Bournemouth effectively guaranteed their promotion to the Premier League by beating 10-man Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at Dean Court this evening.
The Cherries are now three points clear of Middlesbrough in the Championship table, but their vastly superior goal difference means that they are highly unlikely to be caught on the final day of the season.
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Callum Wilson had an early chance for the hosts when he shrugged off Tim Ream and cut inside, before seeing his attempt blocked by the feet of Adam Bogdan.
Matt Ritchie was next to threaten for Bournemouth, as he was found in space by Wilson and fired in a strike that was saved by the keeper.
Against the run of play, Bolton almost took the lead when Adam le Fondre met Dorian Dervite's flick-on, but he planted his header straight into the arms of Artur Boruc from point-blank range.
The Cherries continued to press and Yann Kermorgant headed an effort narrowly over the bar from Harry Arter's corner.
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Bournemouth came close again when Wilson raced through on goal and saw his effort blocked by the on-rushing Bogdan, before Ritchie drilled in a low strike from the edge of the box that the keeper palmed away at full stretch.
In the 39th minute the hosts finally made the breakthrough as Marc Pugh was picked out at the back post by Ritchie, and he shifted the ball past Liam Feeney before firing a drive into the top corner.
With a minute of the first half remaining Bournemouth doubled their lead, when Kermorgant laid the ball off for Ritchie to slide an effort into the corner from just inside the box.
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At the start of the second half Barry Bannan caused a moment of panic for the hosts when his strike deflected inches wide of the target.
The visitors worked another decent opening as Feeney was picked out unmarked at the back post, but instead of looking for any of his teammates in the middle, he headed wide of the post.
Bournemouth were soon back on the attack and they very nearly added a third goal when Wilson drilled a low ball across the six-yard box, but Steve Cook was unable to stretch enough to make contact.
Minutes later Bogdan had to be alert to race back to his own goal and tip the ball over the bar from Kermorgant's long-range chipped attempt.
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Bolton's hopes of getting back into the game suffered a blow when Dervite was shown a red card for bringing down Kermorgant inside the box, but the Bournemouth midfielder blazed the resulting penalty over the bar.
The Cherries soon made their numerical advantage count, as Wilson collected Andrew Surman's pass, before turning and drilling a low strike into the bottom corner.
Arter and Wilson both had chances to score a fourth goal in the final moments, but it made little difference as Bournemouth held on to all but confirm their place in the top flight.
Alex Meyers
