This Championship season, full of twists and turns, took another one in the early spring sunshine on the South Coast when Bournemouth edged a close and fiery one in the lunchtime kick-off.

There has never been much to separate the two sides over the years – promoted together in 2015 and relegated together last summer – and the only difference between them here was a goal just past the hour from Arnaut Danjuma. By the end, of a game that simmered throughout and boiled over completely at the end, the players themselves needed pulling apart from each other.

The result was a blow for the second-place chasing Hornets as it halted a four-match winning streak and was only the second defeat in 11 matches. It also came as a bit of a shock as the Hornets had started to build up a real head of steam and had such a good record here, winning six and drawing five of the previous 12. It was a further reminder that there is plenty of work to be done in this pursuit of Premier League football and that you have to conjure up all sorts of different ways of winning a game or, if you can't, then get out with a draw.

Xisco Muñoz's side did not do too much wrong here and, after all, they have no divine right to win every game. The Head Coach is well aware his team are not the finished article and they need to find a way of winning games as they have now only won one of seven games against the top seven and are yet to win a game under Muñoz after falling behind. They will also now need to show the depth of their squad, particularly on Wednesday against Wycombe, after João Pedro was sent off and Nathaniel Chalobah was booked for the tenth time, earning him a two-game suspension.

The ending was completely chaotic and yet everything was nice and measured about the first-half performance. The visitors did not slice the Cherries apart or create a shot on target, but they were very much in the ascendancy, playing the more progressive stuff and never really looking in too much trouble. You could, depending on whether your glass is half full or not, bemoan the fact this was the 11th time the Hornets had fired a blank in the first 45 minutes of a league game, but more likely is that it demonstrates just how in control of proceedings the team are and what a tough nut they are to crack.

You couldn't accuse of them of not taking the game to the hosts, just like they thrillingly did here just over 12 months ago. They had both full-backs in the opposition box inside four minutes, Kiko Femenía sending over a cross that Adam Masina might, on reflection, feel he could have hit the target with a header.

The link-up play between Femenía and Ismaïla Sarr was a real feature of the first period and was of Premier League level, really. Bournemouth often doubled up down the left to stop the threat. From one such move, João Pedro almost nipped in at the near post with a header. The Brazilian then slammed one into Steve Cook, Will Hughes fired over and Sarr, roaming inside for work, produced a dipping long-ranger that flew over the bar.

At the other, Francisco Sierralta made a terrific block on Junior Stanislas, crunched into Lewis Cook while Daniel Bachmann produced a flying save to deny Lloyd Kelly. If that was the only real save either keeper made in the first half, then Bachmann and Asmir Begović earned their money in the first 15 minutes of the second period.

Bachmann sped off his line really quick to deny Danjuma and then Begović had to keep out Tom Cleverley after he burst from midfield to get on the end of a pass from Sarr. That was the visitors' best chance of the game. The game all of a sudden loosened its top button and opened up.

Danjuma was becoming a real threat down the left after an anonymous first half and the Hornets didn't need a couple of warnings and were caught cold on 61 minutes, the Dutchman stealing in rather too easily straight from a fairly direct free-kick down the inside left channel and beating Bachmann at his near post. It was only the 12th goal conceded away from home this season.

Now was the time to come from behind and win a game for the first time under Muñoz and either grind out an eight draw on the road or go one better and record five consecutive league wins for the first time since April 2015, but the game became unstructured, a few lost their heads on both sides and it all ended a bit unsavoury and satisfactory. The is never a dull moment in this lively fixture and there could yet be another instalment this season.