Asmir Begovic outstanding in largely below par Bournemouth draw at Rotherham United

Jason Tindall’s AFC Bournemouth remain in second place in the Championship despite only taking one point away at Rotherham United on Saturday.

The Cherries took the lead in the first half with Junior Stanislas scoring from the spot, but goals either side of half time from Freddie Ladapo had Rotherham in front five minutes after the break.

Dominic Solanke equalised for the visitors just after the hour mark to rescue a point for Bournemouth, but it was a game they would have been targeting all three points from, and it was a missed opportunity to go top of the league with Norwich drawing with Coventry.

Bournemouth’s only defeat so far this season came in South Yorkshire, away at Sheffield Wednesday, and this could so easily have been a second South Yorkshire defeat of the season if not for the outstanding Asmir Begovic who pulled off three stunning saves, twice denying Jamie Lindsay and the third denying Angus MacDonald’s overhead kick.

Stanislas also had a bright game for the Cherries, utilising the space between Rotherham wing-back Matt Olosunde and centre-back Wes Harding. The winger opened the scoring and could have ended with two or three assists had Solanke been more clinical in front of goal.

Solanke was often involved, he scored the equaliser in the second half and was fouled for the penalty, though he often lacked composure in a game where he could have made the difference.

The former Liverpool striker always seemed to be in the right place at the right time and was unfortunate to see an early shot blocked, he also came close to scoring by sliding in on a Stanislas cross in the first half, his effort was wide and should have been an effort that went in.

20 minutes in Solanke was fouled for the penalty, this came as he was brought down by Jamal Blackman, but Solanke could have scored without needing a penalty. His first touch let him down and it looked like he had wasted the chance before being gifted a penalty by the Rotherham shot stopper.

In the second half, Bournemouth struggled to get Solanke involved in front of goal, crosses towards him were cut out, he was put through one-on-one but Blackman came out on top. Solanke’s pace was often a problem for the Rotherham backline, he was difficult for them to handle and he will probably feel he could have ended the day with more goals.

Other than Begovic, Stanislas and Solanke there was little that stood out about Bournemouth’s play. A late Jefferson Lerma free-kick nearly won the game for the visitors, catching out Blackman, only to nestle on the roof of the net. Lerma was lucky to still be on the pitch however after a late challenge on Ladapo with a quarter of an hour to play as it was only deemed a yellow card offence.

Bournemouth finished the game with 66% possession, but for all that possession they didn’t dominate what was an even game. David Brooks was largely kept quiet, Dan Gosling and Lerma struggled to make an impact. Phillip Billing did make a few good runs forward, often resulting in freekicks, though none of the midfielders really stood out during the game.

The Dorset side did not look like a team sitting second in the league, coming into the game, against a side hovering above the relegation zone. If anything, with the saves made by Begovic, Rotherham should feel disappointed they did not win the game.

From the first minute of the game, the Millers showed their attacking intent with Matt Crooks volleying an effort towards goal which was deflected wide.

That intent did not dwindle on going a goal down either, moments after conceding Begovic pulled off the first of his saves to deny Lindsay, tipping a darting header over the bar.

The Millers were having a lot of joy out wide, with wing-backs Olosunde and Joe Mattock often getting into crossing positions and looking for Michael Smith, Ladapo or one of the midfield three in the box.

Both of Rotherham’s goals came from crosses from wing-backs. The first, a Mattock cross from the left which was perfect for Ladapo to turn home at the first time of asking to level the game up at half time.

The second, which came not long after the break, was a cross from Olosunde which found Ladapo in the box. The former Plymouth Argyle striker had a lot more to do with this one, working his way out wide to what looked to be a crossing position before catching out Begovic at his far post with what was probably meant as a cross.

Either way, it meant Ladapo had answered the call for more goals by doubling his tally for the season to become Rotherham’s stand-alone top scorer this season, where before he had been the joint top scorer.

Begovic’s second great save came in the build-up to that goal, Lindsay’s fierce 20-yard drive was palmed away by the Bournemouth shot-stopper. Bournemouth failed to clear their lines and Rotherham worked the ball out wide for Olosunde to deliver the cross to Ladapo.

Before long, Rotherham were then pegged back to 2-2, where many sides would have tried to keep possession for five or ten minutes to prevent the higher placed side from building up momentum. Rotherham instead kept going, pushing to retake the lead.

With just over 20 minutes to play a long throw-in found Angus MacDonald in the box who pulled off an excellent overhead kick. The Cherries’ goalkeeper pulled off the last of his stunning saves. Matt Crooks did find the net with the rebound but was flagged offside to keep the game level.

Despite having just 34% possession Rotherham created more chances than Bournemouth and if not for an inspired performance from Begovic, they may well have taken all three points.

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