SAINTS were on the verge of complete humiliation before they wrestled back a small helping of pride in a 3-1 defeat at AFC Bournemouth.

Evanilson's first Premier League strike, a Dango Ouattara deflection and a brilliant solo goal from Antoine Semenyo gave Cherries a 3-0 lead at half-time.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed a changed Saints side back into contention soon after the break but the hosts saw out the contest with comfort. 

The result means Saints have matched their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, when they also had one point from six fixtures in 1998/99.

Manager Russell Martin made two changes to his Saints team with Adam Lallana and Cameron Archer the two elected to drop to the bench.

It meant a system change with Lesley Ugochukwu adding an extra man in midfield and Maxwel Cornet playing out wide, with no recognised striker.

Martin did name five forwards on his bench, though. Wantaway Paul Onuachu was among those in the squad for the first time this campaign. 

AFC Bournemouth were without head coach Andoni Iraola as he served a touchline ban for accumulating three yellow cards already this season.

Ryan Fraser was immediately on the end of some unsavoury chants which continued throughout the match, after his controversial Cherries exit in 2020.

Saints started the game pretty well, matching up with the opposition for the first 15 minutes. But that was as good as it got for the visitors. 

Evanilson netted his first goal for Bournemouth after 17 minutes, as the hosts took advantage of a lapse in Saints concentration.

Flynn Downes conceded an innocuous free-kick but Marcus Tavernier swiftly lofted the ball over to the Brazilian, who guided past Aaron Ramsdale on the volley.

The former Bournemouth goalie saw the second deflected past him by Dango Ouattara 15 minutes later, after Lewis Cook's shot from the edge of the area.

Evanilson exhibited some excellent hold-up play to launch a counter-attack, which danger man Antoine Semenyo crossed low into the box. 

Bristol City academy product Semenyo danced past the Saints defence and struck hard into the far cornet to make it three before half-time.

Martin made a trio of changes at the break, introducing Joe Aribo in midfield and two forward players in Ben Brereton Diaz and Ross Stewart.

They found a way back into the game in the 51st minute as Harwood-Bellis converted his second headed chance of the half - from a flicked-on Mateus Fernandes cross.

Saints pushed for their second with Harwood-Bellis and Brereton Diaz seeing balls across the box narrowly evade their teammate and cut out just in time respectively. 

Archer was introduced for the final 15 minutes in place of Tyler Dibling, meaning Kyle Walker-Peters went as an unused substitute for the second successive match. 

Bournemouth's Ryan Christie and Luis Sinisterra went closes to the next goal as four minutes of added time passed Saints by on the road to a fifth defeat in six. 

A stadium announcement that the 11:15pm train back to Southampton had been cancelled got the biggest cheer of the evening from the home support. 

AFC Bournemouth: Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Christie, Cook, Tavernier (Scott, 75); Semenyo (Sinisterra, 88), Ouattara (Kluivert, 60), Evanilson (Unal, 75).

Unused subs: Travers, Huijsen, Brooks, Araujo, Aarons.

Booked: Tavernier, Kerkez. 

Saints: Ramsdale; Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Taylor; Downes, Ugochukwu (Aribo, h-t), Fernandes (Lallana, 65); Cornet (Stewart, h-t), Fraser (Brereton Diaz, h-t), Dibling (Archer, 75).

Unused subs: McCarthy, Walker-Peters, Armstrong, Onuachu.

Booked: Fernandes, Sugawara, Dibling, Downes, Lallana.

Referee: Michael Oliver.

VAR: Paul Tierney.