Livermore puts it down the left wing again for Rondon, but Ake clears - only to find Robson-Kanu on the other side. He intentionally fouls Surman to stop the counter-attack too - halting Bournemouth's push up the field.
90' +2
Rondon released by Yacob down the left wing and the sub's rocket of a shot is tipped aside by Begovic. Corner for WBA.
90'
Five added minutes coming up at the Hawthorns as King goes down on the edge of the box - the referee waves the game on.
89'
Rodriguez makes way for a final WBA change - Salomon Rondon enters the fray.
88'
S. Rondón enters the game and replaces J. Rodríguez.
King has a burst of pace down the left flank as he looks desperately to get a goal to level - but Foster forces him to take it out for a goal kick.
Substitution Jay Rodriguez José Salomón Rondón Giménez
86'
H. Arter gets yellow.
Yellow card Harry Arter
Jermain Defoe concedes a free-kick for a handball, which Arter doesn't like - and the latter is booked for back-chat.
85'
All getting a bit tasty out there as a few clashes take place across the park. Robson-Kanu and then McClean both go for goal for WBA - but both narrowly miss too. Still 1-0 heading into the final moments.
82'
J. Rodríguez gets yellow.
Yellow card Jay Rodriguez
And now a booking for Rodriguez as he taps the ankle of Fraser. From the free-kick, Ake rises to head it towards goal - and straight into the arms of Foster.
80'
A. Smith enters the game and replaces S. Francis.
Substitution Simon Francis Adam Smith
A change for Bournemouth now as Francis is replaced by Adam Smith.
Minute
Description
78'
Ibe clears the first attempt but WBA put it straight back in - and call for a handball too against Cook, not given by the referee.
77'
Close for McClean! Livermore plays him through into the box but Ake clears the danger with a great touch. Corner for WBA though now.
76'
Brunt lobs a floating pass across to the right for Robson-Kanu but it runs too long for the Welsh international.
74'
Surman steers King to the right corner of the box, who plays it back to Ibe - but the ball comes loose in favour of West Brom, and Robson-Kanu holds the ball, taking it deep into Bournemouth territory.
72'
H. Robson-Kanu enters the game and replaces M. Phillips.
Substitution Matt Phillips Hal Robson-Kanu
And Pulis follows that with a second change, as Hal Robson-Kanu comes on for Matt Phillips.
70'
R. Harper enters the game and replaces S. Field.
Substitution Sam Field Rekeem Harper
A change for WBA now, as Sam Field is replaced by another youngster from the squad, Rekeem Harper, who slots into the same position.
69'
The Cherries get numbers into the box - but Ibe opts to go for goal himself rather than cross, and then skies it over. Awful stuff from the sub.
68'
Rodrigeuz is pulled up for a foul on Cook - WBA's tenth of the game compared to the one made by Bournemouth.
66'
West Brom make a great counter-attack from a Bournemouth free-kick, with Foster releasing Phillips down the right side. His cross only comes to Ake though and the former Chelsea defender sees off the chance.
64'
J. Defoe enters the game and replaces B. Afobe.
Foster deals with the danger of King chasing a loose ball into the WBA box. Down the other end, Ake stops a Rodriguez lob to save Begovic the trouble of coming off his line.
Substitution Benik Afobe Jermain Defoe
And indeed, Defoe enters the fray - making his second debut for Bournemouth - to replace Afobe. He scored eighteen goals in twenty-nine games during a loan spell early in his career - and now he looks to haul the Cherries back into this game.
62'
Defoe warms up on the sidelines as Dawson recieves brief treatment for that stop.
60'
Fraser drives a half-volley into the face of Dawson just inside the eighteen-yard box - with the latter's head stopping what could have been a goal to level the scores.
58'
Surman plays to King, and then onto Fraser in midfield on the left, but Brunt makes an assured challenge to reclaim the ball for WBA.
56'
Rodriguez puts a lob across for McClean after the latter is snubbed by Phillips who pounces on a loose ball. It goes out for a corner, which Yacob puts into the side netting.
53'
Phillips earns a corner for the Baggies on their right, to be taken by Brunt. It flies in and Begovic looks undecisive - but Afobe makes the first touch and steers it out of trouble for his keeper. The Cherries man at the back has, if anything, seen a drop in confidence throughout so far.
51'
Livermore hefts one down field, searching for Rodriguez, but Ake is canny enough to read it and push it back to Begovic to clear.
50'
Arter fancies his chances from twenty-five yards out on the right for Bournemouth - but it is a weak effort that troubles Foster little.
49'
Nyom rushes down the right flank and cuts into the box for Rodriguez, only for Ake to put his body in the way and intercept.
48'
Cooks pops one down the left flank for Francis, but the pass is too heavy and the latter puts it out under little pressure for a WBA throw.
