Kostoulas bicycle kick salvages draw for Brighton at Amex Stadium

Charalampos Kostoulas, an 18-year-old Greek substitute, produced a spectacular bicycle kick in the first minute of injury time at the Amex Stadium to rescue a point for Brighton and ensure spoils were shared with Bournemouth.

The match had been dominated by controversy after referee Paul Tierney initially booked Amine Adli for simulation, then reversed his decision at the pitchside monitor when replays appeared to show contact between Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and Adli’s shin; Marcus Tavernier converted the resulting penalty. The call prompted loud boos from the crowd, who remained vocally unhappy through the break and after the restart.

Brighton had the greater share of possession and came close through Jack Hinshelwood, while Bournemouth’s forward quartet, including Tavernier, Eli Junior Kroupi, Adli and Evanilson, repeatedly threatened in the absence of Antoine Semenyo. Brighton introduced Georginio Rutter, Carlos Baleba and Yankuba Minteh after the hour, with Minteh forcing a save from Djordje Petrovic before Kostoulas’s late acrobatics.

The draw denied Bournemouth a first away win since August and underlined what the report called a sizeable task for Andoni Iraola over the remainder of this season; the manager had warned before kick-off that “the worst part right now is our bench”, noting a thin squad with a host of untried teenagers among his substitutes.

Key Topics

Sports, Charalampos Kostoulas, Brighton, Bournemouth, Amex Stadium, Paul Tierney