Bournemouth battle back to draw with Sunderland and extend unbeaten run

[p]The visitors started the game on the front foot and created a very early opportunity when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sadiki-noah/UJnCIUV6/"]Noah Sadiki[/a]’s effort forced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/petrovic-dorde/2F8I5Zyo/"]Dorde Petrovic[/a] into a decent save, shortly before the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sunderland/WSzc94ws/"]Black Cats[/a] had a strong penalty appeal turned down by the referee.[/p][p]The hosts gradually worked their way into the match as the first half progressed, and after 12 minutes, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kroupi-eli-junior/fHMXip22/"]Eli Junior Kroupi[/a] should have done much better when he dragged a shot from inside the box well wide of the target.[/p][p][b]It was Regis Le Bris’s side that made the breakthrough, though, when a lovely team move led to a stinging effort from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diarra-habib/nFakLd1E/"]Habib Diarra[/a] that was palmed away by Petrovic, but into the path of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mayenda-eliezer/bufbUZ9r/"]Eliezer Mayenda[/a], who stroked the ball into the back of the net, marking his first PL goal since the opening day of the season.[/b][/p][p]The Cherries responded with urgency, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/roefs-robin/Ao7TtUZn/"]Robin Roefs[/a] was soon needed to produce an impressive double save to keep Sunderland ahead.[/p][p]Andoni Iraola’s team continued to look dangerous in the final third in their search for an equaliser, and Roefs was once again required to make an important stop to prevent [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tavernier-marcus/jFqXIRZj/"]Marcus Tavernier[/a] from levelling the game before the interval with a well-struck free-kick.[/p][image alt="FT stats" id="440c82c3-7f99-436e-9c4c-0f2d67971205" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="f1cb67e3-b19a-4e33-8bdf-76ec098be3a9" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The break allowed the Black Cats to regroup, and they came desperately close to making the dream start to the second half.[/p][p]Within two minutes of the restart, Diarra broke free of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bournemouth/OtpNdwrc/"]Bournemouth[/a]’s last man and suddenly had just the goalkeeper to beat, but his strike lacked accuracy, and Petrovic was able to make a vital block to keep the hosts in contention.[/p][p][b]This proved to be a costly miss, as substitute [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/evanilson/lUqxFifa/"]Evanilson[/a] headed home an outstanding cross from Tavernier to equalise in the 64th minute, setting up an intriguing final quarter of the match.[/b][/p][embed guid="9bee114d-b9f5-4a2c-b7e9-5321fa663591" url="https://x.com/afcbournemouth/status/2027744075156234288" social-type="twitter" /][p]Despite both sides’ best efforts, including a goal for the Black Cats inside the last 10 minutes that was immediately ruled out for offside, a winner could not be found, and a point apiece was probably a fair result.[/p][p]The Cherries will look to keep their hopes of European qualification on track on Tuesday evening when they host [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brentford/xYe7DwID/"]Brentford[/a] in the league.[/p][p]Meanwhile, Sunderland have risen to 11th position and will aim to return to winning ways when they face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/leeds/tUxUbLR2/"]Leeds [/a]at Elland Road on the same night.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tavernier-marcus/jFqXIRZj/"]Marcus Tavernier[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bournemouth/OtpNdwrc/"]Bournemouth[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/bournemouth-OtpNdwrc/sunderland-WSzc94ws/?mid=hOA1PhIN"]Check out the match stats with Flashscore[/a][/b][/p][image alt="Momentum" id="e12fc537-f7cf-49d7-b6ab-27166b2515d9" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="737e1544-cd03-43a7-9b1e-06fa438e87f8" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /]