Solanke nets as Bournemouth rout Oduor’s Barnsley

Ed Dove

Solanke nets as Bournemouth rout Oduor’s Barnsley image

Anglo-Nigerian forward Dominic Solanke was among the goals as Bournemouth romped to a 4-0 victory away at Clarke Oduor’s Barnsley on Friday.

Midfielder Philip Billing, who remains eligible for Nigeria despite making his Denmark debut earlier this year, opened the scoring for the Cherries in the 12th minute before Solanke added their second in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.

The contest got away from Barnsley in the second period, as Diego Rico added another seven minutes after the break and Sam Surridge scored their fourth in the 68th minute.

Kenya international Oduor was withdrawn in the 58th minute of the contest, having struggled up against opposite man Smith, and Barnsley drop one place to 15th with the defeat, as a result of their goal difference taking a significant hit.

The win moves Bournemouth back above Norwich City into top spot in the second tier, with the Cherries having now amassed 30 points from 16 appearances to date as they look to make an immediate return to the Premier League following last term’s relegation.

Solanke has impressed in the second tier so far this season, finally finding a measure of consistency in front of goal after struggling to ignite during his first two seasons at Bournemouth.

His goal on Friday takes his tally up to six goals and three assists in 16 Championship appearances so far this term, with the forward already netting more league goals this term than in his previous four campaigns combined.

There’s hope yet, that at 23, the one-time England international can realise the potential he demonstrated at youth level, when he was a champion both at the U-17 European Championships in 2014 and the U-20 World Cup three years later.

At the latter tournament, in 2017, he won the Golden Ball award as the best player of the competition, but has shown precious little of that immense potential in the subsequent years.

Solanke, who remains eligible for Nigeria, has represented England at every youth level from U-16 to U-21 before making his debut for the senior side in 2017.

Norwich will retake top spot if they defeat Sheffield Wednesday at home on Saturday.

 

Ed Dove