Bournemouth see off neighbours Southampton in dour match

Football Soccer - AFC Bournemouth v Southampton - Barclays Premier League - Vitality Stadium - 1/3/16 Bournemouth's Dan Gosling and teammates celebrate after the match Action Images via Reuters / Paul Childs Livepic

(Reuters) - Bournemouth beat south coast rivals Southampton 2-0 in an uninspiring match at Dean Court with the victory keeping the home side eight points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.

Bournemouth took the lead when centre-back Steve Cook reacted superbly to meet a loose ball in the penalty area and scissor-kick the ball home after half-an-hour.

The home side doubled their lead after 79 minutes when Matt Ritchie's free-kick wide on the right got a touch from Benik Afobe who flicked his header into the roof of the net.

Fourth official Kevin Friend was taken to hospital after fainting and hitting his head on the roof of the dugout as he fell.

(Reporting by Mike Collett, editing by Pritha Sarkar)