Brooks's double gives City the blues

Brooks’s double helped Jason Tindall’s team erase the memory of their disappointing reverse at Sheffield Wednesday in midweek and saw them return to fourth place in the table.

Wales international Brooks added to Arnaut Danjuma’s early opener with a deflected effort towards the end of a first half dominated by the visitors.

And the 23-year-old’s emphatic strike after Dominic Solanke’s effort had come back off the post made it 3-0 at the start of the season half, with Scott Hogan’s header proving a mere consolation for the hosts.

Arnaut Danjuma rounded off a sweeping move to open the scoring after nine minutes, the Dutchman’s fourth goal of the season owing much to Junior Stanislas’s superb assist.

The Cherries were forced to make a change after Lewis Cook had sustained an injury during a coming-together with Gary Gardner towards the end of the first half.

It failed to disrupt the flow, however, and Tindall’s team were rewarded for an excellent first-half display when David Brooks’s deflected strike doubled their lead three minutes before the interval.

Jack Stacey, Lewis Cook, Stanislas and Dominic Solanke returned to the starting line-up as boss Tindall made four changes following the 1-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday.

Stacey slotted in at right-back as Tindall reverted to a flat back four with Chris Mepham partnering Lloyd Kelly in the centre and Diego Rico on the left.

Cook and Stanislas joined Jefferson Lerma in midfield, while Solanke linked up in attack with Danjuma.

Steve Cook served a one-match suspension after picking up a red card at Hillsborough and Adam Smith, Dan Gosling and Joshua King were named among the Cherries substitutes.

In the absence of Cook, goalkeeper Asmir Begovic was handed the captain’s armband.

Riley McGree scuffed an early chance wide of the target having been teed up by Scott Hogan before the Cherries mounted a swift counter-attack which almost reaped rewards.

But after Brooks had split the Blues defence to find Danjuma, the Dutchman’s cross to the near post was cleared by Mikel San Jose as Solanke looked to pounce behind him.

Danjuma drew first blood for the Cherries, netting his fourth goal of the season and finishing a superb team move which sliced through the Birmingham rearguard.

Stacey and Brooks combined down the right before Solanke clipped a pass into the centre of the pitch to Lerma who threaded it through to Stanislas.

And his defence-splitting ball to Danjuma found the frontman in space, the Netherlands international firing assuredly into the bottom corner of the net.

As the visitors went in search of a quick second, Solanke turned his man on the edge of the box, only to rifle his shot straight down Blues goalkeeper Neil Etheridge’s throat.

Stanislas’s free-kick from 25 yards was charged down by the wall before Brooks lofted well wide after seizing on the loose ball.

Etheridge saved well at his near post after Solanke had met Lerma’s cut-back before another slick move from the hosts ended with the Colombia international firing over the crossbar.

Lerma continued to remain in the thick of the action, his volley from Danjuma’s 29^th-minute corner striking a defender before being cleared.

Lewis Cook took a heavy blow during a challenge with Blues midfielder Gary Gardner and required a lengthy spell of treatment on the pitch.

However, despite trying to continue, the midfielder eventually succumbed and was replaced by Dan Gosling in the 38^th minute.

Gardner’s diving header from McGree’s cross bounced past the upright before the Cherries doubled their lead as the interval approached.

Brooks picked up the ball just inside the Birmingham half before embarking on a jinking run which took him to within sight of goal.

And after letting fly from around 25 yards, Brooks saw his effort take a deflection off Blues defender Marc Roberts which wrong-footed Etheridge and rolled over the line.

Begovic palmed an effort from Gardner around the post in first-half stoppage time with Tindall’s team bossing the majority of the opening 45 minutes.

Danjuma’s free-kick from 30 yards struck the defensive wall at the start of the second half before the Cherries extended their lead through Brooks in the 50^th minute.

Chris Mepham slipped the ball to Solanke who was unfortunate to see his low drive from the edge of the box come crashing back off the base of the post.

But after it had rolled invitingly into the path of Brooks, he made no mistake, despatching a thunderous strike past Etheridge off the underside of the crossbar.

Hogan’s glancing header from substitute Jeremie Bela’s 55^th-minute free-kick threw the Blues a lifeline and the Cherries were then forced to defend a flurry of corners.

Etheridge saved low down at his near post after Brooks had taken aim in search of his hat-trick before the goalkeeper also foiled Solanke.

Brooks rolled a free-kick to Stanislas before taking the return pass, only to see his fierce strike charged down by the wall.

Referee Jarred Gillett turned down Cherries’ appeals for a penalty after Stanislas’s cross appeared to catch the arm of Roberts in the 70^th minute.

Roberts’s saving tackle prevented Gosling making it 4-1, the defender’s last-ditch intervention coming just as the midfielder was about to pull the trigger.

As the Cherries continued to go for the jugular, Lerma’s venomous strike from the edge of the box was pushed over the crossbar by Etheridge.

Lukas Jutkiewicz fired narrowly wide of the post, as did Bela, with Begovic watching both shots safely clear the upright before helping a cross-shot over the bar.

AFC Bournemouth: Begovic, Stacey, Mepham, Kelly, Rico, L Cook (Gosling, 38), Lerma, Stanislas, Brooks, Danjuma, Solanke. Unused subs: Smith, Riquelme, Simpson, King, Surridge, Travers (g/k).

Booked: Stanislas.

Birmingham City: Etheridge, Colin, Roberts, Kieftenbeld, Hogan (Leko, 66), Jutkiewicz, Dean, McGree (Bela, 53), San Jose, Gardner, Boyd-Munce. Unused subs: Sanchez, Toral, Dacres-Cogley, Davis, Prieto (g/k).

Booked: San Jose, Jutkiewicz.

Referee: Jarred Gillett.