BOURNEMOUTH players were reaching for their oxygen masks last night after climbing to a giddy second spot in the Prem.
Sensational goals by Antoine Semenyo and substitute Justin Kluivert sent the Cherries flying above Sunderland, Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Arsenal.
Now only reigning champions Liverpool remain above Andoni Iraola’s boys who are enjoying their best ever start to a top-flight season.
And the smallest Prem club in the country should enjoy every minute of their elevated status before the big boys line-up to shoot them back down to size this afternoon.
But you can’t help but admire this Dorset fairytale which should attract the attention of those Hollywood types looking for another Netflix documentary to tell.
To think just 17 years ago I was reporting on Cherries fans throwing coins in a bucket to pay the players wages and save the cub from dropping out of the Football League!
Local boy Eddie Howe in 2008, started the miracle of Dean Court and Iraola has taken it to another level in his three seasons in charge.
Fulham were under pressure from Bournemouth’s slick passing play from the start and Tyler Adams went close to scoring on ten minutes.
Timothy Castagne lost possession to Adams whose low drive forced goalkeeper Bernd Leno to push clear at his near post.
It took the visitors over 20 minutes to make a sustained foray into the home box but it didn’t help their cause that they had no centre-forward on the pitch.
The contest flipped on its side with Fulham controlling possession but the wind and rain from Storm Amy didn’t help the fluency of the match!
And yet it was Bournemouth who threatened three minutes before the break through dangerman Semenyo.
Semenyo burst between Sander Berge and Castagne and whipped in a shot which Lerno did well to block on his line.
Brazilian Evanilson moved in on the loose ball but was pulled up for a foul on Calvin Bassey.
Bournemouth rediscovered their attacking intent straight after the break and Alex Scott had a goal-bound shot blocked by Joachim Andersen.
Then David Brooks’ in-swinging 52nd minute corner was swirling under the bar before Leno acrobatically punched it clear.
Within a minute Leno came to Fulham’s rescue again when he kept out Evanilson’s crisp shot on the turn.
And, yet, Fulham’s first real chance of the match just before the hour nearly led to the Londoners taking the lead.
Former Cherry Harry Wilson thumped in a fierce cross-shot which forced home goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic to dive full-length to his left to push clear.
But Fulham took the lead on 70 minutes when sub Samual Chukwueze slipped a fabulous pass through to Ryan Sessegnon to dink the ball over Petrovic.
That looked enough to give Fulham head coach Marcos Silva his first win in six games at the Vitality Stadium.
But Semenyo had other ideas and on 78 minutes, raced past Castagne and beat Leno at his near post by shooting through his legs.
Dutchman Kluivert brought the house down six minute from time when he ran 20 yards before finding the top corner with a wonder shot.
Yet Semenyo had his Spanish coach Andoni Iraola singing in the rain in stoppage time when he blasted home sub Ben Gannon-Doak’s cross.
Read the full article here