Bournemouth ensured that they will play their third consecutive Premier League campaign next season, as they came back from behind twice at the Dean Court to hold Mark Hughes' Stoke to an entertaining 2-2 draw.
A win for Stoke could've helped them overtake the likes of West Ham, Southampton and the Cherries themselves in the table, but the draw meant that Stoke may well have to be satsfied with finishing below the ninth position for the first time in four seasons. Hull's defeat to Sunderland ensured safety for Stoke as well.
A Lys Mousset own goal had handed the Potteries a lead in the 33rd minue, but Junior Stanislas came with an equalizer within twenty minutes of the beginning of the second-half.
Mame Biram Diouf scored the second of the day for Stoke, but Mark Hughes' men were pegged back again when a Stoke player in Ryan Shawcross ended up putting the ball into his own net nine minutes from time.
First start of the season for Mousset
Survival was all but confirmed even before the game and chances of going down very slim, Eddie Howe had handed the first start of the season to summer acquisition Lys Mousset, who was deployed up front. Marc Pugh started on the left flank, Junior Stanislas started on the right and the Cherries' highest goal-getter Joshua King started behind Mousset.
Jack Butland started in goal for Stoke, as Mame Biram Diouf started up front in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Joe Allen playing behind him. Xherdan Shaqiri was deployed on the right, while Austrian star Marko Arnautovic started off on the left.
A drab first forty-five
The game started off in a rather drab fashion, but in what could have been a defining moment of the game, Harry Arter escaped what could well have been his first sending off of the season. The midfielder clattered into Joe Allen in the 27th minute, sending the Welshman crashing to the ground. It was a strong challenge and a two footed one, but referee Paul Tierney decided to brandish a yellow card at Arter.
Minutes before the incident, birthday boy Adam Smith had hit the post with a fierce left-footed shot from outside the box after some good build up play down the right-flank had resulted in the opening up of space for Smith to drift in.
It was only six minutes after Arter's yellow card that Stoke redeemed themselves in some fashion. Marko Arnautovic's corner was sung in well by the former Werder Bremen man and almost took a touch from a Stoke player, but Lys Mousset had got the last touch, as the ball went in off the Frenchman.
After going behind, Bournemouth starting seeing more of the ball, as Smith began to impose himself on the game. When the referee blew for half-time, a vital equalizer was all that was alluding Bournemouth.
Second-half entertainment makes up for the first
As Stoke looked satisfied to play on the break and use the pace of Shaqiri and Arnautovic to break forward, apart from Diouf's hold-up, Bournemouth started to come forward more often with more purpose.
And an impressive move in the 61st minute handed the Cherries a deserved lead. Eddie Howe had Smith to thank for some wonderful work down the right-flank to set Junior Stanislas up. Smith fired in an accurate cross from the flank, to see Stanislas score his fifth goal of the league campaign by sneaking the ball from in-between Butland's legs.
After the goal, Bournemouth made their intentions of winning the game clear, but looked exposed on the counter. And they were made to pay for showin excessive attacking intent, when Geoff Cameron fired in a cross from the right to find Arnautovic, who couldn't keep hold of it. The Cherries backline failed to get rid of the lose ball as Diouf fired in from close range to hand Stoke a lead for the second time in the game.
The former Manchester United was taken off after scoring due to an injury though, as the experienced Jonathan Walters came on.
The goal wasn't something that bothered Bournemouth too much, as they kept on going in the same vein as they were before having conceded. Jordan Ibe was handed an outing, as Pugh was taken off in the 79th minute. And the former Liverpool man added some extra spark into the game, along with Max Gradel, who had come on for Stanislas minutes before the goal.
Two minutes after Ibe came on, Bournemouth got the much-needed leveller. Adam Smith had marauded forward with purpose once again and had managed to fire in a delightful cross towards Gradel. The Ivorian had headed in towards goals, before the ball found Josh King, who was in an off-side position and went in after a touch from Ryan Shawcross, who appealed for an offside to no avail.
Bournemouth did try pushing on to win the game, but Hughes' decision to bring on Erik Pieters for Arnautovic suggested that they were going to stick their heads into the game and defend. And in the end, it seemed the result did justice to the performances of both.