Saturday, the 12th of January saw two promotion hopefuls meet in an extremely important match that had implications for the rest of the season. In the previous meeting, Swindon had thrashed a dispirited and hopefully Bournemouth team 4-0 at the County Ground, but a lot had changed since then. Eddie Howe returned in October and the rest is history, Bournemouth, on the back of 17 games unbeaten, sat in 7th place 3 points behind their visitors. Their opponents were Swindon who had won their past four matches by an aggregate of 16-0, taking no prisoners as they seek a second straight promotion. With both teams in form and managed by highly talented (but very contrasting) managers, it was anyone's guess as to how the match would turn out.
Match Report
Bournemouth made three changes to the side that drew at Wigan in the FA Cup, with David James, Lewis Grabban and Brett Pitman replacing Shwan Jalal, Matt Tubbs and Richard Hughes respectively. Ex-Cherry Danny Hollands returned to Dean Court as he is currently on loan at Swindon, while former transfer target Matt Ritchie also lined up for The Robins.
 |
| Hollands returned to Bournemouth after leaving in 2011 |
The match started out with energy, both teams looked eager to impose their presence on the game and tried to gain control of the ball. The torrential rain pouring onto the pitch was clearly having an affect, players were slipping and numerous mis-kicks were made. Bournemouth tried to find success down both wings, but any crosses were dealt with by Joe Devera and Darren Ward in the heart of the Swindon backline, while right back Nathan Thompson seemed to have Marc Pugh under control. Almost against the run of play, Swindon nearly broke the deadlock as a powerful shot from veteran Tommy Miller was met with a great reaction save from David James in the Bournemouth goal. Swindon began to press and summer signing Andy Williams could only head straight at James from a Matt Ritchie cross, while Bournemouth were let off when Swindon could not take advantage of James having to let go of the ball as he slid out of the box trying to hold it. Back the ball went to the other end, Brett Pitman turned and fired straight at Thompson while inside the Swindon penalty area, but the ball found its way to Harry Arter who found enough space on the edge of the box to fire a left footed shot right into the goal, with Wesley Foderingham leaping in vain to prevent it going in. Then, in what is the worst miss I have ever witnessed at a football match, James Collins managed to shoot the ball into the stand when a defensive error had left the goal empty. The rain began to increase and the conditions became exceedingly worse, but both teams managed to battle it out for the rest of the first half, with neither side able to carve out any clear cut chances.
 |
| Harry Arter got the opening goal |
It was clear that the pitch was being cut up by the rain and an announcement was made saying half time would be extended by five minutes in order for the groundsmen to attempt to make it playable. Thankfully, thanks to their fantastic efforts the second half was able to proceed, although it's debatable whether that was the correct decision. Only a few minutes into the second half Arter went on a mazy run through a few Swindon defenders only to have his shot superbly stopped by Foderingham. Bournemouth had three corners in a relatively quick amount of time but could not manage to score that all important second goal. Paolo Di Canio, whose dramatic antics suggested he was not happy with some of his players at the time, realized that he needed to make changes in order to get something out of the match and he threw on Norwich loanee Chris Martin in place of Collins. The pitch was deteriorating everywhere, the ball noticeably slowed down in certain areas and water was spraying all around. Truthfully, both teams showed fantastic determination and effort as they both gave 100% throughout, even though they were limited in what they could actually do with the ball. A cross drifted in from the Swindon left side right across the face of the goal and Ritchie ran onto it but his left footed shot was saved by James once more. Following this, James' goalkeeping counterpart Foderingham was called into action once more, as he made another great save to deny Lewis Grabban's header. The ball was flying from end to end, and it was clear there was at least one more goal left in the match, the big question was just which team would score that goal. Brett Pitman almost sealed the win as he hit a speculative effort from far out with Foderingham out of position, but the Swindon goalkeeper once again stopped Bournemouth. Then just as Bournemouth fans began to think that the 3 points might be staying in Dorset, David James showed everyone why he has garnered the nickname 'Calamity James'. Unfortunately I wasn't actually looking as he took the kick, because I wasn't expecting him to hit it straight to a Swindon player- when I did look up I saw James rushing out of his area to deny Chris Martin, but despite bodies being thrown in an attempt to block it, the ball came to Andy Williams who shot past Steve Cook on the line and into the goal. Bournemouth were rocked by the goal, a team that had looked reasonably comfortable before were now edgy and it was now Swindon who seemed the only team likely to get the win, though ultimately the could not get the second goal and the match ended in a fair 1-1 draw.
