AFC Bournemouth stuttered in the race for promotion as Peterborough took a point away from Vitality Stadium despite the home side having over 20 shots.
AFC Bournemouth stuttered in the race for promotion as Peterborough took a point away from Vitality Stadium despite the home side having over 20 shots.
Jack Marriott had put the away side in front 30 minutes in after chances from Dominic Solanke and Philip Billing were wasted.
Ryan Christie stepped up to net his third goal of the season as he blasted a shot past David Cornell but it wasn’t enough for all three points as the Cherries wasted a hatful of chances only registering two of thier 22 shots on target.
Scott Parker made three changes to the team that lost to Preston at the weekend. Jack Stacey came in for the suspended Adam Smith, whilst Siriki Dembele started against his former club in attack and Ryan Christie continued his return from injury as Jamal Lowe and Jaidon Anthony dropped to the bench.
There were a total of seven changes for Grant McCann’s Peterborough as they looked to climb off the bottom of the table.
A fast paced start to the game saw Dembele cut inside from the left to find Christie who bent an effort wide of the post before Mark Travers denied Marriott from an acute angle as both sides started the game on the front foot.
Stacey then looked to find Solanke after overlapping Christie, but the Cherries top scorer could not direct his acrobatic effort on target. A brilliant bit of play by Todd Cantwell soon followed with the on-loan midfielder turning to find Solanke just inside the box, but the striker was unable to guide his shot on target though as it went wide of Cornell’s goal.
Nat Phillips then snatched twice at an opportunity from a Cantwell corner as the game approached 20 minutes. Bournemouth kept pushing for the opener and Billing missed a chance that was begging to find the top corner. Christie - in typical fashion - cut back onto his left foot and found Solanke in the box who laid the ball for Billing to run on to but the Danish international fired his shot just over the bar from 10 yards when hitting the target seemed the easier option.
For all of the Cherries dominance they had yet to register a shot on target with half an hour on the clock. They were soon made to pay for those missed chances, as Marriott opened the scoring for the away side.
Joe Ward drifted in from the right flank and looked to have lost control of the ball, but as he poked the ball towards Marriott, the ball passed through the legs of Lloyd Kelly - taking a deflection on the way - and Marriott was on hand to slip the ball past Travers into the far corner.
It took until the 40th minute for Bournemouth to register their first shot on target as Billing drove into the box from the right hand side but his shot was tame and easily gathered by Cornell at the near post.
Fans of the Dorset side cut a frustrated look as their team went into the break a goal down to the league’s bottom side.
With just five minutes gone after the restart, Christie did find an equaliser. Phillips won a header on the half way line which was picked up by Solanke. The stiker then put the ball into Christie’s path who drove at the defence before rifling home at the near post with his right foot.
With the crowd behind them, Bournemouth went in search of a winner but again chances were created but they failed to register any on target.
Cantwell then brought down Clarke-Harris in a dangerous position leaving Ward to whip in a cross across the six yard box which Billing was forced to put out for a corner.
Peterborough had been allowed back into the game and the tension around the ground started to mount as the away side started to create more opportunities with the game entering the final 15 minutes and the game opened up.
Phillips was called upon to make a last ditch tackle on Ricky Jade-Jones as the striker looked to latch onto a Sammie Szmodics pass inside the box as the two second half substitutes combined for the away side.
Solanke came close again as he darted through the box but saw his shot blocked before Dembele set up Jordan Zemura who blasted over from just inside the box.
Peterborough almost snatched a winner when Ward burst into the box from the right hand side but Kelly came sliding in to deny the winger an effort on goal.
A late chance fell to Solanke which epitomised the Cherries performance as the striker again put the ball wide as Cantwell swept the ball into his path.
As the final whistle blew there were audible boos from the home crowd with many already heading for the exit. The Peterborough players celebrated with their fans after picking up a well deserved point away from home in their fight to stay in the division.
Parker ‘s side on the other hand will feel this a point dropped in an ever increasingly close race for promotion to the Premier League.