Buoyed by last weekend’s impressive FA Cup triumph at Old Trafford, Brighton looked to start on the front foot against the visiting Cherries. It was an absorbing opening 20 minutes on the South Coast, with Jack Hinshelwood’s effort deflected wide of the near post, before Brajan Gruda saw a powerful strike parried away by Đorđe Petrović.
Bournemouth grew into the match as the first half progressed, and they were awarded a penalty shortly after the half-hour mark when VAR deemed Bart Verbruggen had caught Amine Adli with his trailing leg.
Marcus Tavernier made no mistake from the spot, converting low to Verbruggen’s right to score his fifth Premier League goal of the season.
The end-to-end nature of the contest continued with half-time approaching, as Hinshelwood saw a close-range header thwarted by Petrovic, while at the other end, Evanilson shot against the post after great work from Alex Jiménez.
Having scored 22 of their 31 PL goals this season in the second half of matches, Brighton went close to improving that record within four minutes of the restart when Kaoru Mitoma curled narrowly wide from the edge of the box. The Seagulls remained a threat with time ticking into the final half-hour, but clear-cut openings came at a premium, with the visitors’ rearguard holding firm under pressure.
Determined to salvage a late equaliser, substitute Yankuba Minteh injected a much-needed spark for Brighton, as the Gambian winger saw a driven effort tipped over the bar by Petrovic.
Not to be denied, the hosts’ persistence finally paid dividends in stoppage time when Jan Paul van Hecke’s knock-down in the box found Kostoulas, who took one touch to compose himself before executing a superb overhead kick to beat a stranded Petrovic.
That moment of individual brilliance was enough to secure a deserved point for Brighton, who extend their unbeaten run across all competitions to five matches (W2, D3).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton)
