THERE was plenty to talk about as Cherries ended their home season with a controversial 2-1 defeat to Brentford, the glitz and glamour of Premier League football was again undermined by VAR confusion.
Cherries’ top-flight hopes took a dent as a late flurry of goals gave Thomas Frank’s Bees victory in the penultimate game of the Premier League season, and whilst refereeing decisions will once again dominate headlines and discussions, we have highlighted other talking points.
Debut to forget for Donohue
Referees will always be harshly judged, but those making their debuts in the Premier League must be the most scrutinised.
Matt Donohue would have arrived at Vitality Stadium hoping for a quiet afternoon, but it was anything but.
The match official initially saw nothing wrong with Antoine Semenyo’s drive up the pitch to set Dominic Solanke for what would have been the opener.
However, a VAR check highlighted that after a deflection the ball had bounced onto the Ghanaian international’s hand, prompting Donohoue over to the screen before deciding to overturn his initial decision.
Solanke’s second ruled out goal did not receive the same in-depth treatment, Donohue blowing for a soft foul before the ball fully trickled over the line.
After provoking the ire of the Cherries faithful in the second half, things did not get particularly easier for Donohue in the second period.
Ivan Toney’s tumble in the box initially earned Brentford a penalty, before another VAR check and trip to the screen caused Donohue to again change his mind.
The referee will probably be grateful there was nothing contentious about any of the three goals that flew in during a hectic end to the match.
Kelly's farewell?
There might have been a heavy-handed Las Vegas theme to proceedings at Vitality Stadium but there was no gambling from Andoni Iraola in his team selection.
The Basque boss has consistently made clear that he would not be using games to experiment with team selection or tactics, and once again he was true to his word.
There was one change to the side defeated at Arsenal last time out, with Lloyd Kelly returning to the side after illness.
Which such strong rumours linking the defender with a move at the expiry of his contract this summer, there was a strong feeling that this was Kelly’s final home game as a Cherry.
It was a composed performance that we have come to expect from the former Bristol City man, reminding us why he arrived at Vitality Stadium highly-rated and how he could command interest from clubs higher up the league table.
During the post-match lap of honour Kelly made sure to clap all the remaining fans away from the main crowd of players, but there was nothing to suggest it was a last chance to say goodbye.
Shootout between Solanke and Toney looks one-sided
A lot of the build-up was focused on the perceived battle between Cherries’ talisman Dominic Solanke and his equivalent at Brentford, Ivan Toney for a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England team this summer.
Southgate himself must have been too busy to venture down south, but there was Three Lions representation in the form of first team coach Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
A great striker in his own right, Hasselbaink must have been impressed with Solanke’s display.
Despite having two goals controversially ruled out Solanke looked by far the more dangerous of the two.
That is now 19 Premier League goals for Solanke – and whilst Toney can point to a ban that kept him out until January, a goal drought of 11 games is doing little to cement his spot on the plane.
With squad sizes for the Euros now increased to 26, there seems little reason to overlook Solanke this summer.
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