CHERRIES made a big statement in the championship promotion race with a 3-0 victory over their nearest rivals for an automatic spot, Huddersfield Town.
Second-placed Cherries stretched the gap between themselves and third-placed Huddersfield by six points before the international break, thanks to goals from Jaidon Anthony, Jefferson Lerma, and Dominic Solanke.
Anthony was waiting at the back post to open Solanke’s cross in goal before the striker did the hard work again for the second goal, with his saved strike kindly falling for Lerma to push home.
Solanke went into goal right after the restart, with Cherries’ top scorer completing a fluent counterattack to effectively kill the game just 46 minutes after it started.
Scott Parker made two changes to the side that equaled Low Reading on Tuesday, with Philip Billing and Adam Smith returning to the side after their suspension, at the expense of Todd Cantwell and Jack Stacey, who went to the bench have fallen.
The early substitutions disturbed the Cherries’ visitors high on the pitch, giving the away side an early chance to close out Huddersfield’s defense.
Oliver Turton saw Billing’s scope play, the ball fell kindly to Solanke in the penalty area. His first shot was well saved by Lee Nicholls, who quickly went down low to save his comeback.
The away team came over Solanke again, with the striker sending a free kick from Christie with a header to the bar.
Cherry blossoms continue their high energy start, taking only 17 minutes to open. The outfield quickly broke down on the right flank, with Ryan Christie sending Solanke to the side.
Solanke was able to translate the ball over the goal, so Anthony could place the ball under Nicholls and take his side.
While neither side dominated the ball, Cherries saw more of the ball in the opening exchange.
However, after taking the lead, Huddersfield slowly took over the affairs, with a few nervous moments behind them.
Danny Ward saw a header saved by Travers, the closest of the Terriers during their control period.
Cherries completed the home team’s hegemony shortly after half an hour, with Solanke involved again.
Solanke could only pull off a save from goalkeeper Nicholls – but luckily for Cherries, the ball fell kindly to Lerma on the edge of the field, with the Colombian sending the ball into the net for cherry second.
The goal re-established Cherries as a team at the top, with the men not producing much before the end of the half.
Despite a controlled lead at half an hour, the Cherries quickly sought to extend it and finish the game in the process.
They reached the feat, with Solanke scoring a goal that deserved his overall game.
Goalkeeper Travers started the move, sending it to Smith, who slipped into Lerma, who quickly switched the game to Anthony.
The band painted Billing, who passed the ball to Solanke. Still struggling with work, the former Liverpool and Chelsea striker pulled the ball back past Nicholls to send his side three goals.
When the second one knocked the stuff out of the men, Solanke’s third must have felt hopeless.
The game quickly went into a no-brainer, with Cherries content to match the ball, taking a few chances to send attempted, diagonal passes to stretch the game.
With no need to pursue the game, and Huddersfield playing without faith suggesting they could make a comeback, there was no urgency in the game.
The last kick of the game gave Travers a complete save to keep him clean.
Parker’s men are now six points ahead of Huddersfield, with the potential to turn that gap into fifteen if they return their three games in hand to a maximum point.
Cherry: Travers, Smith, Phillips, Kelly, Zemura, Lerma (Lowe, 83), Cook, Billing (Cantwell, 80), Christie, Solanke (Dembele, 88), Anthony
Unused Subs: Woodman (b / w), Stacey, Mepham, Cahill
Reserved: Kelly, Christie, Lerma
Huddersfield: Nicholls, Toffolo, Pearson, O’Brien, Thomas, Holmes, Turton, Sinani (Koroma, 52), Ward, Lees (Colwill, ht), Russell
Unused Subs: Blackman (b / w), Pipa, Anjorin, Rhodes, Koroma, Colwill, Eiting
Referee: Simon Hooper
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