Mikel Obi Falls Short Against Dominic Solanke’s Bournemouth, Saka Scores

Stoke City of England midfielder, John Mikel Obi was back in the thick of action for The Potters, but his efforts could not save them from falling at the feet of Dominic Solanke’s Bournemouth, who climbed to third in the English Championship with a gritty 1-0 away win. BSNSports.com.ng reports that, while Mikel’s side could not hold their own at home and fell by the odd goal, it was a similar story in the English Premier League, as Bukayo Saka got one of the goals that helped Arsenal return to winning ways on the road against Semi Ajayi’s West Bromwich Albion. Despite Mikel’s sterling efforts in full duration action and all round contributions in the game at bet365 Stadium, it was the visitors who got the breakthrough after a closely-fought first half, in which Sam Surridge and Solanke came closest to breaking the deadlock for the visitors, with the latter lifting a shot onto the crossbar. Much to Mikel’s consternation, Bournemouth finally edged ahead when Junior Stanislas latched onto Lewis Cook’s searching ball forward and fired a low shot beyond Stoke goalkeeper, Joe Bursik for his seventh goal of the season (79). With Brentford not in action this weekend, after their game against Bristol City was postponed, the Cherries move above them into third, two points behind second-placed Swansea City, while Stoke stay eighth, two points outside the top six. Bournemouth, who had Nnamdi Ofoborh on their bench for all 90 minutes, while Solanke played the entire duration of the game, started like a house on fire but Stoke proved a different prospect altogether and they found it difficult to break them down throughout the first half. Mikel’s coach, Michael O’Neill would no doubt have been the happier manager at the break, it was, ironically, The Cherries who had gone closest to breaking the deadlock first when Surridge tucked a Diego Rico cross wide of the left-hand post. Around 20 minutes in, Jordan Thompson rippled the side-netting of former Potters goalkeeper, Asmir Begovic’s net with a wicked curling free-kick, moments before Solanke drew Bursik off his line and sent a hopeful shot bouncing off the top of the crossbar. Bournemouth started the second half with intent, but, as the snow that had coated the surrounding area overnight started to fall once more, the chances almost dried up altogether, while Mikel’s side battled for a resurgence in the game. That was until the 79th minute, when the visitors scored what proved to be the winner and it was route-one football at its finest, as Cook floated the ball into Stanislas’ path and he judged the bounce perfectly before firing in to get The Cherries back to winning ways, with a fifth clean sheet in six games to boot. It was a game of few chances, but one that was settled by an impressively-taken goal by Stanislas, as the man of the match managed to stay free from injury so far this term and Bournemouth are reaping the rewards. A Nigerian player was also on the losing side at home in the top-flight EPL, as Saka scored his third goal of the season to condemn Ajayi’s WBA to defeat at The Hawthorns, and The Baggies have now conceded 12 goals in their last three home games in the EPL. Before Saka struck, Alexandre Lacazette continued his recent scoring spree with a double to lead he way in Arsenal’s 4-0 win, with The Gunners snatching maximum points for the third successive EPL game. Kieran Tierney (23) put the dominant visitors ahead with a superb solo goal, his first of the season, while another impressive display by Saka (28) helped double the lead shortly after, as Arsenal showed off some sensational team play. West Brom had their best spell either side of the break, but an error from Ajayi allowed Arsenal hit The Baggies with a devastating attack that was eventually finished off by a fizzing Lacazette effort (60) and the Frenchman added his second shortly afterwards, turning home from close range (64). Lacazette has now scored five goals in his last four outings in all competitions, while Arsenal’s resurgence continues with a third successive win and a second clean sheet in a row, with the three points taking them to 11th, while West Brom remain 19th, having conceded 12 goals in Sam Allardyce’s first three home league games.