Hurzeler: We deserved a draw

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Head coach with his thoughts on the 1-1 draw against Bournemouth.

Bruce Talbot

2026-01-19T23:15+00:00

Fabian Hurzeler meets his Bournemouth counterpart Andoni Iraola before kick-off. 📷James Boardman

Fabian Hurzeler felt Albion deserved a point against Bournemouth after Babis Kostoulas scored a stoppage-time equaliser in a 1-1 draw at the Amex.

The substitute struck with a spectacular overhead kick after Marcus Tarvernier had given Bournemouth the lead with a controversial penalty in the first half.

Hurzeler said, “I thought we started the game really strong and then the penalty changed the rhythm of the game. We lost our rhythm. We made afterwards too many easy technical mistakes.

“We didn't position like we wanted to be positioned and then you have problems against any team in the Premier League. We changed this and in the second half it was better. Although we weren't that strong like we wanted to be but we created chances.”

An aerial view of Babis Kostoulas's spectacular equaliser. 📷Simon Roe.

Kostoulas said afterwards that he practices overhead kicks in training. Hurzeler added, “It’s not like we throw 20 times the ball like this and he should finish like this! We try to work on more serious things than this, but Babis has the skill to do these kind of things. We know it, but it’s about doing the other things well like controlling the ball, working defensively.”

The night’s big talking point was Bournemouth’s penalty. Referee Paul Tierney initially booked Amine Adil for simulation but was sent to the monitor by VAR Jarred Gillett and changed his mind.

“For me it's not a penalty, but we have to accept people make mistakes and now we go on.

“At the beginning of the season the referees told us for certain contacts in the box it doesn’t always mean a foul.

“In this situation, there is maybe a little bit of contact maybe but for me it's not a foul.”

Asked if he was surprised the referee went against his original decision, Hurzeler added, “Yes, very surprised. It’s meant to be a high bar.”

Lewis Dunk gets a header in on goal.

Skipper Lewis Dunk hailed Kostoulas as a ‘special talent’.

“I’ve seen him score better in training, but that was unbelievable,” said the skipper. “He's a special talent. We’ve seen glimpses, and there will be many more things to come from him. He’s adapting to the country, a new league, and he’s shown what he can do. That shows exactly what he can do.”