Bournemouth 1 – 1 Brighton
A much improved performance from Bournemouth, but they came away from the game ruing missed chances. The home side made a lively start, pressing Brighton right up the pitch and the break through came from a free kick on the edge of the area. Charlie Daniels laid the ball across for Matt Ritchie to unleash a rocket that flew past Kuszczak in the Brighton goal. Bournemouth had a number of chances to double their lead and Kuszczak made an excellent save to deny Ritchie just before the break. Brighton came out in the second half with extra impetuous and they got their reward in the 55th minute when Ashley Barnes rifled a shot past Camp on the swivel from the corner of the box. The game became very scrappy and Brett Pitman wasted the best chance to grab a winner when he dragged wide.
Bournemouth
| Lee Camp Solid performance, some tidy saves not at fault for goal. | 7.0 |
| Simon Francis Great link up play with Ritchie and kept Conway relatively quiet. | 7.5 |
| Tommy Elphick Raised his game against his former side. A leader’s display deserved the clean sheet. | 8.0 |
| Steve Cook Continued his great form this season, a rock at the back. Possibly could have stopped the Barnes shot. | 8.0 |
| Charlie Daniels A quiet game for the full back. Tidy defensive work as always. | 7.0 |
| Matt Ritchie Looked like he had been playing all season. Was a class above the rest and scored on his first start in the Championship. | 9.0 |
| Eunan O’Kane Struggled to deal with the midfield three of Brighton especially the powerful Ince. | 6.5 |
| Harry Arter Looked lacking of match fitness. Some good passing although wasteful at times. | 6.0 |
| Ryan Fraser Found it difficult on his non-favoured side and referee appeared determined to not give a free kick in his favour. | 6.0 |
| Tokelo Rantie Feeding off of scraps most of the game and failed to link up with strike partner. | 5.5 |
| Brett Pitman Lacking in confidence in front of goal. Missed a number of chances which when in form would be routine. | 5.0 |
Substitutions
| Wes Thomas No exaggeration to say that the last twenty minutes may have been better with just ten men. | 4.0 |
| Marc Pugh Added a different option where Fraser had struggled but not enough time to grow into the game. | 6.5 |
Brighton
| Tomasz Kuszczak Had little to do bar making a wonderful save from close range. Some dubious distribution. | 6.5 |
| Inigo Calderón Kept the lively Fraser quite all game and got forward well in patches. | 7.0 |
| Gordan Greer A great captain’s display to keep unbeaten run going. | 8.0 |
| Matt Upson An experienced head, dominated in the air. Booked late on. | 7.5 |
| Stephen Ward Direct going forward. Tormented by Ritchie and the overlapping Francis. | 7.0 |
| Rohan Ince A powerful display until substituted. Showed signs of a Viera like display running with the ball. | 7.5 |
| Andrew Crofts Neat work linking defence and attack. | 7.0 |
| Jake Forster-Caskey The young talent seemed a little off the pace and had little impact. Subbed at half time. | 5.5 |
| David López Some good trickery to beat his man. Final product lacking at times. | 6.5 |
| Craig Conway Found himself in some great positions but was given poor service. | 7.0 |
| Ashley Barnes Given poor service most of the game, however an outstanding piece of skill to get the equaliser. | 8.5 |
Substitutions
| Liam Bridcutt Came on at half time and gave Brighton a calm head in the middle of the park. | 7.5 |
| Andrea Orlandi Provided a more direct option but no major impact. | 6.5 |
| Keith Andrews Failed to assert himself as well as Ince. Some good link up play. | 6.5 |
Man of the Match
| Matt Ritchie Showed from the first whistle to last why he is so highly rated. Range of passing and an excellent strike for the goal. | 9.0 |