46'
J. Ibe enters the game and replaces M. Pugh.
Substitution Marc Pugh Jordon Ibe
We are back underway at the Hawthorns, with Bournemouth having made a change too - Jordon Ibe comes on for Marc Pugh. The former Liverpool man hasn't started for the Cherries since February - but does he hold the key to unlocking West Brom?
45'
Arter and Surman continue to play it around thirty yards away from the West Brom goal - and the latter goes for it too with a shot five or six metres too high to the left. One added minute of injury time.
44'
McClean releases Rodriguez down the right after the former nabs the ball from King deep into WBA territory. The striker can't make anything of it before Cook arrives to shore up the danger and Bournemouth breath easy.
42'
Foster makes a 50/50 decision and scrambles out into the eighteen yard box to sweep under King. It could have gone badly wrong for the West Brom keeper but Brunt helps him to clear the ball away.
40'
YACOB GOES CLOSE! The WBA man hits a corner within the six yard box - and simply slices it across goal. Wasteful stuff.
38'
Francis plays it to Surman, who pushes it onto King who clips right to Fraser, who crosses for Bournemouth but can't find Afobe. The Cherries suddenly have a structure that is working though - WBA scramble back to counter.
36'
The visitors play it back, before pushing it into the box through Francis. Brunt whips it away from King - but for the first time, Bournemouth look like they're in the hunt for a goal.
35'
Yacob sees yellow as he clips Fraser to the ground in a clumsy challenge on the right wing. Bournemouth get a free-kick, which Afobe nearly buries into the net. Brunt gets the last touch and the Cherries get a corner.
34'
C. Yacob gets yellow.
Yellow card Claudio Ariel Yacob
33'
WBA press their advantage after that set-piece score as Livermore wins a corner on Bournemouth's right. It falls back, after looping round the box, to Hegazi again, who chances it with a right-footed volley that brushes the top of the crossbar.
31'
Ahmed Hegazy has scored a goal for West Bromwich Albion! Assist by C. Brunt.
Assist Chris Brunt
Goal Ahmed Hegazi
HEGAZI WITH THE OPENER! On debut for the Baggies, the Egypt international beats the scrum in the penalty area to steer in a powerful header from a free-kick on the right. 1-0 to West Brom as the pressure tells.
29'
Livermore breaks down the right flank, playing back to Phillips, before Ake dislodges them both of the ball with a great tackle. He's been quiet so far - but then, so have most of the Cherries.
28'
Arter and Surman again exchange the ball in midfield but they are still unable to release King or Afobe. Bournemouth are being well boxed-in by the home side.
26'
McClean makes a challenge in the centre-circle that spawns a WBA attack, finishing with the same man brushing the wrong side of the net from the left of the eighteen-yard area.
24'
Rodriguez bends one just around the right post! A whisker away from going in, as the striker curls in a beauty of a shot after being released to the left side of the box by Brunt.
22'
Bournemouth get a free-kick, to be taken by Fraser from thirty yards out on the left. It beats the first man but not the second - Sam Field's head gets in the way and the first serious chance the Cherries have had pans out to nothing.
19'
Arter and Surman combine to put Fraser away down the right side but he opts to play back and the advantage is lost for Bournemouth. Down the other end, McClean tries to get onto a long ball on the left flank but is called offside.
17'
Yacob has a quick word with the referee after bringing down Arter towards the West Brom goal-line.
15'
Rodriguez reads a right-side corner better than Begovic but the former Southampton striker can't guide the ball the right way towards goal. Bournemouth are let off the hook.
13'
Cook hauls back fast enough to deny Rodriguez as the WBA man chases a loose ball falling back into the Bournemouth half. Livermore's follow-up seconds later forces Begovic to make a big save.
11'
Surrman plays across the left to Arter, then back to Daniels and round to Francis on the right wing. The Bournemouth man floats it into the box but it runs too deep to bother Foster. Pulis, on the touchline, throws off his overcoat in a slick move to compliment his team's style of play so far.
9'
Rodriguez goes close! From a Brunt throw deep on the left flank, the ball falls to Livermore, whose header lands at the feet of the striker. He turns and rockets it for the bottom corner - but Begovic gets down to deny him.
8'
A half-chance from a tight angle for Phillips who attempts to curl it in from the right of the box, but he sprays it wide. WBA testing Bournemouth still.
6'
Foster reacts quickly to snuff out a through ball from Daniels into the box that Arter was hunting on that left flank. West Brom are looking the more alert of the two, but early days yet.
5'
Arter takes it on halfway for Bournemouth, before clipping it flatly to Surman in centre-field from the left. West Brom shut down a move to King though and the early probe fizzles out.
