Bournemouth won for the third straight match in the Premier League courtesy of a 3-2 result over Swansea City at Vitality Stadium on Saturday.
The Cherries hit the lead on two occasions before finding a late winner after the Swans had twice equalised on the south coast.
The opening goal came in the 37th minute when Max Gradel, who only recently returned from a lengthy injury layoff, fired home a composed finish after Adam Smith's cross from the right had fallen into his path courtesy of a Lukasz Fabianski save.
Two minutes later and Modou Barrow made history when he became the first Gambian to score in the English top flight when levelling for the Swans when cutting into the area from the right, taking on a pair of Cherries defenders, and finishing brilliantly with his left foot.
Five minutes into the second half, Joshua King made it 2-1 when he fired low and hard from inside the area after being fed by Gradel before Gylfi Sigurdsson again drew Swansea level when he superbly controlled a cut-back from Barrow to rifle a quality half-volley beyond Artur Boruc.
With just over 10 mines remaining, Eddie Howe's Cherries came up with a third goal and eventual winner when Matt Ritchie delivered a pinpoint cross in the area after a short corner allowing defender Steve Cook to head home emphatically.
The victory sees Bournemouth move up to 13th on the league table as Swansea remain 16th, eight points clear of the drop zone.
MATCH OVERVIEW
AFC Bournemouth: 3 (Max Gradel 37', Joshua King 50', Steve Cook 78')
Swansea City: 2 (Modou Barrow 39', Gylfi Sigurdsson 62')
Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth - 11,179
TALKING POINTS
- Bournemouth showing they truly belong in the Premier League. Have the been the most impressive of the promoted sides?
- A disappointing defeat for Swansea. They would want to avoid more of the same in the coming few matches if they want to remain safely in the top flight.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Bournemouth will now prepare to meet second-placed Tottenham at White Hart Lane on the weekend when Swansea host the struggling Aston Villa.
TWITTER INSIGHT
Fantastic result!!! Buzzing for Kingy, @SteveCook28 and especially @maxigr04del What a comeback after such a bad injury
— Marc Pugh (@MarcPugh7) March 12, 2016
What a big win that was! Great atmosphere today. Up the cherries #afcbpic.twitter.com/xsdsAJhhMs
— Adam Smith (@AdamSmith912) March 12, 2016
Not the result we deserved but honored to become the 1st Gambian to score in @premierleague. Hopefully 1st of many pic.twitter.com/fNTbuP9EFW
— Modou Barrow (@modoubarrow14) March 12, 2016
QUOTES CORNER
Bournemouth boss Howe on his side's survival hopes:
"The official line is that nothing is decided today. We have put ourselves in a good position but we still have work to do.
"There are so many games to go that you can't predict what will be needed.
"What good would saying 'we are safe' do? We have a number of games still to play against some very good teams."
Swansea coach Alan Curtis on the result:
"It's really disappointing. We clawed ourselves back into the game twice but individual errors have cost us the game. People switched off.
"We've slipped up a bit today, if we had got a result it would have made it much easier, but now we have to work doubly hard until the end of the season."
STATS SPECIALS
*Thanks to Opta
95 - Modou Barrow is the first Gambian to score a Premier League goal, meaning 95 different nationalities have now scored in the PL. Spread.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 12, 2016
2 - Josh King has scored in back-to-back league appearances for the first time in his professional career. Sequence.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 12, 2016
7 - Sergio Agüero (9) is the only player to have scored more Premier League goals in 2016 than Gylfi Sigurdsson (7). Form.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 12, 2016
