AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth stormed into the fifth round of the Emirates FA Cup thanks to a scintillating first-half display against Swansea City at Vitality Stadium on Thursday.
Lloyd Kelly, Alex Scott, Luis Sinisterra, David Brooks and Dom Solanke were all on target as Andoni Iraola’s rampant team reached the break leading 5-0.
Iraola’s team failed to add to the scoreline despite creating chances in the second half, while a flurry of substitutions and injury to James Hill altered the flow of the game.
It was the Cherries’ joint-second biggest winning margin in the FA Cup since the club record 11-0 victory over Margate in the first round in 1971/72, matching Fareham Town (7-2) and Southwick (5-0).
And it was only the sixth time in their history that the Cherries have reached the fifth round with the draw due to take place on Sunday.
Ryan Christie marked Burns Night by making his 100th appearance for the club as Iraola, the Scotland international one of six players in the starting line-up to have faced Liverpool on Sunday.
The five changes made by head coach Andoni Iraola saw Mark Travers, Marcos Senesi, Lloyd Kelly, Scott and Brooks return, the Wales international taking the captain’s armband.
In the early stages, Cherries defender Illia Zabarnyi cut out a dangerous pass from Swansea skipper Matt Grimes which would have given Jerry Yates a free run on goal.
Dom Solanke created space for a shot, only to see his fierce effort changed down by Swansea defender Kyle Naughton.
The floodgates started to open in the seventh minute when Kelly arrived unmarked at the far post to sweep Brooks’s free-kick past Andrew Fisher.
It was the first cup goal of his career and his first since he netted for the Cherries in a 3-0 win against Huddersfield in the Championship in October 2021.
Scott,who helped former club Bristol City knock Swansea out of last season’s FA Cup, heaped more misery on the South Walians when he doubled the Cherries’ lead three minutes later.
He drilled the ball home from around eight yards after Brooks had cut it back into his path, the Wales international having embarked on an electrifying run down the right wing.
The goal stood following a lengthy VAR check to determine whether Brooks had strayed offside at the start of his run.
Scott was pivotal as the Cherries extended their lead by netting for a third time during an eight-minute purple patch.
As Swansea attempted to play out from the back, Scott intercepted goalkeeper Fisher’s wayward pass before rolling it to Sinisterra.
And the Leeds loan man made no mistake when he finished with accuracy low into the bottom corner, giving Fisher no chance to atone for his error.
The shellshocked visitors went close to reducing the arrears when Naughton’s deflected shot hit the post in the 29th minute before Mark Travers saved Nathan Wood’s close-range effort.
However, Brooks, who scored against the Swans in the Cherries’ Carabao Cup win in August, administered further punishment when he made it 4-0 after 35 minutes.
Put clear by Solanke’s through ball, Brooks raced into the 18-yard box before placing a precise left-foot shot past the despairing dive of Fisher, the goal standing after another VAR check.
Solanke joined the list of goalscorers on the stroke of half-time, the striker nonchalantly rolling the ball past Fisher having arrived to meet Sinisterra’s inch-perfect cross.
His celebration saw him reveal an under-shirt with RIP Donna on the front in memory of teammate Jaidon Anthony's mother who passed away unexpectedly recently.
Travers preserved his clean sheet in first-half stoppage time, the Cherries goalkeeper acrobatically pushing Liam Cullen’s volley over the crossbar.
Kieffer Moore and Milos Kerkez replaced goalscorers Solanke and Kelly as Iraola made two changes at the break.
And a forced substitution saw James Hill, injured when he landed awkwardly, make way for Gavin Kilkenny in the 57th minute.
Fisher saved comfortably after Scott had fizzed a free-kick into the danger zone before Moore’s effort deflected off a defender and went out for a corner.
Moore was unfortunate to see his glancing header from a Lewis Cook corner drop the wrong side of the upright before Kerkez fired narrowly wide late on.
AFC Bournemouth: Travers, Cook, Kelly (Kerkez, h/t), Brooks (Tavernier, 71), Solanke (Moore, h/t), Christie, Scott (Sadi, 82), Sinisterra, Hill (Kilkenny, 57), Senesi, Zabarnyi.
Unused subs: Radu (g/k), Mepham, Kluivert, Semenyo.
Booked: Scott.
Swansea City: Fisher, Fulton, Allen (Cooper, 68), Grimes, Yates, Patino (Bolasie, 57), Cullen (Paterson, 76), Wood, Naughton, Ashby (Lissah, 76), Humphreys.
Unused subs: Rushworth (g/k), Pedersen, Darling, Ogbeta, Kuharevich.
Booked: Wood, Ashby, Allen, Fulton.
Referee: Darren England.
