Sunderland travelled to Bournemouth this afternoon looking for their first win of the 2015-16 Premier League season.
However, they fell behind after just four minutes as Callum Wilson slammed the ball home from inside the area.
Bournemouth soon went 2-0 ahead when Matt Ritchie's ninth-minute volley from 25 yards whistled into the top corner.
Sunderland's miserable afternoon was capped off late in the second half, when captain Younes Kaboul was shown a red card for hacking down Wilson.
Relive the full 90 minutes in our minute-by minute live commentary below.
Thanks for joining me this afternoon on Sports Mole for the Premier League tie between Bournemouth and Sunderland at the Goldsands Stadium!
First things first, let's get the team news...
Bournemouth starting XI: Boruc; Francis, Cook, Distin, Daniels; Ritchie, Surman, Gosling, Pugh; Tomlin; Wilson
Subs: Federici, Smith, Bennett, O'Kane, Stanislas, Murray, Kermorgant
Subs: Federici, Smith, Bennett, O'Kane, Stanislas, Murray, Kermorgant
Sunderland starting XI: Pantilimon; Jones, Kaboul, Coates, van Aanholt; M'Vila, Gomez; Toivonen, Lens, Borini; Defoe
Subs: Cattermole, Larsson, Rodwell, Johnson, Yedlin, Mannone, Fletcher
Subs: Cattermole, Larsson, Rodwell, Johnson, Yedlin, Mannone, Fletcher
Let's start with the hosts, then. Eddie Howe has made five changes in total as he searches for his first home win of the season. Sylvain Distin makes his league debut for the Cherries, while Charlie Daniels has come in for Adam Smith at left-back. Two other changes have been made in midfield, where Eunan O'Kane and Junior Stanislas have made way for Dan Gosling and Marc Pugh. Lee Tomlin has been tasked with playing just off top goalscorer Callum Wilson, with Josh King missing out entirely.
Meanwhile, Dick Advocaat has been a little more reserved, making just one enforced change. Club captain John O'Shea is ill, so Sebastian Coates has come into the back four.
There's a new face on each bench this afternoon. Glenn Murray could come on to make his Bournemouth debut after moving from Crystal Palace, while DeAndre Yedlin is in the Sunderland squad for the first time since completing a loan switch from Tottenham Hotspur.
So, both sides are without their captains. Tommy Elphick misses out with a minor injury, while John O'Shea is ill. Younes Kaboul has stepped into the void for the visitors, but we're still awaiting confirmation as to who will wear the Bournemouth armband.
UPDATE: Just over 15 minutes to go in the early kickoff at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea are leading 1-0 against 10-man Arsenal. Plenty of controversy there, as you can imagine. Follow the final few minutes here.
There's also plenty of Rugby World Cup action on the site this afternoon, and we have live coverage of Ireland's opener against Canada. Head over here, if you fancy a bit of that.
Back to the Goldsands Stadium though, and Advocaat will be encouraged to have Steven Fletcher and Adam Johnson back in the squad this afternoon. The pair missed last weekend's 1-0 loss at home to Spurs, but the Sunderland manager has plenty of attacking options from the bench now.
How's this for some neat folding in the home dressing room this afternoon? Crisp, clean shirts. Why can I never get them like that?!
SNAPSHOT: The #afcb dressing room is prepared and ready for #BOUSUN pic.twitter.com/jHOOJZRiod
— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth) September 19, 2015
There's a return to Bournemouth for Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe, who spent a period on loan at the club at the beginning of his career. Yesterday, Eddie Howe said that the former England international is a "special player". High praise indeed.
Just under half an hour until kickoff, then, so there's plenty of time to take a look at what the Sports Mole team think of the game:
UPDATE: One game has already finished today and that came in the Championship, where Middlesbrough edged out Nottingham Forest 1-0. Take a look at Nathan Staples's match report here.
If our video preview of today's game isn't enough, then why not take a listen to our Premier League preview podcast? Go on, you know you want to...
UPDATE: Final update before kickoff here, I promise, but Chelsea have run out 2-0 winners over Arsenal, who ended the game with nine men. Was there a handshake at the final whistle? Don't be silly, of course there wasn't!
You might be forgiven for thinking that Dick Advocaat would be annoyed with his team this season. They have taken just two points from five games, but he says that he has "no problem" with his squad. Hmmm, I'm not sure the Sunderland fans feel the same way.
