BOURNEMOUTH, England (Reuters) – Two second-half strikes by forward Dominic Solanke gave Bournemouth a 2-0 home win over a depleted Newcastle United on Saturday which lifted the Cherries to 17th place in the Premier League table, three points clear of the relegation zone.
Newcastle were missing a slew of players through injury and suspension and Solanke struck his first on the hour mark as the ball was inadvertently played into his path by Newcastle’s Joe Willock and the 26-year-old slotted home.
The visitors upped the tempo in search of an equaliser but conceded a second 13 minutes later when they failed to clear a corner and Solanke was on hand with an improvised close-range finish to score his second.
The win lifted Bournemouth, who dropped into the bottom three after a 6-1 thrashing by Manchester City a week ago, to 17th place on nine points, three clear of Luton Town. Newcastle slipped to seventh on 20 points after 12 games.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor, editing by Ed Osmond)
