On the dawn of the new season fans of all clubs have the right to be optimistic. In this case, Charlton had just finished a very impressive 9th in their first season back in The Championship, while Bournemouth had just been promoted to England's second tier for the first time in 25 years. Both sets of fans could naturally be excited before this match, which was the third time the two clubs had played each other on the opening day in four years.
Walking towards the stadium, I could feel the buzz already. While in previous seasons our first home match would draw between 4-6 thousand, over 10,000 tickets had been sold already. Seeing hundreds of fans in red and black streaming towards the stadium from different directions displayed the direction that the club is headed. With a new stand, a new club shop and a fantastic squad on the books it felt like we had a proper football club. I took my new seat in the East Stand for the first time and it was great to see how excited all the fans around me were, most of whom had been waiting their entire lifetime to see The Cherries play in The Championship. It was quite hard to believe that a year ago our first home game was a 1-1 draw with MK Dons in front of 5,407 people.
However, despite Bournemouth's excitement and anticipation, it was obvious that Charlton were not opponents to be underestimated at all, especially with new signings Marvin Sordell and Simon Church set to be involved for The Addicks. The home side started on the front foot passing the ball neatly around the midfield and defence, trying to utilise their strength on the wings. But the visitors were also looking dangerous, with most passes aimed at trying to get the speedy Calum Harriott in behind the Bournemouth defence. Marvin Sordell had a great chance to head in a cross but seemingly miss the ball entirely, while Mohamed Coulibaly could only curl his shot wide of the post down the other end. Bournemouth had most of the ball with midfielders Harry Arter and Shaun MacDonald linking the team with incisive passing, but the aerial threat of Yann Kermorgant was keeping the Cherries' defence on their toes. The opening goal came on the 26th minute mark: Bournemouth won a corner and Arter sprinted over, he was duly given the ball and quickly whipped in a cross which found Lewis Grabban who headed the ball back across Ben Hamer and into the net.
It was hard to believe that the Charlton defenders had left Grabban so wide open in the penalty area but nobody cared, it was a dream start for Bournemouth. They took the front foot straight away and it looked like a second goal was coming, with Wes Thomas coming close a few times, but the visitors saw off the Cherries attacks for the rest of the half.
Whatever Chris Powell said at half-time clearly had the desired effect on his team. The Charlton side that came out for the second half were suddenly a lot more active, efficient and dynamic on the ball, causing Bournemouth numerous problems. I could see that the equaliser was coming, although the circumstances in which it did were surprising and spectacular. With the ball down the left wing, the ball was hit but deflected off MacDonald's foot as he tried to block it, it reached Kermorgant who left his feet and hit a magnificent left-footed volley past the helpless Ryan Allsop, the score was level and it was game on.
But the expected push from the visitors never really came, despite the momentum being on their side. The introduction of Ryan Fraser who replaced the injured Coulibaly changed the game dramatically. Thomas had another good chance to score when he shrugged off a Charlton defender and found himself wide open in the box, but his shot was deflected and comfortably saved by Hamer. Fraser was causing ex-Cherry Rhoys Wiggins trouble down the right as he provided a constant outlet for Bournemouth's attacks with Marc Pugh doing the same down the left. Bournemouth took the lead when Arter found the inspired and transformed Grabban who turned Andy Hughes on the edge of the box before firing a rocket past the diving Hamer.
Bournemouth continued to attack with Fraser being the victim of numerous cynical fouls, although the consistently incompetent Andy D'Urso failed to book anyone for them. Then came the dreaded last fifteen minutes when a team has a one goal lead where the trailing team throws everything possible at them in search of the equaliser. Charlton abandoned playing the ball on the floor and shoved centre-back Michael Morrison up front, adopting the aerial bombardment approach more commonly seen in the Conference than the Championship. Their efforts almost paid off when Allsop rushed out of his goal to claim a cross but misjudged it, meaning Elliott Ward had to clear Bradley Pritchard's header off of the line and save The Cherries. That was to be Pritchard's last impact on the game when he was sent off for a late challenge on Fraser, an incident that looked a lot worse at the time but still probably worthy of a red card.
From there Bournemouth were able to see out the game relatively comfortably, with the sending off really ending Charlton's hopes of drawing level.
In summary, the match could not have gone much better for Bournemouth. They deserved to win and had the better chances, but Kermorgant's goal was proof of the quality many players in this division at have. Charlton had their spells of pressure but I'd bet that most of their fans went home disappointed in their side's display, with many players clearly not performing to their level. For Bournemouth, the defence played well and dealt all the long balls in the air superbly, and in fairness not even Joe Hart or Petr Cech would have stopped Charlton's goal. The midfield was brilliant, especially in the first half, although they clearly tired towards the end. The most encouraging display of the afternoon was Grabban's who was a transformed player, not bearing one trait of the man who suffered a long goal drought last season. Wes Thomas also made a much improved performance especially regarding his work ethic, but he really does need one to go off of his backside.Most importantly, this victory takes the pressure off as we have two tough games in Watford and Wigan next. A loss today would make it important to take points off of those two very strong teams, but thankfully for now, we can relax.
