Bournemouth fans' climb rewarded as substitutes seal Sparta Prague comeback

What happened

Bournemouth supporters who travelled to Prague for the Europa League match against Sparta Prague endured a demanding route to the stadium before seeing their side come from behind to win 3-1, according to a BBC Sport report. Hundreds of Cherries fans gathered in the Old Town Square before setting off on the traditional European "fan walk". After crossing the river in good spirits, they faced a steep climb of more than a dozen flights of steps into Letna Park, which the report said dampened enthusiasm somewhat, with some comparing it to the climb to the away end at Newcastle United's St James' Park.

Report details

The difficulties continued as the Epet Arena came into view. Supporters were held up by police and then seemingly directed away from the stadium and down residential streets before finally reaching the away section on the far side of the ground with kick-off approaching. On the pitch, it initially looked unlikely to be Bournemouth's night: Lewis Cook missed a penalty and Sparta took a 1-0 lead into half-time, ending the Cherries' run of six clean sheets. The BBC noted that Cook is not a prolific scorer, with four goals in 318 appearances over his 10-year Bournemouth career, but that the club's two regular penalty-takers, Justin Kluivert and Marcus Tavernier, were on the bench at the time. It also pointed to Cook's perfect three-from-three record in penalty shootouts, against Norwich in 2022, Wolves in 2025 and Newcastle earlier this year.

Despite making eight changes for the game, manager Marco Rose was again vindicated in his substitutions, as Tyler Adams, Evanilson and Rayan all came off the bench to score in the 3-1 win. The report said the travelling fans who had done the "hard yards" were rewarded with a seventh successive win in all competitions and a continued 100% record in the Europa League. Some, understandably, took a more leisurely tram ride back to the city centre.