 |
| Andy Williams scored the equalizer |
My Thoughts
Walking away from the ground today I was gutted, not because we necessarily deserved the win, but it certainly felt liked we had gifted Swindon the goal. David James had been brilliant all afternoon and was the only reason Swindon hadn't scored up to that point, so it was really disappointing for him to make that mistake. That said, the team truly deserves credit for their performance today, it wasn't their best but it was still good and on another we would have won, but these things happen all the time in football. Swindon are the team that have impressed me the most this season, I think (similar to us) they are better than their position suggests, so on the face of it a point it is certainly not a bad result. Our awful start has us at a severe disadvantage in the promotion race, but the fact that we're still only 3 points behind 5th place today shows how far this team has come, and the how far they can go. Yes we are now 10 behind the automatic spots, but we've beaten the top two teams and Sheffield United lost at home today to a team we beat 3-0, so there is no reason for us not to keep believing. It is games like these that truly test what our team is all about, and while I would have liked the win, we can make up for it next Saturday when we face Walsall.
Player Ratings
David James: 6/7- I am stuck here, I think he was a runner for our man of the match up until he made the mistake that ultimately cost us the win, but without him we wouldn't have been in the position to win the match. He'll recover from this and continue to perform as well as he has all season.
Simon Francis: 7- Bad crossing today but it's forgivable in the conditions and he deserves to be recognized for keeping Gary Roberts quiet all game, there are not many better right-backs in League One than him.
Tommy Elphick: 8- Solid throughout and managed to win the ball a lot, even though James Collins provided a physical attacking presence we haven't faced in a while.
Steve Cook: 7- Another good game for him, though I've marked him slightly lower than his central partner because he seemed to suffer more from the conditions, though he was not at fault for the goal either.
Charlie Daniels: 7- Swindon seemed to be finding success down his side early on but he kept Ritchie quiet for the rest of the game while also adding an attacking threat. His runs forward provide another option whenever we have the ball.
Marc Pugh: 6- Though arguably our best player he wasn't at the races today, and Nathan Thompson defended against him very well. He did manage to create space and chances sometimes, but I've seen him played significantly better.
Harry Arter: 8- What a player he is turning out to be, his stamina is endless and he is always pressuring the opposition or on the ball for us. His goal was a great shot and I think he's our most important player right now.
Eunan O'Kane: 7- Despite being smaller physically he is not weak and he fought hard in the middle of the park. He's forming a good partnership with Arter and as with most of the team, his game is not suited to the weather today.
Josh McQuoid: 6- Replicated the hard working nature of Fogden and helped Francis out but he did not have much success going forward and took a little too long on the ball sometimes. I'm not convinced right midfield is his best position.
Lewis Grabban: 7- Once again put in 100% effort despite being said to be a major doubt for the game due to illness. He found space and has great pace, but apart from the header he didn't have a chance to get on the scoresheet.
Brett Pitman: 7- I haven't been very impressed with his performances since his return but his work rate today was improved and he was more intelligent in possession. His style of play is odd but as he proved with the long range shot he is always capable of producing something special.
Subs
Wes Thomas: 5- Made his return today following a loan spell at Blackpool and he hasn't changed at all. Looked thoroughly disinterested and was rarely near the ball, we were worse once he came on.
Wes Fogden: Didn't have much of a chance to impact the game as we were defending most of the time while he was on but he was reliable as always.
Richard Hughes: Not on for long enough to really do anything.
