Tag: Philip Billing

Bournemouth mark David Brooks’ return from lymphoma with win over Liverpool

The Cherries had a perfect gift to welcome Brooks back

Bournemouth had 525 days to figure out how to celebrate David Brooks’ return to a matchday squad.

They made the perfect choice, shocking Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium as the Wales midfielder appeared in uniform for the first time in nearly two years after a lengthy battle with Hodkin’s lymphoma.

Brooks was diagnosed with cancer in October 2021 after the Wales medical staff discovered the issue following a medical exam. Brooks began treatment, and Bournemouth had to make do without a regular presence in their midfield.

66 competitive fixtures and one promotion to the Premier League later, the 25-year-old was in uniform for the first time in well over a year.

However, even with that wonderful news, the task ahead of the Cherries was a daunting one: Liverpool beat them 9-0 earlier this season, and entered the match coming off of a 7-0 demolition of Manchester United. Meanwhile, Bournemouth started the day in 20th place in the 20-team Premier League.

In that context, it wasn’t much of a surprise that Liverpool put their hosts under immense pressure from kickoff. However, Bournemouth offered some danger on the counter, and that’s how they conjured up the ideal gift to welcome Brooks — who got a pre-game ovation from Cherries fans — back into the fold.

Dango Ouattara turned a hopeful ball over the top into a cutback that found Philip Billing charging into the goalmouth for a tidy finish.

The Cherries had to sweat out a long VAR check over whether Ouattara was onside, but the goal stood.

At the other end, Bournemouth had to worry about quite a bit: Cody Gakpo had a goal chalked off for offside, Virgil van Dijk missed a sitter, and most crucially, Mohamed Salah blasted a 69th minute penalty horribly wide.

Bournemouth rode their luck, but also battled hard to make the lone goal stand up for just their second win in their last 13 competitive games.

Bournemouth ‘delighted’ for Brooks

Cherries boss Gary O’Neil was happy to win, but was arguably even more pleased that Brooks was able to be in consideration to play.

“I felt privileged to even be able to sit and tell him [that he was in the team] yesterday,” O’Neil said in quotes published by Dorset Live. “I think for him, his family, the journey he’s been on and what he’s been through, what they’ve all been through, I was absolutely delighted for him.”

“I think we still need to be realistic with how much he can do at the moment. I was desperate to try and get him on at some point but unfortunately, the game didn’t go that way,” added O’Neil. “He scored a goal in training on Wednesday in [a training match] and I just thought, ‘we need to get this guy back involved somehow.'”

For Brooks and Bournemouth, it wasn’t just a win. The three points may prove crucial in the relegation scrap, as the Cherries jumped from the very bottom of the table and out of the drop zone entirely. They sit 17th after Saturday’s fixtures, having hurdled West Ham, Leeds, and Southampton with the victory.

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