See you at Watford!
Walking towards the stadium, I could feel the buzz already. While in previous seasons our first home match would draw between 4-6 thousand, over 10,000 tickets had been sold already. Seeing hundreds of fans in red and black streaming towards the stadium from different directions displayed the direction that the club is headed. With a new stand, a new club shop and a fantastic squad on the books it felt like we had a proper football club. I took my new seat in the East Stand for the first time and it was great to see how excited all the fans around me were, most of whom had been waiting their entire lifetime to see The Cherries play in The Championship. It was quite hard to believe that a year ago our first home game was a 1-1 draw with MK Dons in front of 5,407 people.
 |
| The Ted MacDougall stand completes the ground |
However, despite Bournemouth's excitement and anticipation, it was obvious that Charlton were not opponents to be underestimated at all, especially with new signings Marvin Sordell and Simon Church set to be involved for The Addicks. The home side started on the front foot passing the ball neatly around the midfield and defence, trying to utilise their strength on the wings. But the visitors were also looking dangerous, with most passes aimed at trying to get the speedy Calum Harriott in behind the Bournemouth defence. Marvin Sordell had a great chance to head in a cross but seemingly miss the ball entirely, while Mohamed Coulibaly could only curl his shot wide of the post down the other end. Bournemouth had most of the ball with midfielders Harry Arter and Shaun MacDonald linking the team with incisive passing, but the aerial threat of Yann Kermorgant was keeping the Cherries' defence on their toes. The opening goal came on the 26th minute mark: Bournemouth won a corner and Arter sprinted over, he was duly given the ball and quickly whipped in a cross which found Lewis Grabban who headed the ball back across Ben Hamer and into the net.
 |
| Grabban heads home for Bournemouth |
It was hard to believe that the Charlton defenders had left Grabban so wide open in the penalty area but nobody cared, it was a dream start for Bournemouth. They took the front foot straight away and it looked like a second goal was coming, with Wes Thomas coming close a few times, but the visitors saw off the Cherries attacks for the rest of the half.
Whatever Chris Powell said at half-time clearly had the desired effect on his team. The Charlton side that came out for the second half were suddenly a lot more active, efficient and dynamic on the ball, causing Bournemouth numerous problems. I could see that the equaliser was coming, although the circumstances in which it did were surprising and spectacular. With the ball down the left wing, the ball was hit but deflected off MacDonald's foot as he tried to block it, it reached Kermorgant who left his feet and hit a magnificent left-footed volley past the helpless Ryan Allsop, the score was level and it was game on.
 |
| Kermorgant got Charlton's equaliser |
But the expected push from the visitors never really came, despite the momentum being on their side. The introduction of Ryan Fraser who replaced the injured Coulibaly changed the game dramatically. Thomas had another good chance to score when he shrugged off a Charlton defender and found himself wide open in the box, but his shot was deflected and comfortably saved by Hamer. Fraser was causing ex-Cherry Rhoys Wiggins trouble down the right as he provided a constant outlet for Bournemouth's attacks with Marc Pugh doing the same down the left. Bournemouth took the lead when Arter found the inspired and transformed Grabban who turned Andy Hughes on the edge of the box before firing a rocket past the diving Hamer.
 |
| Grabban's second sealed the win |
Bournemouth continued to attack with Fraser being the victim of numerous cynical fouls, although the consistently incompetent Andy D'Urso failed to book anyone for them. Then came the dreaded last fifteen minutes when a team has a one goal lead where the trailing team throws everything possible at them in search of the equaliser. Charlton abandoned playing the ball on the floor and shoved centre-back Michael Morrison up front, adopting the aerial bombardment approach more commonly seen in the Conference than the Championship. Their efforts almost paid off when Allsop rushed out of his goal to claim a cross but misjudged it, meaning Elliott Ward had to clear Bradley Pritchard's header off of the line and save The Cherries. That was to be Pritchard's last impact on the game when he was sent off for a late challenge on Fraser, an incident that looked a lot worse at the time but still probably worthy of a red card.
From there Bournemouth were able to see out the game relatively comfortably, with the sending off really ending Charlton's hopes of drawing level.
 |
| Pritchard saw red |
In summary, the match could not have gone much better for Bournemouth. They deserved to win and had the better chances, but Kermorgant's goal was proof of the quality many players in this division at have. Charlton had their spells of pressure but I'd bet that most of their fans went home disappointed in their side's display, with many players clearly not performing to their level. For Bournemouth, the defence played well and dealt all the long balls in the air superbly, and in fairness not even Joe Hart or Petr Cech would have stopped Charlton's goal. The midfield was brilliant, especially in the first half, although they clearly tired towards the end. The most encouraging display of the afternoon was Grabban's who was a transformed player, not bearing one trait of the man who suffered a long goal drought last season. Wes Thomas also made a much improved performance especially regarding his work ethic, but he really does need one to go off of his backside.Most importantly, this victory takes the pressure off as we have two tough games in Watford and Wigan next. A loss today would make it important to take points off of those two very strong teams, but thankfully for now, we can relax.
See you at Watford!
