Jack Wilshere marked his Emirates FA Cup return with a moment of magic to help Bournemouth secure their place in the fifth round with a 2-1 victory over Crawley.
A first-half strike from Wilshere put the hosts in front at the break and, while Tom Nichols equalised for Crawley after the restart, Josh King scored the goal to secure Bournemouth’s safe passage.
Former Arsenal midfielder Wilshere joined the Cherries last week on a deal until the end of the season, having been without a club since leaving West Ham in October last year.
And the 29-year-old, who is in his second spell at the Championship side following a loan stint in 2016-17, made an instant impression in just his second permanent appearance for the south-coast outfit.
Playing in the competition for the first time since Arsenal's 2015 final victory over Aston Villa, Wilshere finished off a superb team move with a beautiful strike from 18 yards to put the hosts on the road to victory.
With a trip to face Burnley awaiting the winner, Bournemouth dominated the opening stages of the contest against the League Two outfit at the Vitality Stadium.
Crawley’s defence held firm as Wilshere and David Brooks both caused problems before Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld tested visiting goalkeeper Glenn Morris in the seventh minute.
Philip Billing then saw his header from Diego Rico’s corner rebound off the post two minutes later, while Ashley Nadesan responded with a strike which forced Asmir Begovic into action.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 24th minute after the hosts moved the ball from the left wing towards King, whose flick allowed Wilshere to cushion it into the right corner.
Brooks had a chance to double the hosts’ lead just after the half-hour mark but his finish was high and wide, and despite Bournemouth’s dominance, their lead at the break was a slender one.
The second half started at the first ended and Crawley’s problems were compounded when Emmanuel Adebowale was shown a yellow card for a foul on Groeneveld.
Adebowale was soon replaced by Crawley boss John Yems and, after King came close to extending the Cherries’ lead, the visitors then enjoyed a spell of pressure.
A penalty shout on Nichols was waved away before the striker responded by latching on to Josh Wright’s flick to equalise from close range just as the hour mark approached.
The scores did not remain level for long, however, and on 65 minutes Groeneveld dived in from the wing before teeing up King, who took a touch and fired Bournemouth back ahead.
The hosts had further opportunities to put the result beyond doubt, with Steve Cook going close from a corner, but their missed chances did not come back to haunt them as they held out to set up a meeting with Sean Dyche's men at Turf Moor.
