Afobe on target as Bournemouth inflict defeat on Swansea

Bournemouth moved nine points adrift of the relegation zone and piled further misery on Swansea in the process with a 2-0 victory over Paul Clement’s side.

The Cherries, who have now won two consecutive games, took the lead in rather fortuitous circumstances on the half-hour mark when Benik Afobe’s shot took a heavy deflection off Alfie Mawson, wrong-footing Lukasz Fabianski and into the back of the net.

Swansea were extremely poor for the majority of the match but when the visitors did improve for a 10 minute spell after the restart they were hit by a sucker-punch, as Afobe finally got his goal when he coolly finished after being played through by the impressive Josh King.

The victory means Bournemouth are all but safe with 33 points and nine games to play but the same can’t be said for Swansea who remain 17th, three points above the drop zone.

Swansea are in grave danger: Paul Clement's appointment in January appeared to bring about a change in fortune for the club as the former Derby manager won four matches out of six but Swansea seem to have gone backwards recently and their latest performance was extremely concerning. Meanwhile, in stark contrast to their troubled rivals, Bournemouth are playing with confidence once again and instead of worrying about a relegation scrap they can target a place in the top 10.

Josh King (Bournemouth): Scored a hat-trick in the victory over West Ham last week and although he didn’t get on the score-sheet on this occasion the forward was at the heart of every Bournemouth attack. The 25-year-old is full of confidence and is proving to be a vital player for Eddie Howe.

AFC Bournemouth: Boruc 5, A.Smith 6, Francis 6, Cook 7, Daniels 7, Fraser 7, Surman 6, Arter 6, Pugh 7, Afobe 7, King 8. Subs: Allsop, Wilshere 6, Gradel N/A, Ibe N/A.

Swansea City: Fabianski 7; Cork 6, Mawson 6, Fernandez 6, Kingsley 6; Ki 6, Carroll 6, Fer 5; Llorente 6, Ayew 6, Sigurdsson 7. Subs: Routledge 6, Narsingh 6, Borja N/A.

24’ - SWANSEA PENALTY APPEAL! Pugh handles the ball in the penalty area as he blocks Carroll's cross but the referee, who is well positioned, isn't interested. You've seen them given...

31’ - GOAL! Bournemouth take the lead and it's Afobe who makes the breakthrough! The forward finds some space just outside the penalty area to take a shot, it takes a wicked deflection and wrongfoots Fabianski.

35’ - CLOSE! Sigurdsson nearly catches Boruc out with an ambitious shot from 30 yards out! The ball is destined for the bottom corner but the goalkeeper gets a fingertip to it and Swansea only have a corner as reward.

51’ - SAVE! Gosling wins the ball back for Bournemouth and with little other option he shoots from 25 yards, forcing Fabianski into a top class stop.

72’ - GOAL! Swansea looked more likely to grab the game's second goal but in fact it's Bournemouth who are celebrating as Afobe doubles the home team's advantage with a really neat finish. King does brilliantly to play his strike partner through and Afobe makes no mistake.

78’ - TERRIFIC SAVE! Fabianski pulls off a remarkable save to keep his team in the game! Wilshere gets to the byline and picks out King at the back post but the forward's powerful header is brilliantly thwarted by the Swansea goalkeeper.

Josh King has been directly involved in eight goals in his last six Premier League games (seven goals, one assist).