Scoring goals hasn't necessarily been a problem for these two sides this season, but defending certainly has. Bournemouth have conceded nine goals in five games, while Sunderland are the second-worst team for goals conceded, with 11. The worst defensive record in the league? Chelsea, who've conceded 12. Bonkers, eh?
PREDICTION: Just a few minutes until kickoff, so there's time for me to make a fool of myself by predicting the wrong scoreline. I can't see past a home win in this one, so I'm going to go with a 2-1 home victory for Bournemouth.
We've just got all the faff of the handshakes and Premier League sponsor nonsense before we get started at a sunny Godsends Stadium!
KICKOFF: Sunderland get us underway, kicking from left to right in their green away kit.
The away side give the ball away immediately and Bournemouth are knocking the ball around at the back.
Kaboul charges out of defence after dispossessing Wilson and wins a free kick on the far touchline for his side, but it's wasted and the ball rolls harmlessly through to Boruc.
Pugh and Daniels link up well on the left flank, but the the left-back's low cross is too close to Pantilimon, who gathers with ease.
GOAL! (Callum Wilson) Bournemouth 1-0 Sunderland
He started the day as the league's joint-top goalscorer, but he's now out at the front of the pack all alone! It's such a simple goal, as Wilson collected Gosling's pass and rolled Kaboul on the edge of the box before slamming a low finish past Pantilimon. Terrible defending by Kabul, but Wilson showed great composure to capitalise.
Fantastic hold-up play by Wilson again, who escapes the attention of Coates and Jones before teeing up Gosling, who goes on to win his side a corner.
Sunderland are at sixes and sevens here, as they concede another corner.
GOAL! (Matt Ritchie) Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland
You won't see a better goal this season! Absolutely brilliant goal from Ritchie! Sunderland cleared the initial corner, but Ritchie took one touch on his chest before rifling an unstoppable left-footed volley into the top corner from 25 yards! Marvellous stuff!
Sunderland have got a corner of their own now, and Toivonen heads into the arms of Boric, but there was no power in the header.
Tomlin sets Francis on his way down the right wing, but he's crowded out. Bournemouth come again down the left flank though.
Where do Sunderland go from here? I'm in shock, let alone them! They definitely should have defended better for the first goal, but there was nothing they could do about Ritchie's. They need to just compose themselves now and go again after a nightmare first 10 minutes.
BOOKING: Coates has been shown a yellow card for hauling down Wilson. I wouldn't want to be facing the Bournemouth man for another 75 minutes with a booking...
Well, they've got the ball in Bournemouth's half, but every single Sunderland player looks utterly dejected already. Who can blame them?
CLOSE! Gomez fires in a free kick from nearby the corner flag and tries to catch Boric unaware at his near post! The goalkeeper just about gets across in time to stop the effort sneaking in. Very cheeky from the Spaniard!
Wilson's away again inside the box on the right-hand side, but can't pick out a teammate with his pullback.
Kaboul's the next player to be punished for getting too tight to Wilson. He's grappling with the forward and pleads his innocence, but he's trying to win the ball when he simply can't. He got caught out for the first goal and you'd have thought he would have learned his lesson! Apparently not.
Sunderland have managed to get their first real sustained period of possession, but Lens knocks in a cross which Boric catches easily to end the pressure.
BOOKING: Jones is the next player to be shown a yellow card, as he tugs Pugh back as he tried to escape down the left wing.
Daniels's delivery falls all the way to the far post, where Wilson is lurking, but his shot from a tight angle is well blocked.
Wilson's pace is really worrying the Sunderland back four. Tomlin rolled a ball into the right channel which Coates has to stretch to put out of play.
Sunderland are giving the ball away far too easily, too. Even when they clear the ball, it's not even in the vague direction of Defoe, who looks incredibly isolated.
Great play by Pugh on the left wing, who leaves Jones for dead before setting up Wilson, but the forward can't quite find Tomlin. At the other end, Borini tries his luck from 30 yards, but Distin blocks the strike.
Lens is furious as he's sent tumbling by a sprawling Francis on the left wing, but the referee waves play on.
Bournemouth are everything that Sunderland aren't. Hungry, cohesive and calm.
Here's Ritchie wheeling away in delight after smashing home Bournemouth's second. He has every right to be happy with that brilliant goal!
© Getty Images
CHANCE! Pugh sneaks in front of Borini to connect with an outswinging corner, but the winger can't keep his header down.
