Brighton 1-1 Bournemouth: Spectacular Kostoulas overhead kick rescues point | OneFootball

Charalampos Kostoulas’ spectacular stoppage time bicycle kick denied Bournemouth only a second win since October in their 1-1 draw at the Amex.

Tavernier slotted the visitors ahead with his spot kick after a five-minute VAR check overruled the on-field decision that Amim Adli had dived.

Greek youngster Kostoulas produced a much-needed moment of magic to rescue a point, as the Seagulls remained 12th while keeping the visitors 15th in cruel fashion.

As It Happened

Brighton saw the earliest chances, Ferdi Kadioglu seeing his shot easily saved before Djordje Petrovic then parried Arda Gruda’s powerful effort after a corner.

A quiet first half-hour then sprang to life when Paul Tierney booked Adli for simulation after Bart Verbruggen came out to smother Tavernier’s cross away from the Moroccan.

However, VAR recommended an onfield review and after an anxious five minutes the booking was rescinded and Tavernier dispatched the penalty awarded for contact to Adli’s heel.

The chorus of boos from the home support voiced precisely what they thought of the decision when the incident was replayed on the big screen.

Central midfielder Adam Hinshelwood stooped low to cushion a header from point blank range six minutes later, but Petrovic got down in a flash and saved at his far post.

Evanilson was released in behind Jan Paul van Hecke moments after, but his deft chip over Verbruggen rebounded off of the post and would’ve been ruled out for offside.

Right-back Alex Jimenez then latched onto Argentine Marcos Senesi’s clipped ball but no teammate was alive inside the penalty area to turn it goalward.

The Cherries started slow, but the controversial penalty gave rise to the more dangerous side just before half-time as Evanilson headed Adrien Truffert’s floated cross just wide.

The Seagulls re-emerged with purpose, Kaoru Mitoma curling a dangerous effort towards goat that wasn’t far away from the top right corner minutes after the restart.

Verbruggen had to tip behind James Hill’s long throw that dropped dangerously close to his goal, before Adli’s shot on the turn was well-blocked after the corner.

Wasting numerous chances to trouble Petrovic as the game entered stoppage time, Kostoulas ingeniously flung his foot into the air to meet the loose ball Bournemouth didn’t clear.

Time seemed to stand still as the ball looped past their defiant Serbian and into the net, sparking delirium among the home supporters.

Andoni Iraola’s men had held firm right until the last, but were dealt a cruel blow in second-half stoppage time as their wait for a decent run of form continued.

Analysis: No Semenyo, no problem?

Bournemouth have seen pretty much all of their top talents exit this season: Illia Zabarnyi, Milos Kerkez, and now Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City.

Yet 26-year-old Marcus Tavernier stepped up to try and begin to fill his sizeable boots out wide, and was instrumental in their hard-fought victory this evening.

Along with Moroccan Amine Adli on the right, the Englishman consistently caused Brighton issues on the counter attack, seldom not capitalizing on space in front of him and haul Bournemouth forward with the ball.

His promising low ball in towards Adli forced the penalty from Bart Verbruggen, as controversial as it may have been, and showed great composure tucking it away.

When a team has won just once in their past 12 outings, a bit of luck is just the ticket to see three points head your way – but often that luck has to be earned however possible.

If not for a moment of sheer magic from Greek youngster Charalampos Kostoulas, Tavernier’s performance would have been worthy of three points.

With Bournemouth’s track record of replacing top players dubious at best, Tavernier might emerge as a key asset for the Cherries going forward.