to Premier League drama!
