Through wind and rain, the end of summer and a new era at the Vitality. In the Europa League, Milan will visit Dorset and trips to San Sebastián, Galicia, Norway and Czechia await Bournemouth. The stadium is under renovation, towering exoskeletons waiting to be filled, new security cordons to negotiate, the team under the new management of Marco Rose.
An unbeaten home record that stretches back to 3 January sustains, though so does Bournemouth’s tendency to concede late goals. James Tarkowski’s equaliser came in injury time. Other songs remain the same.
Set pieces retain huge importance in the Premier League. From an outswinging corner from Hayden Hackney, Marcus Tavernier and Ryan Christie got in a terrible tangle. Tarkowski, unmarked, stabbed home an unlikely equaliser.
If Bournemouth’s stance is that Alex Scott remains whatever the offers, his first-half goal and overall performance will only add to the cachet. In a game played at regulation Premier League 1.5x speed, while others skidded on a sodden surface, the Channel Islander made time and space bend to his will. Everton’s situation is volatile, racked with uncertainty, insurrection bubbling.
Before kick-off, the away contingent sang for the 19-year-old Harrison Armstrong, linked with a £40m move to Nottingham Forest. Should he be sold “you’re going to have a riot on your hands”, fans warned. As if joining the protest movement, David Moyes started a player Evertonians hope does not follow the decades-long drain of young players sold.
Wayne Rooney, John Stones, Francis Jeffers, the list is long. Selling Armstrong to a peer in Forest will cut yet deeper. Finances and regulations dictate that every Everton player has a price, is a bargaining chip.
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