Kevin Friend, the fourth official, was taken to hospital after a freak touchline accident left him with a facial injury during last night’s south coast derby.
With half-time approaching, Friend fell and banged his head on the top of the dugout. He collapsed and his face was bleeding. Both managers alerted the referee, Mike Dean, and the match was held up briefly. Friend was treated in the players’ tunnel and was reported to be conscious, but was taken to hospital as a precaution.
The call went out for a fifth official and was answered by Dean Treleaven, a non-League referee. The second half was delayed by five minutes. “He [Friend] walked against the dugout and fell on the ground,” Ronald Koeman, the Southampton manager, said. “For five seconds he was out of everything.”
Friend was due to be kept in hospital overnight under observation. Southampton also left with a bloody nose after goals in either half from Steve Cook, a defender who cost £150,000, and Benik Afobe, the £9 million record signing, pushed Bournemouth to the cusp of a second season.
“It feels like a really big night for the club,” Eddie Howe, the Bournemouth manager, said after the first league win over Southampton since 1958.
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The victory took them eight points clear of the bottom three. Koeman was unequivocal when asked if Bournemouth would stay up. “Yes. They are much better than some teams in the Premier League.”
He was less enamoured with his side. “Ask every Southampton player did you win or lose more battles and all ten will recognise they lost more.” To dampen his mood further, Charlie Austin, once a Bournemouth target, limped off with a hamstring injury and will be side-lined for “several weeks.”
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Southampton were not out of it until the 79th minute but they were second best for the main part. Outfought by Bournemouth’s players, Koeman was forced into a first-half tactical change, with Steven Davis added to the fray at Maya Yoshida’s expense.
Matt Ritchie was far more influential. and he took one frenzied minute to draw a one-footed save from Fraser Forster. With Austin and Sadio Mané going close at the other end a breakthrough was a matter of time. The only surprise was it took half an hour.
Josh King’s commitment was demonstrated by his decision to play even though his partner had given birth to baby Noah on the morning of the match. “It can drain you or inspire you and I think it inspired him,” Howe said.
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King’s commitment to lost causes then embarrassed José Fonte as he tried to shepherd a ball into touch, and was forced to pull the striker back. Ritchie’s free kick from wide on the right was clawed into the air by Forster and Cook volleyed down and in. Forster had gone 708 minutes without conceding until Saturday; suddenly it was three in 45 minutes.
Afobe’s brave header from another Ritchie free kick made sure of the outcome and went a long way to confirming the club’s top-flight status.