After the impressive win against Yeovil, I, among many, had confidence that we were witnessing the start of something special. Today proved me wrong, extremely wrong. A home game against a Hartlepool side that hadn't started off too well had a win all over it. However, as I said to my cousin before the game, these games are always the trickiest.
The Cherries remained unchanged bar Richard Hughes dropping out of the squad with youngster Joe Parting regaining his place in the starting lineup. Hartlepool, as expected set out in a very defensive style, with only big man Steve Howard remaining up front. The game started off very blandly, it was a non-event and both teams looked absolutely devoid of any inspiration. Hartlepool were happy to sit back as The Cherries passed around their defence trying to emulate Spain, and then hit a long hopeful ball that would always come to no result. The only chance of the first half came when Wes Fogden headed it just over the bar, though Scott Flinders likely had it covered. A lack of width was extremely noticeable, as the diamond formation meant only the full backs provided any attack from the outside.
The second half continued in much the same manner, a double change bringing on Pugh and Daniels somewhat lifted the team, but again the attacks came to little fruition. Hartlepool's big defence constantly got rid of any incoming balls, with Josh McQuoid and Lewis Grabban having little impact on the game. The north stand soon started chanting "We Want Matthew Tubbs", and Paul Groves gave them what they wanted; Tubbs replaced McQuoid with 25 minutes left on the clock. Unsurprisingly, the sub had little effect and it began to look like a 0-0 draw was on the cards. Then, as luck would have it, the first time Hartlepool dared venture into Bournemouth's penalty box, Shaun MacDonald gave away an unnecessary penalty. Penalty specialist (haha) Shwan Jalal failed to save Simon Walton's spot kick, and the boos soon echoed around Dean Court. Bournemouth's first real chance came soon after, Daniels whipped the ball in and Flinders could only parry Grabban's volley, up stepped Matthew Tubbs; the chance to prove Groves wrong, ignite the game once more, only he headed the ball wide of the open goal. Minutes passed, with Bournemouth looking increasing puzzled as to what to do next. People were leaving, "Groves Out" was ringing out of the north stand, but in the 92nd minute, the goal finally came. Fogden brought down a pass, took it past a man and slipped it through to Tubbs who happily placed the ball past the helpless Flinders. Game over, 1-1.
Getting a last minute goal is always delightful, but for me it only glossed over how poor the team was today. We had all the possession, but very rarely even looked like scoring. Without Hughes the team looked lost, and there seemed to be no game plan as to how to attack Hartlepool effectively. Personally, I thought we only looked dangerous when Daniels and Pugh came on, as they added an attacking width we so desperately needed. Against Brentford I hope Tubbs replaces McQuoid, and the midfield is changed around a bit. Three words sum up this game perfectly, NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Ratings:
Jalal: 6- Nothing to do, hopeless on penalties, only marked down due to below par distribution.
Francis: 6- Defended okay but his crossing was woeful, not the same player as he was against Yeovil.
Addison: 6- Dealt with Howard comfortably and not at fault for the goal.
Elphick: 7- Same as Addison, but he gets a higher rating because he doesn't spend half the time whinging at the referee.
Cook: 4- People might disagree, but after playing so well against Pompey and Yeovil I thought he was off the pace today. Bad crossing and constantly gave the ball away.
Arter: 5- Energetic, but didn't do much.
Partington: 7- Calm, collected, and a balanced player to have on the pitch.
Fogden: 6- Didn't do much except setting up the goal, barely noticeable.
MacDonald: 6- Was great in the last two games but an off day for him today in my opinion.
Grabban: 6- He tried, had a bit of pace and put in a couple of good balls. Still needs to do more to justify a place though.
McQuoid: 4- Shouldn't have even turned up, poor.
Tubbs: 7- Scored a goal that has saved Groves for another week, and was the only one to get in scoring positions.
Daniels: 6- Provided width and made a couple of good runs but took a few heavy touches, still getting back to form.
Pugh: Constantly beat his man and was exactly what we needed, hopefully back to his old self.
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| Goalscorer Matt Tubbs |
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