AFC Bournemouth lost ground in the chase for promotion as Nathan Jones' resilient Luton Town side secured a 1-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's goal in the second half was enough to seal the three points for the Hatters, in a match that was arguably marred with a referee's decision halfway through the first half.

Referee David Webb handed a straight red card for Cherries central midfielder Jefferson Lerma for what he seemingly perceived to be an elbow on Tom Lockyer as both players challenged for the ball in the air.

The Colombian central midfielder went up for a header and appeared to catch Lockyer in the face accidentally with his hand/forearm, which on first glance looked soft, but Webb remained adamant and dished out a straight red, much to the dismay of Lerma's team-mates.

After the sending off, the Hatters didn't look like testing Cherries keeper Asmir Begovic despite Harry Cornick running the channels well.

It certainly was a game where defensive solidity was at the fore, with minimal chances either end, but we saw the first glimmer of a chance for the Cherries ten minutes before half-time.

Josh King forced Sluga into action for the first time in this match with his his half-volleyed effort inside the box palmed away comfortably.

Nathan Jones' half-time talk certainly seemed to do the trick for the visitors as the second-half commenced.

The Hatters started in electric fashion and within five minutes had recorded three massive opportunities to break the deadlock.

First, Glen Rea's shot took two ricochets on the line and somehow went out for a corner after the ball bundled around the area, then moments after Begovic produced two terrific saves to deny Luke Berry and Dewsbury-Hall.

The first ten minutes of the second half. managed to muster up more chances than the whole of the first with the next chance falling to Bournemouth, ten minutes after the trio of chances for Luton.

After some excellent work, Josh King slipped in strike partner Dom Solanke but his effort on goal was blocked well on the line by Dan Potts which meant the ball narrowly ran past the post.

The deadlock was broken though in the 66th minute as the away team scored.

The lively Harry Cornick held the ball up well on the right, and found Dewsbury-Hall in the centre who opened up his body and found the corner with a pin-point strike.

Frustration was in the air for the home side who continued to look for an equaliser - they got into several strong attacking positions though their final ball was left wanting more often than not.

Cherries substitute Rodrigo Riquelme's volleyed effort five minutes before the end looked to be heading in but Simon Sluga managed to claw the ball away.

Bournemouth continued to push right to the end but it was to no avail as Luton's backline stood strong and fended off the threat of an equaliser.

The defeat for Bournemouth is a dent in their aspirations of a top two finish, especially with Norwich and Watford picking up wins this afternoon.