December 17, (THEWILL) – Bournemouth’s Enes Unal delivered a dramatic late equaliser to give his side a 1-1 draw against West Ham at the Vitality Stadium on Monday evening.
The Turkish forward’s exceptional free-kick in the 90th minute canceled out Lucas Paqueta’s earlier penalty, extending Bournemouth’s unbeaten run to four matches and lifting them to sixth place in the Premier League.
West Ham appeared set for victory when Paqueta converted a penalty in the 87th minute after Tyler Adams was adjudged to have handled Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross.
The goal seemed destined to give West Ham their second consecutive league triumph under manager Julen Lopetegui, who has been under significant pressure this season.
The match was a thrilling encounter with numerous chances for both sides.
Bournemouth dominated early proceedings, with Antoine Semenyo striking the post and Dango Ouattara denied by an exceptional save from West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
The home team created multiple opportunities throughout the match, testing Fabianski repeatedly with efforts from Ryan Christie, Philip Billing, and Evanilson.
West Ham responded with counter-attacking threats, with Jarrod Bowen hitting the crossbar and Carlos Soler narrowly missing the target.
The visitors looked comfortable after Paqueta’s penalty, believing they had managed an away victory in their battle to move away from the relegation zone.
Unal had other plans, however. The 27-year-old forward stepped up in the final moments, curling a sublime free-kick from 25 yards into the top corner, sending the Vitality Stadium into raptures.
The goal was Unal’s second of the season and continued Bournemouth’s impressive record of scoring 10 league goals in the final 15 minutes of matches.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
