Cherries & Bees play out goalless draw

Bournemouth’s unbeaten run under interim boss Gary O’Neil continued with a credible 0-0 draw at home to Brentford.

The Cherries were denied two penalties at the Vitality Stadium but continue their promising form since Scott Parker’s dismissal.

Mikkel Damsgaard looked very lively in the opening stages on his first Premier League start for Brentford, twice forcing Neto into good saves between the Bournemouth sticks.

Though the Bees were on top for much of the first half, the Cherries could have easily had a penalty when Kristoffer Ajer brought down Jordan Zemura. Referee Thomas Bramall was instructed to check the VAR monitor, and after watching back replays for around a minute, stuck by his initial decision as it appeared the Norwegian got a toe on the ball despite clattering his opponent.

Brentford came close to breaking the deadlock towards the end of the first half when a scramble in the box eventually saw Damsgaard cross for Ajer, but his header sailed over and the sides went into the break all-square.

Ivan Toney, who had a very quiet first half, was on hand after the interval to clear Jefferson Lerma’s attempt off the line.

At the end of a largely uneventful 90 minutes, Bournemouth could have had a penalty when the ball struck Mathias Jensen’s hand from a corner, but the referee instead chose to blow the final whistle, prompting fury from the hosts.