Bournemouth frustrated as they draw a blank with Brentford

Bournemouth were left fuming to be denied a penalty amid a 0-0 Premier League grind with Brentford.

The Cherries were left perplexed by rookie referee Thomas Bramall ruling out a spot-kick despite being ordered to the pitchside monitors by VAR official John Brooks.

The Vitality Stadium hosts felt frustrated to see Kristoffer Ajer’s wayward sliding challenge on Jordan Zemura go unpunished.

Bramall took charge in the Premier League for just the second time, and his move to stick with his original onfield decision of no penalty was met with clear derision by the Cherries.

Bournemouth’s ire grew still further at the final whistle, as Bramall gave no second thought to the ball striking Mathias Jensen’s arm in the area.

The last-gasp skirmish should not have yielded a penalty, but Bramall struggled to control the situation as the Cherries players surrounded him.

These two teams proved too tame to topple the other on the south coast in the end, with killer instinct conspicuous by its absence in Dorset.

Interim Cherries boss Gary O’Neill will still have been delighted to extend his side’s unbeaten run to four Premier League matches.

US investor Bill Foley’s proposed Bournemouth takeover remains in the works too, leaving plenty of optimism in the autumn air.

Brentford were at least able to steady proceedings off the back of their 3-0 defeat by Arsenal, with the Bees well below their best but still grinding out a point.

A first half devoid of quality, most notably from the officials, ended goalless.

Bournemouth were left by far the more aggrieved party at the break, considering that rejected penalty.

Chris Mepham almost gifted Brentford the dream start, passing straight to Mikkel Damsgaard in the final third. The former Sampdoria man latched onto the stray pass and scythed into the area, only to see a crisp strike rebuffed by Neto.

Pontus Jansson wasted a free header from a corner with a wretched connection, before Damsgaard fired the loose ball straight at Neto.

The Cherries were then inexplicably denied that spot-kick when Ajer wiped out Zemura on the slide in the area.

Referee Bramall rejected a penalty despite a lengthy look at the pitchside monitor, leaving the hosts little short of dumbfounded.

Ajer lost control on the slide and even lifted his leading leg when Zemura tried to hurdle clear.

Bramall obviously dismissed the contact, but this seemed for all the world another quizzical outcome from a VAR check.

Ivan Toney was booked at the close of the half for booting the ball into the crowd, summing up the general Dean Court feelings heading into the break.

Jefferson Lerma’s looping header offered moderate threat to open the second half, but Toney nipped in to nod clear with no genuine alarm.

Bournemouth then bungled a counter, with Kieffer Moore’s heavy touch botching any chance of a strike.

Lerma also blocked the recovering Jansson, who was bundled unwittingly into Marcus Tavernier. It was a clumsy phase all round, worthy of encapsulating the day’s paltry fare – but most definitely not a shout for a Cherries penalty given Lerma upended Jansson.

Toney blasted a half-volley high and wide, then saw a cute free-kick deflected by the wall.

Brentford survived a last-ditch Bournemouth onslaught, with Jensen riding his luck as the ball struck his arm, before the final whistle called time on an insipid affair.