Bournemouth 1-1 Swindon

Pre- Match

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.

Another One Bites The Dust

Background 

5 wins and one draw in the previous six matches, and some people thought bringing Eddie Howe back wasn't the right decision. The 2-1 victory at home to Shrewsbury last night made it a 4 game winning streak at home including the cup match, continuing the Cherries' amazing run of form. I saw on Vitals today the win percentages of each Bournemouth manager: At the bottom- Paul Groves (15%)- and at the top? Eddie Howe (51%). If you include his previous spell as manager, we have won just over half of our games with Howe in charge, not mentioning that since his return that percentage is far, far higher.

The Match

I knew coming into the match that Shrewsbury had developed a habit of conceding early goals, but with our usual style of really pushing on in the second half I didn't expect the game to start off with such excitement. Only two minutes in Bournemouth got a free kick on the edge of the Shrewsbury penalty area due to Darren Jones fouling Lee Barnard. Charlie Daniels actually hit a rather poor, low driven effort that would have usually been blocked, however a Shrewsbury player in the wall jumped out of the way and a deflection left Chris Weale no chance. It was the kind of goal that Graham Turner would have gone ballistic at, a basic error had left Shrewsbury behind. The home fans got the atmosphere going, and within a few minutes Bournemouth doubled their lead. The ever fantastic Marc Pugh twisted and turned his way down the left wing, only for his perfect cross to somehow be clipped onto the post by Lee Barnard. However, Barnard got the ball back out to Pugh, who hit another cross right across the area with Josh McQuoid there head the ball into the back of the net. It seemed that Bournemouth were going to put in another dazzling home performance, having scored two goals after only six minutes. However, although Bournemouth dominated possession, the killer third goal didn't come, and Shrewsbury soon took advantage. After 14 minutes, Miles Addison decided it was his time to shine and what was the routine process of seeing the ball out for a goal kick turned into a penalty for Shrewsbury. Addison had let Morgan get an extra step on him, and Morgan soon went flying to the ground, it looked like a blatant dive from where I sat, but the judgement of others and the referee seem to indicate it was just Miles Addison being himself. The tenacious midfielder (and captain) Matt Richards stepped up and calmly shot the ball into the bottom right hand corner of David James' goal. Bournemouth began to look a bit more nervy as the first half went on, with Jon Taylor causing Charlie Daniels numerous problems down the right wing. The Cherries' had many chances to see the game off, Lewis Grabban inexplicably missed when he was through on goal, and others too were guilty of not using their opportunities. There were two further major talking points of the half, as Shrewsbury had another penalty claim when Helan's cross seemed to hit Tommy Elphick on the arm, and when the last Shrewsbury defender brought down Grabban, only to be given a yellow card. 

Having been performing so admirably in their second half displays recently, I was expecting Bournemouth to come out with all guns blazing in order to kill the game off. Despite controlling the ball and having a few half-chances, the Bournemouth players seemed to lack that inspired creativity and killer instinct that had seen off many opponents in recent weeks. Most of Bournemouth's work came down the left side, with Charlie Daniels and Marc Pugh working tirelessly to get behind the determined Jermaine Grandison who was playing right-back. In fairness to Shrewsbury, for a team low in the league their defence showed strong organization when facing an attack that had destroyed many formidable opponents, and The Cherries just couldn't get in behind. That said, even when Bournemouth were on the break and looked like they might have a chance a Shrewsbury player would happily trip up the attacker and take the yellow card for the benefit of the team. Though only down by a goal, the attacking push never really came from Shrewsbury and Bournemouth's defence seemed at relative ease (apart from when Addison got the ball). In the last minute of injury time Bournemouth conceded a free kick in a relatively dangerous position, giving Shrewsbury one final chance to grab an equalizer. Fortunately for us, David James jumped up to claim the ball and confirm another win for Eddie Howe's men.

My Thoughts

The team made hard work of what could have been a relatively simple victory following such a prosperous opening to the match. Although I felt we deserved the win, there was a spark missing to our game that had been evident in all the other previous matches. I think that this is likely due to such a busy run of fixtures recently, and with many players also having played on Saturday, some of them probably needed a rest. That said, a win against Shrewsbury is something to be recognized because they were certainly not pushovers, and had we not started so brightly we could have had a really tough time trying to break down their defence. Furthermore, Shrewsbury had clearly done their homework on our attacking threats, as Grandison and Taylor defended superbly against Marc Pugh, reducing the extent of his impact on the game. People often say that the sign of a good team is when they don't play well and still win, and that is what the team did last night, getting the three points when not at their best. The boys can rest now, and then get ready for what is a tough match up at Doncaster on Saturday, though they have every reason to head into it intending to win.

Player Ratings

James: 7- Had very little to do, almost saved the penalty and most importantly won the ball from free-kick in the last minute. Provides a calm, experience presence that Jalal does not.

Francis: 7- Worked very hard and always there to support down the right when we are attacking. While his crossing is great his defensive positioning could do with a little work as he doesn't close down quick enough sometimes.

Elphick: 7- