Sunderland v Bournemouth: Remember all seven meetings between the clubs ahead of crunch Premier League clash
That was the Red and Whites’ first ever defeat to the Cherries, and the six-point gap between the sides means that it is certainly a “must not lose” fixture, though a victory is desperately required by Sunderland.
Here we look back at the previous seven clashes with Bournemouth, six of which pitted Sunderland boss Denis Smith against Harry Redknapp in two seasons.
Sunderland 1 Bournemouth 1
August 27, 1988
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Hide AdDenis Smith’s Red and Whites marked their return to the Second Division with a hard-earned point against Harry Redknapp’s Cherries on a sunny day at Roker Park.
Bournemouth just about deserved to go ahead with a goal from Shaun Close midway through the first half, but Gary Bennett - who had also scored on the opening day of the 1984-85 season - equalised six minutes before half-time.
SUNDERLAND: Hesford, Kay, Agboola, Bennett, MacPhail, Doyle, Lemon, Armstrong, Gates (Owers), Gabbiadini, Pascoe
BOURNEMOUTH: Peyton, Newson, Morrell, Bond, Williams, Whitlock, Cooke, Brooks, Aylott, Bishop, Close
Att: 17,998
Bournemouth 0 Sunderland 1
January 21, 1989
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Hide AdSunderland consolidated sixth place in Division Two by recording a fifth win in six league games.
It was another tight battle with the Cherries, but Eric Gates’s goal in the 10th minute proved enough to secure all three points.
The Bournemouth team featured ex-Watford and England striker Luther Blissett, plus current Walsall boss Sean O’Driscoll.
BOURNEMOUTH: Peyton, Newson, Morrell, Bond, Williams, O’Driscoll, O’Connor (Close), Brooks (Cooke), Aylott, Bishop, Blissett
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Hide AdSUNDERLAND: Norman, Bennett, Gray, Ord, MacPhail, Cornforth (Agboola), Owers, Armstrong, Gates, Gabbiadini, Pascoe
Att: 8,922
Sunderland 3 Bournemouth 2
October 7, 1989
Sunderland stayed in second place in the Second Division after coming from behind in an entertaining clash with Bournemouth.
Beaten just once in their first nine league games, Sunderland were bright from the start and went ahead thanks to an Eric Gates goal in the 18th minute.
Harry Redknapp’s Cherries, though, battled back and, with a little luck, levelled matters seven minutes before the break with an own goal from hapless centre-back John MacPhail.
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Hide AdLuther Blissett stunned Roker Park by putting Bournemouth ahead early in the second half, but talisman Marco Gabbiadini equalised almost immediately and veteran Gates grabbed the winner on the hour mark.
SUNDERLAND: Carter, Kay, Hardyman, Bracewell, Bennett, MacPhail, Owers, Armstrong, Gates, Gabbiadini, Pascoe
BOURNEMOUTH: Peyton, Newson, Morrell (Bond), Teale, Miller, Peacock (Shearer), Barnes, Moulden, O’Driscoll, Brooks, Blissett
Att: 15,933
Sunderland 1 Bournemouth 1
October 24, 1989
Seventeen days after meeting in the league, Sunderland and Bournemouth clashed again in the third round of the League Cup, and it was yet another close encounter.
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Hide AdBoth goals came in the space of five minutes in the first half, Marco Gabbiadini giving the hosts a 17th-minute lead and Peter Shearer soon levelling to take the tie to a replay.
Noticeably, both sides had their strongest sides out, as was the practice for cup ties in those days.
SUNDERLAND: Carter, Kay, Hardyman, Bracewell, Bennett, MacPhail, Owers, Armstrong, Gates, Gabbiadini, Pascoe (Cullen)
BOURNEMOUTH: Peyton, Bond, Coleman, Teale, Miller, Shearer, O’Connor, Moulden, O’Driscoll, Brooks, Blissett
Att: 12,595
Bournemouth 0 Sunderland 1
November 7, 1989
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Hide AdSunderland clinched a League Cup fourth-round trip to Exeter City when they came through a battle on the south coast in their replay at Dean Court.
Just days after a disappointing league defeat at Oldham, Sunderland did just enough to get through, with Marco Gabbiadini pouncing for the only goal six minutes before the break.
The game was notable for a rare start for right-back Paul Williams, while highly-rated youngster Brian Atkinson got the nod in midfield as both sides made a handful of changes for the clubs’ third meeting in a month.
BOURNEMOUTH: Kite, Bond, Coleman, Teale, Shearer, Peacock, O’Connor (Williams), Moulden, O’Driscoll, Brooks, Blissett
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Hide AdSUNDERLAND: Carter, Williams, Agboola, Bennett, Ord, Owers, Armstrong, Gates (Hauser), Gabbiadini, Pascoe
Att: 8,500
Bournemouth 0 Sunderland 1
March 17, 1990
Sunderland ended a disappointing run of just one win in 10 Second Division games with three much-needed points at Dean Court.
Marco Gabbiadini, paired with German Thomas Hauser up front, beat keeper Gerry Peyton for the only goal six minutes into the second half, inching Sunderland back up to seventh place in the table, just outside the play-off places.
The match saw Kieron Brady given a run-out on the left side of the Sunderland midfield, a week away from his epic, match-winning performance against West Ham in a 4-3 Roker Park thriller.
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Hide AdBOURNEMOUTH: Peyton, Mundee, Coleman, Bond, Miller, O’Driscoll, Brooks, Shearer, Aylott, Holmes (Lawrence), Blissett
SUNDERLAND: Norman, Kay, Agboola, Bracewell, Bennett, MacPhail, Owers, Armstrong, Hauser (Atkinson), Gabbiadini, Brady (Pascoe)
Att: 6,328
Bournemouth 2 Sunderland 0
September 19, 2015
More than 25 years after the clubs’ previous meeting, Sunderland slumped to a dismal first ever defeat to Bournemouth, with two goals in a rampant start giving the home side the impetus to comfortably claim three Premier League points.
Dick Advocaat’s Sunderland side were dreadful for the opening 45 minutes, off the pace and out of the game after the Cherries’ early double and, to make matters worse, Younes Kaboul was red-carded to cap a dreadful performance.
Bournemouth were ahead in just four minutes
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Hide AdSimon Francis’s throw in found Dan Gosling, who was allowed to waltz his way through Sunderland’s midfield before playing in Callum Wilson, who turned Kaboul far too easily on the edge of the area and powered his shot past Costel Pantilimon.
It soon got worse for the Black Cats in the ninth minute.
Yann M’Vila’s headed clearance from a corner found the chest of Matt Ritchie, who chested the ball down before unleashing an unstoppable 20-yard volley past Pantilimon - an early contender for goal of the season.
There was no way back, especially after Jeremain Lens had a second-half header wrongly ruled out for offside.
BOURNEMOUTH: Boruc, Francis, Cook, Daniels, Distin, Gosling, Surman, Pugh, Wilson (Murray), Tomlin (O’Kane), Ritchie (Smith)
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Hide AdSUNDERLAND: Pantilimon, Jones, van Aanholt, Coates, Kaboul, Gomez (Rodwell), Lens, M’Vila, Defoe (Fletcher), Toivonen, Borini (Johnson)
Att: 11,271
Follow the action on Sunderland’s crucial clash with Bournemouth tomorrow. Our blog starts the build-up at noon and runs through to 6pm for all the reaction