Kieffer Moore the hero as Bournemouth secure promotion back to the Premier League

Kieffer Moore’s 84th-minute winner was enough to win the automatic promotion showdown against Nottingham Forest in a tense affair at The Vitality Stadium.

Welshman Moore came off the bench to firmly put his injury woes behind him since joining from Cardiff in January, with the goal that has been written into Cherries folklore.

Played at a blistering pace, Philip Billing’s moment of creative thinking from a direct free-kick was the difference in a game that Bournemouth edged in the second period. 

As the entire stadium were expecting him to shoot from the edge of the box, the Dane’s short pass landed at the feet of the unmarked Moore, who planted his low curling shot into the bottom corner, sending the Vitality Stadium into raptures.

?️ "I dreamt of this moment from the start."

Kieffer Moore and Philip Billing reveal how their promotion winning goal came about… pic.twitter.com/NZboswz8nW

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 3, 2022

At the final whistle, having played out eight minutes of injury time, the home support invaded the pitch to clinch their second automatic promotion to the Premier League in their 123-year history.

“We deserve it. Our aim was to get promoted, and we have done it. I thought we were incredible in the second half.

“It is part and parcel of the Championship that there will be bumps along the way, but the fans stuck with us and that is why we are in this position and going to the Premier League.” – Scott Parker

In a pulsating game from the off, played at a relentless pace, the Cherries were deserved winners after a strong second-half showing, but they didn’t have it all their own way, particularly in the first half.

After a lively start from the hosts, Forest began to work through the gears and should have taken the lead on nine minutes. Having been played through on goal by Djed Spence, Sam Surridge’s left-footed effort struck the top of Mark Travers’ crossbar.

Jack Colback made a timely block to deny Ryan Christie a certain tap-in moments later as Jordan Zemura broke into the box and squared across Brice Samba’s goal.

Brennan Johnson was next up for the visitors to try and break the deadlock, and he was denied by Zemura’s block on the goal-line after Philip Zinckernagel had cut the ball back from the byline.

The contentious moment of the game followed as Forest were denied a penalty before the break. James Garner’s disguised pass got Surridge in on goal, and as Travers came out to smother, the Forest striker appeared to be clipped by the Cherries keeper.

After Stuart Attwell had pulled the play back for offside, but Surridge was onside as he timed his run to perfection.

The decision left Steve Cooper disappointed at full time, reflecting that the Premier League referee had called him into the changing room after the final whistle to apologise for his error.

“It was a big decision by the referee and the linesman who’ve just pulled me in to apologise. They’ve owned up to a huge error.”

The second half was a completely different proposition, however, as Bournemouth were out of the traps and showed greater determination across the departments to pile on the pressure.

Forest struggled to get out of their own half as the Cherries pressed them across the pitch. Dominic Solanke, Billing and Jaidon Anthony all had good opportunities to win the game.

An injury to midfielder Jefferson Lerma paved the way for Moore’s introduction, and Parker was repaid for his ambition to go on and win the game.

“The atmosphere was incredible, and that probably got us over the line. The fans were our 12th man, and that helped us massively. I want to say ‘thank you’ to the owner and the people involved in this club. I have nothing but the utmost support, and that gives me the opportunity to do the best job I can.”

For Forest, they will have to settle for the play-offs after an underwhelming second period showing where they could not get their passing game or get any breaks.

Referee Attwell felt the wrath of Brennan Johnson’s frustration as the Forest forward could not win free kicks despite some blatant unwanted attention from the Bournemouth rearguard.

Despite a late rally led by goalkeeper Samba, Cooper’s men will have to dust themselves down and get ready for another showdown in a week’s time.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt