Solanke double fires Bournemouth to upset win over Newcastle

BOURNEMOUTH, England :Two second-half strikes by forward Dominic Solanke gave Bournemouth a 2-0 home win over a depleted Newcastle United on Saturday which lifted the Cherries to 17th place in the Premier League table, three points clear of the relegation zone.

Newcastle were missing a slew of players through injury and suspension, forcing manager Eddie Howe, a former player and manager at Bournemouth, to deploy Anthony Gordon as a makeshift centre forward.

The reshuffle seemed to have given the desired effect as midfielder Sean Longstaff almost scored with an early drive, but after weathering the storm in a goalless first half, Newcastle's weaknesses were exposed.

Solanke struck his first goal on the hour mark as the ball was inadvertently played into his path by Newcastle's Joe Willock and the 26-year-old slotted home.

The visitors has goalkeeper Nick Pope to thank as he pulled off several saves to keep them in the game, including a superb effort to deny Marcus Tavernier.

Pope's efforts were undone at the resulting corner as his defence failed to clear and Solanke was on hand with an improvised close-range finish to double the lead.

The second goal took the wind out of Newcastle's sails and Bournemouth wasted chances to add to their lead through Solanke and substitutes Luis Sinisterra and Dango Outtara.

Bournemouth, who dropped into the bottom three after a 6-1 thrashing by Manchester City a week ago, climbed to 17th place on nine points, three clear of Luton Town. Newcastle slipped to seventh on 20 points after 12 games.