The remainder of Bournemouth’s season is Andoni Iraola’s farewell parade and this was another vital point as they edge towards what could be an extraordinary achievement.
Billionaire Bill Foley has held ambitions to take this little club on the south coast to Europe since he took over in 2022 and Iraola has made what seemed a fanciful dream a distinct possibility as he prepares to hand over the reins to Marco Rose. But they are not there yet.
Seven minutes into stoppage time they had the lead for three points to move sixth in the table, only for Leeds United’s Sean Longstaff to hit a sweet volley through a wall of bodies to share a point each.
The difficulty of a manager announcing they will leave before the end of the season can be a drop in focus and motivation, but Bournemouth showed there remains plenty of fight as they came through a difficult evening against an in-form Leeds side enjoying a memorable season of their own, almost certain of staying up and with an FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.
The first-half stalemate was perhaps to be expected from a game between a Bournemouth side unbeaten in six home games and a visiting Leeds team unbeaten in five games on the road – their longest unbeaten away run in 25 years.
