Bournemouth 5-0 Swansea: Ruthless Cherries book their spot in FA Cup fifth round after scoring FIVE first half goals in thrashing of dismal Swans

This was as brutal an opening to the FA Cup fourth round as will ever be seen; a performance so brutal for Swans that there were fans at half-time wondering if this was a betrayal.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola could only giggle in his seat as he saw his side take a 5-0 lead before half-time, Dominic Solanke scoring the fifth after those brutal 45 minutes.

It was a fantastic display of the football Iraola wants to implement, as Championship Swansea have learned the hard way how little time you get on the ball from Premier League opponents.

Iraola took two different Spanish teams to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey on a small budget. Bournemouth are now in the fifth round of the FA Cup for the sixth time in history, and boy would they love a trip to Wembley Stadium in addition to surviving in the Premier League.

Apart from the odd mistake, Bournemouth feel like they are going somewhere. They are 12th in the Premier League, construction of their new multi-million pound training complex is starting to take shape at Canford Magna, and the players are coming to grips with Iraola’s important philosophy.

The comfortable victory put the Cherries into the fifth round of the FA Cup

It was that high pressure that led to the opener within seven minutes. Luis Sinisterra won the ball from Nathan Wood, but was withdrawn. Yellow card for Wood, free kick for Bournemouth. David Brooks punched the ball in and Lloyd Kelly scored after being cleared by his marker Kyle Naughton.

“For England: 1-0,” the home fans sang. Not for long, because after 10 minutes it was 2-0 when Brooks drove in from the right flank and left Bashir Humphreys in the dust. He directed the ball to Alex Scott, who made no mistake from ten meters.

VAR Paul Tierney checked for offside but Brooks was onside and the Wales international had two assists against the Welsh visitors.

After fourteen minutes it was 3-0, again thanks to Bournemouth’s high pressure.

Swansea goalkeeper Andrew Fisher tried to pass from behind but Scott intercepted the ball before setting up Sinisterra, who found the far corner via Wood’s legs.

West Ham manager David Moyes was at the Vitality Stadium. Any Bournemouth fans who were worried about him scouting a January goal here can take solace in the fact that they next meet the Hammers in the Premier League on February 1, transfer deadline day.

Swansea had a chance to give some cheer to their supporters who had made the seven-hour tour, but the woodwork denied Naughton and Mark Travers saved Wood’s effort.

Instead, Bournemouth made it 4-0 when Brooks won the ball high up the pitch, exchanged a one-two with Solanke and beat Fisher one-on-one.

Andoni Iraola wanted a response from his players after the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday and he got it emphatically

Swansea were absolutely despicable as they collapsed in a first-half nightmare on Thursday

Dominic Solanke paid tribute to Jaidon Anthony’s mother after scoring fifth for his side

Then the inevitable happened. As we approached half-time, Solanke helped himself to a goal by tapping in Sinisterra’s assist.

Solanke took off his shirt. “RIP Donna,” his vest read in tribute to Jaidon Anthony’s mother. Just as inevitably, it earned him a yellow card from referee Darren England, who presumably quoted ‘rules are rules’.

Williams will need time to implement his ideas at Swansea, but some supporters had seen enough and left at half-time. Bournemouth’s biggest ever win was 11–0 over Margate in the FA Cup in 1971, when Ted MacDougall scored nine. In the end, Iraola’s men settled for their five from the first half.