Dango Ouattara bags brace as five-star Bournemouth wallop West Brom

Dango Ouattara scored twice as Bournemouth made light of their striker crisis with a thumping 5-1 FA Cup third-round win over West Brom.

Cherries boss Andoni Iraola said this week he would have to dip into the January transfer market after forwards Evanilson and Enes Unal suffered serious injuries.

But on this evidence he might not need to after Ouattara bagged a brace while Justin Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo and Daniel Jebbison were also on target.

The Premier League side were briefly on the back foot after the managerless Baggies, sixth in the Championship, grabbed an early goal.

Chris Brunt, still in temporary charge while the club continues the search for Carlos Corberan’s successor, made seven changes to his starting line-up – Iraola made six – and saw his side draw first blood in the 14th minute after Darnell Furlong won a free-kick 30 yards out.

John Swift swung in the cross, Grady Diangana’s header bounced back off the crossbar and Caleb Taylor reacted quickest to nod home the rebound.

It was the defender’s first start for Albion since last season’s third round, and his first goal for the club, having only been recalled from a loan spell at League One Wycombe last week.

The Baggies, five-time FA Cup winners, were knocking the ball around confidently and looking good value for their lead.

That was until the 27th minute when an inswinging cross from David Brooks missed everyone in the area and visiting keeper Joe Wildsmith got a fingertip to it.

Kluivert was lurking at the far post and smashed the loose ball into the roof of the net to equalise.

Seven minutes later Kluivert’s clever reverse pass put Ouattara in behind, with the Burkina Faso international slipping a neat finish underneath Wildsmith from a tight angle.

A minute before half-time Brooks led a Bournemouth counter-attack with a surging run through the middle.

His pass was perfectly weighted for Ouattara, revelling in the central striking role, to calmly slot his second past Wildsmith.

Bournemouth have never won the FA Cup and have only been past the fifth round once in their history.

But they rubber-stamped their place in round four two minutes into the second half when Semenyo, on as a half-time substitute, played a short corner to Ouattara.

The Baggies were sliced open far too easily as Ouattara found Brooks, who slipped the ball back inside for Semenyo to lash high into the net.

Then, in stoppage time, substitute Jebbison – just recalled from a loan spell at Watford – was played in by Semenyo to round off a comprehensive win with his first Cherries goal.