Rudy Gestede showed he is ready to fill the boots of
Christian Benteke by netting the decisive goal as Aston Villa went on to win
1-0 at Vitality Stadium and spoil AFC Bournemouth’s first match in the Barclays Premier League.
The former Blackburn Rovers striker found the back of the
net 13 minutes after coming on in the second half, powering a header home from
a right-wing corner. AFC Bournemouth had impressed on their top-flight debut,
but were left to rue Dan Gosling and Marc Pugh's missed chances before the
interval.
Idrissa Gueye went close to giving Villa a superb start in
the second period, before Gestede, another new signing, brought in after
Benteke's sale to Liverpool, secured three points with a debut goal on 72
minutes.
The introduction of Max Gradel gave AFC Bournemouth a lift,
but the Ivorian was unable to find a way through for Eddie Howe's side as they
were handed proof of the stiff task they face in the top flight.
Howe largely kept faith with the players who earned AFC
Bournemouth promotion last season and they enjoyed plenty of early possession,
but their attempts to use the blistering pace of Joshua King, the only home
player to be making his debut from the start, and Callum Wilson were easily
dealt with by a resolute Villa defence.
The visitors, who handed five players their first start for
the club, grew into the match as AFC Bournemouth's energetic start began to
take its toll, with Jordan Amavi particularly impressive down the left with his
surging runs.
Chances were few and far between for either side in the
opening half-hour, but AFC Bournemouth finished the first period strongly,
spurning three opportunities to take the lead before the break.
Gosling was first to go close after 37 minutes after Villa
failed to clear the ball, but the midfielder was unable to control his finish
and the ball looped over the crossbar.
Wilson was released behind the Villa defence four minutes
later, only to be denied by the legs of Brad Guzan, and the American was on
hand again in stoppage time to parry Pugh's volley.
AFC Bournemouth struggled to maintain their momentum early
in the second half as Villa looked the more likely to break the deadlock, with
Gueye denied superbly by Artur Boruc.
Gabriel Agbonlahor found room on the right before picking
out the Senegal international with a perfectly weighted pull-back, but Boruc
was quick to react and push his low shot away.
Still Villa continued to push and substitute Gestede could
have done better with his first chance for Tim Sherwood's side, dragging a
volley wide nine minutes after coming on.
However, he made no mistake with 18 minutes to play as he
snatched three points for the visitors with a free header from Ashley
Westwood's corner.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "It was a really good
performance from us. I can't be too critical. We created chances and got into
good areas but when you get those chances you have to be clinical.
"I'm disappointed with the defeat but looking forward
to the rest of the season."
Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood: “I thought we were slow in the first period but we
set out to nullify them and try to quieten this carnival atmosphere. We did
that for half an hour and then we didn’t
stick to the plan for the last 15 minutes, and had to rely on Brad Guzan to
make a few saves.
“Rudy hasn’t trained an awful lot, but we
knew he would give us a different dimension. We worked very hard to bring him
to this football club so we’re
delighted – and that’s a victory for the people
behind the scenes at the club.
“A lot of our
fans have probably come down here for the weekend, so we’ve sent them home with a nice tan.”
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