WEST Ham and Cherries played out what could only be described as a stalemate at London Stadium, the spoils shared in a relatively uneventful 1-1 draw.

Just as the two sides could not be separated on the opening day of the season, Cherries and West Ham were again equally matched in the capital.

Dominic Solanke’s opportunistic finish to open scores after three minutes was eventually cancelled out by a James Ward-Prowse penalty in the second period.

With the fixture clashing with the closing of the winter window, Cherries’ matchday squad was missing a regular face.

Kieffer Moore had travelled to London with the team, but departed to secure a loan move to Ipswich Town, whilst Gavin Kilkenny was named as a substitute despite speculation surrounding a possible temporary switch to Fleetwood Town.

Romain Faivre, recalled from a loan spell of his own at Lorient, was also named among the substitutes.

Cherries pressed high from the off, getting instant rewards for their approach.

A hospital pass from West Ham’s Kurt Zouma left Hammers debutant Kalvin Phillips helpless, the holding midfielder quickly closed down by Ryan Christie.

Under pressure, the Manchester City loanee’s pass backwards was not enough to avert danger, Solanke steeling in to stroke the ball into the empty net.

Originally ruled out for offside, a VAR check proved that Christie had not touched the ball, and as such, there was no grounds for the goal to not stand.

10 minutes before the break, it should have been two for Cherries.

Solanke spotted Antoine Semenyo entering the box with plenty of space, the striker slipping in the winger.

Semenyo’s effort was well-placed, but not enough to beat Alphonse Areola in the West Ham goal, a strong wrist batting the ball away.

Shortly after, West Ham had their first proper go at the Cherries goal.

A dangerous cross from the left allowed Jarrod Bowen to chuck himself into a header, flicking the ball goalwards.

However, the backtracking Neto managed to clear the ball with his feet to maintain his clean sheet.

Cherries emerged out of the break looking to see out their 1-0 lead, with a relatively tame start to the second half.

However, that would change as the game approached the hour mark.

Tim Robinson had not endeared himself to the London Stadium faithful with his decisions, and he received further boos when he waived away appeals for a West Ham penalty.

Lloyd Kelly appeared to haul down Mohamed Kudus inside the area, which Robinson felt was not enough for a penalty, but a subsequent VAR check showed that the Cherries defender had clipped the heel of the West Ham winger.

Ward-Prowse stepped up to take the subsequent penalty, electing to fire down the middle to beat Neto and restore parity.

The following 30 minutes produced a languid affair of football, with neither goalkeeper truly troubled.

Faivre was introduced off the bench in stoppage time to make his debut, but the Frenchman – and his teammates – were unable to conjure up a winner.

West Ham were equally as impotent, with the home crowd letting their feelings known with groans.

Cherries remain 12th in the Premier League table, with 26 points from 21 games.

West Ham: Areola, Johnson, Zouma, Mavropanos, Emerson, Soucek, Phillips (Ings, 68), Ward-Prowse, Alvarez, Bowen, Kudus (Cornet 90+6).

Unused subs: Cresswell, Ogbonna, Casey, Mubama, Scarles, Orford, Fabianski (g/k).

Booked: Bowen.

Cherries: Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kelly (Kerkez, 78); Cook, Christie; Tavernier (Faivre, 90+1), Scott (Kluivert, 68), Semenyo (Sinisterra, 68); Solanke.

Unused subs: Mepham, Kinsey, Kilkenny, Billing , Travers (g/k).

Booked: Christie, Cook, Faivre.

Referee: Tim Robinson.

VAR: Simon Hooper.