CHERRIES stretched to six games their unbeaten run under interim boss Gary O’Neil after a pulsating 2-2 draw at Fulham.

Dominic Solanke opened the scoring for the away side after just two minutes when he capped off a slick counter-attack, before Issa Diop headed in a leveller for the Cottagers.

Jefferson Lerma’s tidy finish made it 2-1 to Cherries ahead of the interval, before he was judged to have felled Aleksandar Mitrovic in the box on 52 minutes – the Serbian slotting home from the penalty spot.

The result meant Cherries had picked up 10 points from six games since O’Neil took charge of the side, putting them ninth in the top-flight table.

In what was their 200th Premier League game, Cherries went into the contest with an unchanged starting XI from the side who overcame Leicester City 2-1 last time out.

There were however some alterations on the bench. Midfielder Joe Rothwell was included in a Premier League squad for the first time since his free transfer from Blackburn, after recovering from a quad injury.

Junior Stanislas was also back in the Dorset club’s squad after injury.

Mitrovic returned to the the hosts’ line-up to lead the line following a foot problem. Former Cherries loanee Harry Wilson was among the substitutes for Marco Silva’s side.

But it was Cherries who took the lead, stunning their hosts in west London after just two minutes.

After Marcus Tavernier’s ball forward found Solanke, the Cherries number nine played in Philip Billing on the left-hand side of the box.

Neat interchange between the pair allowed the Dane to cut back for the run of Solanke, who arrowed a first-time shot into the net past a helpless Bernd Leno.

Fulham instantly looked to rally. With Cherries soaking up pressure for the remainder of the opening 15 minutes, a teasing cross from the right was met by the run of Neeskens Kebano, who miscued his effort well wide.

The Cottagers did get their leveller in simplistic fashion midway through the opening half.

After Mitrovic’s strike was deflected out for a corner, Andreas Pereira’s inswinging delivery was headed in by Diop, having got goal-side of his man.

Cherries then felt they should have had a penalty just four minutes later. Former Fulham man Ryan Fredericks thought he was tugged back by home skipper Tim Ream inside the box, having looked to run on to Ryan Christie’s through ball. Referee Graham Scott was having none of it.

A clinical finish from Colombian Lerma then put Cherries ahead once again, however.

After Solanke drifted in off the right – Lerma stood still to find space away from Harrison Reed and applied a cool, first-time finish from inside the box.

Cherries could have had a third from a set piece of their own. A corner from the right was played out to Lewis Cook, whose menacing cross forced Leno to save from the head of Lerma.

The former Arsenal stopper then picked himself up to tip over Adam Smith’s headed effort on the follow-up.

Fulham got themselves level once again after the break – this time from the penalty spot six minutes into the second half.

After Lerma and Mitrovic both fell to the ground following a free-kick played into the box by Pereira, referee Scott showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot. The Serbian frontman made no mistake in rolling the ball past Neto from 12 yards to make it 2-2.

The contest continued to entertain. Christie found the run of Solanke on the break for Cherries just past the hour mark, who forced Leno into saving at his near post.

But it was Fulham who ramped up the pressure. A succession of crosses into the box meant Cherries sat deep and offered resistance.

Mitrovic went on the hunt for a second, forcing Neto to cling on to his left-foot strike from inside the box. The frontman also dragged wide of Neto’s near post in stoppage time.

Fulham: Leno, De Cordova-Reid, Diop, Ream, Robinson, Reed (Cairney, h-t), Palhinha, James (Willian, h-t), Pereira (Vinicius, 87), Kebano (Wilson, 62), Mitrovic.

Unused subs: Adarabioyo, Duffy, Mbabu, Harris, Rodak (g/k).

Booked: De Cordova-Reid, Ream.

Cherries: Neto, Fredericks, Mepham, Senesi, A Smith, Billing (Zemura, 80), L Cook, Lerma, Tavernier (Anthony, 75), Christie (Stacey, 89), Solanke (Moore, 89).

Unused subs: Stephens, Rothwell, Stanislas, Dembele, Zemura, Travers (g/k).

Booked: None.

Referee: Graham Scott

VAR: Robert Jones

Attendance: 22,913.