Bournemouth 3-2 Birmingham City: Late Philip Billing goal ends Cherries losing streak
- Published
Philip Billing's winner capped a good second half for the Cherries
Philip Billing's late winner saw Bournemouth end a four-game losing run as caretaker manager Jonathan Woodgate led his side to victory over Birmingham City.
Having had some excellent chances, Birmingham took a deserved lead when the recalled Scott Hogan tapped in after Gary Gardner's low cross was fumbled by Asmir Begovic, but Bournemouth levelled soon after as Arnaut Danjuma curled in after excellent build-up play by Jack Wilshere.
The former Arsenal and West Ham midfielder put the hosts in front after an hour with a looping header from six yards after Adam Smith's ball in, but Hogan's glancing header from Ivan Sanchez's whipped cross brought the scores level again.
But Billing was on hand to tap in from close range at the far post after Danjuma's curled free-kick from wide on the left.
The Cherries, who sacked manager Jason Tindall after Tuesday's loss to Sheffield Wednesday, consolidate their place in the play-offs, while Birmingham drop into the relegation places after Rotherham's win at Preston.
Birmingham started the game well as Bournemouth rode their luck - Steve Cook headed Sanchez's 17th-minute effort off the line after Begovic had saved Jeremie Bela's shot, while the Bosnia keeper pulled off an excellent stop two minutes later from Ivan Sunjic's volley.
Former Middlesbrough manager Jonathan Woodgate only joined the Cherries last Monday as senior first-team coach after Graeme Jones left to become Steve Bruce's number two at Newcastle
Shortly after Hogan's opener Kristian Pedersen thought he had put Blues two-up with a thunderous volley, but the effort was ruled out for offside and the Cherries equaliser was against the run of play.
But Bournemouth improved after the break as debutant Shane Long headed wide from a Danjuma corner before the Irish striker hit the crossbar.
And it was the Cherries that went on to win and leave Blues in a worrying position at the wrong end of the table with games against Luton, Millwall, fellow relegation rivals Sheffield Wednesday and leaders Norwich City up next.
Bournemouth caretaker manager Jonathan Woodgate told BBC Radio Solent:
"It was really satisfying. There were times in the game especially early on when we were making mistakes and we go one behind but they players showed character.
"It's been a really difficult week, Jason (Tindall) has been here for 22 years he's been unbelievable and is a fantastic person, he's been really supportive.
"You get more buzz being the manager than being the player, I just wanted to win and it doesn't matter how we got it. It's been tough coming down from the Premier League it's not as easy as everyone thinks it is."
Blues head coach Aitor Karanka told BBC WM 95.6:
"I wish it wasn't always the same, the frustration, we were much better than the opponent who were in the Premier League last year and full of quality players.
"We scored two and had clear chances to score more but mistakes punished us and it's the same every single game. We played three games in the last week when we were much better than the opponent and we have two points.
"We made three mistakes today and we conceded three goals. We have to keep working on the training ground and to add more points on the table."