A free kick for Sunderland now, 30 yards from goal on the far side. Can they make something of this?
Kaboul cannons a free kick towards goal, which Wilson blocks... with his chest. The medical expert in me says that he's been winded there! Brave defending by the Premier League's top goalscorer.
The distribution from the Sunderland centre-backs has been atrocious. Kaboul gives the ball away again.
CHANCE! Defoe goes through one-on-one with Boruc, but can't quite get the ball out from under his feet and scuffs a shot which the goalkeeper kicks away with his feet. Sunderland really could have done with him finding the back of the net there!
SHOT! Tomlin advances towards goal at the other end and fires a 25-yard shot goalwards, but it's straight at Pantilimon, who drops to his knees to gather.
CHANCE! Defoe again! M'Vila swings in a right-wing cross from a deep position and finds the striker, who heads wide of the near post. All he had to do was get it on target, as Boruc came flying out to punch the ball away, but got nowhere near it!
BOOKING: Kaboul is the third Sunderland defender to go into the book as he drags Wilson down with the striker racing away down the right flank.
Ritchie's fearsome free kick is blocked by the Sunderland wall.
ADDED TIME: There will be three minutes of added time at the end of the first half.
A wonderful piece of skill sees Tomlin bamboozle Kaboul. The forward flicked the ball over the defender's head as he came racing towards him and went round the defender to collect the ball on the far side.
WIlson's direct running wins Bournemouth another corner.
HALF TIME: Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland
Bournemouth are cruising. As soon as they went ahead in the fourth minute, they were on top, and Ritchie's sublime strike knocked all the stuffing out of Sunderland. Wilson has been magnificent, but Defoe has missed two gilt-edged chances for the visitors. If either of those chances had gone in, Sunderland would have had something to hang their hat on at the break. As things stand, it's going to be a tough half-time team talk for Advocaat.
UPDATE: Let's take you around all the Premier League grounds now. West Brom lead 1-0 at their city rivals Aston Villa, while Watford are 2-0 up at Newcastle thanks to Ighalo's brace. Stoke are also 2-0 ahead against the league's in-form side, Leicester.
Yep, it really was that good. The official Premier League Twitter account has labelled Ritchie's strike as a goal of the season contender already.
Goal of the Season?
Matt Ritchie doubles Bournemouth's lead against Sunderland #BOUSUN pic.twitter.com/AhK5JDwN7b
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 19, 2015
The teams are back out on the pitch and the Goldsands Stadium is still bouncing. Bournemouth are odds-on to record their first ever Premier League home victory. Can they hold on?
KICKOFF: Bournemouth get us back underway, leading 2-0 as things stand.
SUBSTITUTION: Rodwell has entered the fray for Sunderland at the break, with Gomez being subbed off.
Wilson's hunting the Sunderland defenders already and running the channels. He's forced Pantilimon into a mistake as the goalkeeper kicks into touch.
Tomlin shows lovely footwork to skip away from Jones on the left wing, but Coates gets back to help out his teammate and nick the ball away.
Jones brings down a rampaging Daniels on the left wing, who goes flying. He looked up at the referee hoping there wasn't going to be a second yellow card, and he's been handed a reprieve. I've seen bookings given for less, he's a lucky boy!
Borini spent most of the first half on the right wing, but he seems to have switched to the left for the second half. He's just won a corner off Francis.
Lens's corner isn't great, but it evades everyone as skids all the way across the six-yard line before being cleared.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Oooh, Sunderland thought they had grabbed a goal back. Lens headed home at the far post from M'Vila's cross, but the linesman stuck his flag up. Replays showed that he was probably just about level with the last defender, but it was a tight call! Just before they had the ball in the net, Borini had a shot blocked before Rodwell's subsequent strike was tipped behind for a corner. Much, much better from the visitors.
Pugh isolates Jones on the left wing, but the defender does well to stand him up and nick the ball out for a throw-in.
Van Aanholt plays the ball back to Pantilimon... from 60 yards. Not exactly what you want when you need two goals!
Wilson's been terrific today. He gets in front of Kaboul and chests a long ball down before racing away to latch on to Tomlin's through ball. Tireless and impressive work from the forward.
CLOSE! Borini almost matches Ritchie's ninth-minute goal! The Italian cushions a clearance on his chest before sending a dipping volley inches over Boruc's bar. Great effort!
Bournemouth could do with just settling the game down. Sunderland have got a foothold in the game here, and although their goal was disallowed, the body language of the visitors is vastly different to what it was in the first half.
