CONFIRMED: LATE SEMENYO STRIKE EARNS CHERRIES OPENING DAY POINT

Antoine Semenyo’s late equaliser earned AFC Bournemouth an opening day point in a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest.

Chris Wood gave the hosts the lead from close range in the first-half, before Dango Ouattara had a goal disallowed.

But with four minutes to go, Semenyo rifled in from close range to secure the Cherries’ first point of the new season.

Dean Huijsen was named in the starting XI as Iraola gave the young defender his Premier League debut, with new arrival Julián Araujo named on the bench for his first inclusion in a matchday squad.

Friday’s registration of club-record signing Evanilson came too late for his inclusion, so Semenyo was chosen to lead the line for the Cherries from the start, rotating with Luis Sinisterra.

The match started brightly for the Cherries with Antoine Semenyo’s deflected shot earning a corner, from which Dango Ouattara headed just over.

Play was stopped for ten minutes shortly afterwards when Danilo landed awkwardly following an aerial challenge with Semenyo.

The Forest player left the pitch on a stretcher to an outpouring of support from everybody inside the ground.

Within ten minutes of the play restarting, Wood opened the scoring for the hosts when he tucked home a rebound from close range after Ryan Yates’s initial shot was parried by Neto. The Cherries skipper then saved well from distance from Elanga, before Ouattara thought he had brought the visitors level.

The Burkina Faso international lashed home from six yards after the ball had bounced around near the goal-line, but Lewis Cook was adjudged to be in an offside position when receiving a return pass from Marcus Tavernier in the build-up.

The game settled into a slower pace for a period, with both sides enjoying some decent spells of possession without creating any clear-cut chances.

Neco Williams came closest but his powerful drive was always rising over Neto’s crossbar.

As the game entered 11 minutes of added time in the first half, Semenyo nearly found an equaliser but his well-struck effort couldn’t quite curl inside the far post in time.

Milos Kerkez had done well to chase on to a ball to cross to the Ghanaian at the back of the area.

And the Cherries were finding their rhythm and almost got the leveller just before the break when Sinisterra forced Mats Selz into a superb save after the Colombian had gone through on goal. The second half saw a steady start, with the Cherries struggling to find a way to break through Forest’s low defensive line in the opening 15 minutes.

Neto then produced another great save on the hour-mark, diving to push Boly’s header wide of his left post.

Pressure from Iraola’s side resumed, but with the only attempts coming from range. Semenyo saw his deflected effort land safely in the keeper’s hands. Lewis Cook’s in-swinging cross evaded all Cherries attackers at the back post with the ball bouncing just wide, before Tavernier headed over following some good work down the left from Daniel Jebbison, who was on for his first AFC Bournemouth league appearance.

But with four minutes remaining, Iraola’s men got the goal that secured the point their second-half performance merited.

A ball in from the left-hand side wasn’t cleared, when Harry Toffolo’s clearance hit Murillo before falling kindly to Semenyo from close range.

He showed composure to rifle the ball into the net under pressure to send the travelling Cherries fans into delirium behind the goal.

Cherries XI: Neto ©, Huijsen, Kerkez, Cook, Ouattara, Scott, Smith, Tavernier, Sinisterra, Semenyo, Zabarnyi.

Subs: Travers, Christie, Kluivert, Jebbison, Traoré, Hill, J. Araujo, Philip, Anthony.