Bournemouth’s European rise recalls their fight to survive on minus 17 points

Bournemouth’s 3-0 win over Sturm Graz marked the club’s first European home match and gave them two wins from two in the Europa League. The result offers a striking contrast with the club’s struggle to survive in the Football League in 2008, when a 17-point deduction left them bottom of the table. [1]

A tifo at the Vitality Stadium before Thursday’s match recalled that penalty with the words “Minus 17 to European dreams”. Bournemouth had entered administration and been relegated from League One after a separate 10-point deduction. Under manager Eddie Howe, they stayed up in League Two despite starting the 2008-09 season on minus 17 points. They were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 2015. [1]

The win made Bournemouth only the second English side to win its first two matches in a major European competition, following Bolton in the 2004-05 Uefa Cup, according to BBC Sport. Adam Smith, the club’s longest-serving player, assisted Evanilson’s first-half header — Bournemouth’s first European goal at home. Smith, 35, joined initially on loan in 2011 and has made more than 430 appearances for the Cherries. [1]

Former Bournemouth defender Joel Ward said owner Bill Foley had wanted to see the club reach Europe and praised the investment and standards he had brought. Manager Marco Rose, who succeeded Andoni Iraola in June, said Bournemouth should carry their togetherness and performance into their next match. [1]

The European success comes as Bournemouth face a difficult start to their Premier League campaign: they were 18th and had yet to win a league match, alongside Fulham and Tottenham, at the time of the report. Their next league fixture was against Sunderland, before AC Milan were due to visit the Vitality Stadium the following week. [1]