3'
Field pushes it down the left wing to Rodriguez, who cuts back inside via McClean and then chances his luck from twenty-four yards out near the corner of the box. Begovic deals easily - it's an early tester for the Cherries keeper.
1'
AND WE'RE OFF! West Brom's Rodriguez plays it back into his own half and the season is underway at The Hawthorns.
It’s that time of the year again – where everything is still to play for and ten months to play it in. Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the opening Saturday of the 2017/18 Premier League, as fourteen teams get their campaigns underway, in the greatest division of all in the greatest sport of all. Last night, Arsenal pipped Leicester at the post in a seven-goal thriller, running out 4-3 victors – can we expect any similar scorelines across the country this afternoon?
It is to The Hawthorns we head this afternoon – the highest stadium in the Football League no less – as two of the surprise packages of last season square off to get their year off to a flyer. West Bromwich Albion host AFC Bournemouth in the Midlands today – and with only a point to separate their respective tenth-and-ninth-place finishes back in May, it’s shaping up to be one of the more curious encounters of the first round of fixtures.
West Brom had their best season since 2012/13 last year, ending up in the top half of the table under the guidance of Tony Pulis. The Welshman has form with his side’s opponents today; he enjoyed two spells with the Cherries as a player, winning the Football League Third Division in 1987, and coached them between 1992 and 1994 in his first managerial role. There will be no love lost today however – Pulis signed an extension with the Baggies this week to keep him at the club until 2019 and he will be keen to reaffirm his credentials.
Eight years ago this week, Bournemouth were kicking off the season in the four tier of English football – but under Eddie Howe, the Dorset side have embarked on a fairytale journey from to the Premier League over the past decade, culminating with their best ever finish earlier this year, one place above West Brom. The club have broken their record signing too this summer, with the arrival of Chelsea man Nathan Aké – Howe will be hoping now that his squad can keep the dream journey alive and push on for greater things in the coming months.
Team news is in…
Subs: Myhill, Robson-Kanu, Rondon, Chadli, Harper, Leko, Wilson
AFC BOURNEMOUTH (4-4-1-1): Begovic, Francis, S. Cook, Aké, Daniels, Fraser, Surman, King, Arter, Pugh, Afobe
Subs: Boruc, A. Smith, Mings, Gosling, Ibe, Defoe, Mousset
Both team’s star signings of the summer start today then – West Brom have Jay Rodriguez, formerly of Southampton, up front in a 4-1-4-1 formation, whilst Aké slots into a Bournemouth back-four at left centre-back. The Cherries’ other big-name buy – one Jermain Defoe – is on the bench today.
Equal spoils were shared last season when these two met in the Premier League, both with victories at home - Bournemouth ran out as 1-0 victors on the South Coast, whilst West Brom claimed a 2-1 win in the reverse at The Hawthorns. Does previous form then suggest three points are heading for the Baggies?
Teams are finishing their warm-ups and heading off down the tunnel to prepare. We're only a few minutes away from the start of the 2017/18 Premier League in earnest - as four more matches kick off alongside us too. Almost there...
Both sides out now - Pulis and Howe have taken their places in the dugouts and stands. Goals are expected - there's not been a goalless result between the two since 1998. Here we go!
WEST BROMWICH ALBION FC (4-1-4-1): Foster, Nyom, Dawson, Hegazi, Field, Yacob, Livermore, Phillips, Brunt, McClean, Rodriguez
To compare how much West Brom have controlled the game in that first half, the Baggies had eleven chances to Bournemouth's two. It's arguably a surprise that they're only one goal up - but a lot of that is down to the work of Begovic, a stand-out for the Cherries.
It's West Brom who lead thanks to a Hegazi header at half-time after a first-half high on chance for the hosts. Bournemouth have been absent for long periods of the opening forty-five but Eddie Howe's men seem to be sparking into life slowly, if surely. Half-time at The Hawthorns, it's West Brom 1-0 Bournemouth.
Ahmed Hegazi is the difference on debut for West Brom as the full-time whistle is called around the Hawthorns. Eddie Howe's men had a much better dig in the second half than they did in the first - with six attempts on goal to WBA's five - but with neither side able to convert their chances, it was the header on thirty-one minutes from a Chris Brunt free-kick that seperated the two on the scoresheet. Tony Pulis claims victory over his old team - full-time in the midlands, it's West Bromwich Albion 1-0 AFC Bournemouth.
So, the Baggies open their account for the season through new boy Hegazi - with a vital three points banked for Tony Pulis. They travel to Turf Moor next Saturday against a Burnley side who will be riding high from a shock victory against Chelsea. Elsewhere, Eddie Howe and Bournemouth kick off their home season when they host Watford, where they will hope to register their first points of the season. It was always West Brom who had the edge - and they are the rightful winners this afternoon on another great Premier League opening weekend. Thank you for joining us, and have a good evening!
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