BOOKING: Borini is the fourth Sunderland player to pick up a yellow card as he clips the heels of Francis, who was racing away down the right.
Pugh leaves Lens on the floor with some clever trickery on the far side and wins a corner.
SUBSTITUTION: Tomlin leaves the pitch to applause from all corners of the ground and is replaced by O'Kane.
The corner is too deep, but it comes back across to Pugh, who skips past Borini,. However, the forward gets back well to tackle the winger.
Bournemouth are knocking the ball around with ease and have taken to tempo out of the game.
SUBSTITUTION: Defoe - who used to play for Bournemouth - is clapped off by everyone inside the stadium and is replaced by Fletcher.
Francis bombs down the right flank and only a stretching Sunderland leg prevents his cross from reaching Wilson in the box.
A bit of fortune for Pugh, who scuffs a long-range shot towards goal, but it takes a deflection to earn Bournemouth a corner.
A free kick for Bournemouth on the left-hand side of the area, roughly 25 yards out, after Jones kicked the heels of Wilson.
SUBSTITUTION: Johnson comes on to replace Borini as Sunderland's third change. A final throw on the dice for Advocaat.
It's a poor free kick after such a long build up, as Ritchie blazes his shot high over the bar.
RED CARD! Kaboul is shown a second yellow card for hacking down Wilson. Great running again from Wilson, but it's embarrassing defending from the stand-in Sunderland captain, who has struggled all afternoon.
SUBSTITUTION: And that's Wilson's final passage of play, as he makes way for Murray, who makes his Bournemouth debut from the bench.
Pantilimon bats the free kick to the floor before clutching the free kick at the second attempt.
The game is surely beyond Sunderland now, with little more than 10 minutes left.
Sunderland launch the ball to Fletcher, who wins the flick-on, but he has to chase his own ball as he has no support whatsoever.
BOOKING: Gosling becomes the first Bournemouth player to get a yellow card, as he clips the heels of Johnson.
Francis executes a perfectly-timed slide tackle to take the ball off the feet of van Aanholt, who was racing forward from left-back.
Francis is at the other end of the pitch now and gets to the byline, but can't thread his cross through a sea of Sunderland defenders.
Gosling drives at the Sunderland defence and is brought down on the edge of the box, winning his side a free kick in a dangerous position.
BOOKING: Toivonen is booked for the cynical challenge on the midfielder, as he just stopped across his run.
OFF THE BAR! Bournemouth make a mess of the free kick, but it comes to Ritchie on the left wing, who picks out Pugh at the far post. His shot bounces off the floor before clipping the bar. So close to a third!
Lens smashes a shot out of the stadium. That sums up Sunderland's afternoon, but at least a passer-by will have a nice souvenir now.
SUBSTITUTION: The final change sees Ritchie make way for Smith. He deserves the applause of the crowd for his stunning goal this afternoon.
ADDED TIME: Bournemouth have four more minutes to hold on, which they surely will.
Bournemouth hack away Johnson's cross, who swung it in from a deep position.
SAVE! Murray turns away from Rodwell and fires a shot towards the top corner from the corner of the box, but Pantilimon pushes it behind for a corner.
BOOKING: M'Vila is rollling around on the floor after being clipped by Murray. It seemed innocuous enough, but Murray's been booked for the challenge.
FULL TIME: Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland
Full marks all round for Bournemouth! First home win of the season? Tick! Clean sheet? Tick! Wilson the still the joint-top league goalscorer? Tick!
All the action came in the first 10 minutes. Wilson gave Bournemouth a dream start, before Ritchie's incredible goal made it 2-0. That was the way it stayed and Howe will be delighted to get his first win of the season at home.
As for Sunderland, it gets worse and worse. They are still without a win after six games - the third season in a row that's happened, by the way - and to compound matters, Kaboul was sent off. So much for a captain's performance, eh? Advocaat has got a lot of work on his hands if he's to save the Black Cats from relegation this season.
Before I leave you, I'll point you in the direction of Tom Nightingale's full-time report from the Goldsands Stadium. If you want to find out what's happened elsewhere this afternoon, here are all of today's results. Unfortunately, that's all from me, but thanks for joining me this afternoon. Stick around on Sports Mole though, where there will be plenty of reaction from today's games, as well as live text commentary of Man City vs. West Ham.
Written by
Kristian Johnson
Kristian Johnson
