Just when it seemed another match would be dominated by the dreariness of a debatable video assistant referee decision, a moment of majesty from Charalampos Kostoulas provided a pertinent reminder of the beauty that football can provide.
With his side staring at what would have been a controversial defeat, the Greek substitute found himself facing away from the Bournemouth goal in the first minute of injury time. A touch of his chest bounced the ball upwards, before the 18-year-old produced a wonderful bicycle kick to send the Amex Stadium wild.
It meant spoils were shared and ensured the game was not decided by a first-half penalty that the referee had not initially given, instead punishing Amine Adli for a dive, only to change his mind and point to the spot when identifying on the pitchside monitor that Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen had touched the Moroccan as he tumbled to the ground. How much contact is too much contact? Does anyone even know any more?
Marcus Tavernier duly converted from the spot and, for so long, it looked likely to be the game’s only goal. But Kostoulas’s late acrobatics denied Bournemouth a first away win since August.
A beneficiary of “Dr Tottenham” when ending an 11-game winless run in their last Premier League outing, there remains a sizeable task for Andoni Iraola to tackle at Bournemouth over the remainder of this season. Prior to Antoine Semenyo’s recent departure, the Bournemouth manager made it clear that a player of the Ghanaian’s ability is irreplaceable. As true as that may be, Iraola had already been forced to weather the loss of more than £200m worth of talent in the summer, so valuable departures are hardly a novel concern for him.
With a host of untried teenagers among his substitutes and a squad he admitted was “thin”, Iraola opted for Adli to fill the Semenyo-shaped hole down Bournemouth’s left, and demanded haste from his troops. “The worst part right now is our bench,” bemoaned the manager before kick-off. “We are probably not going to be able to affect the game, especially if we are chasing, so we have to start strong.”
The Moroccan answered his coach’s call, aided by a refereeing decision that contained no shortage of controversy. Played in centrally after a rapid Tavernier counterattack, Adli tumbled theatrically to the deck as he attempted to beat Verbruggen to the ball inside the penalty area, prompting the referee, Paul Tierney, to award him a yellow card for a simulation.
Soon summoned to review his decision at the pitchside monitor, Tierney then decided to reverse that call when replays showed contact between the Brighton goalkeeper’s right leg and Adli’s shin. That the Bournemouth player was already falling to the ground was deemed irrelevant – to the fury of most inside the Amex Stadium – and a penalty was awarded, which Tavernier tucked into the bottom corner. It appeared, to put it lightly, a soft call.
Brighton came close to an instant equaliser through Jack Hinshelwood’s close-range header, but Bournemouth were fully deserving of their half-time lead, with their forward quartet of Tavernier, Eli Junior Kroupi, Adli and Evanilson repeatedly exhibiting their ability to cause problems for opposition defenders in this post-Semenyo era. For all that Brighton enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, the hosts had nothing like the quickfire threat of their opponents whenever they ventured into the final third.
The Amex crowd made their sentiments abundantly clear when booing the referee both off the pitch at the end of the first period and back on to it after the break. They were almost given something to cheer early in the second half when Kaoru Mitoma lifted a smart effort just wide of a post with Djordje Petrovic scrambling.
If the hosts hoped the referee might be looking for a quick opportunity to level the penalty count they were mistaken. A series of rolls from Jan Paul van Hecke were ignored after the Brighton centre-back went down under pressure from Alex Scott inside the six-yard box. A second, forlorn, shout for handball was also brushed off.
At least Brighton were finally showing some attacking promise, and a triple substitution attempted to suck the fading energy out of Bournemouth’s lungs, as Georginio Rutter, Carlos Baleba and Yankuba Minteh all came on soon after the hour.
With Bournemouth sitting ever deeper, the hosts threatened with increasing frequency, Minteh stinging Petrovic’s hands with a fierce drive and crosses being lumped into the box. Then came a moment Kostoulas will not forget in a hurry. Football can be sublime at times.
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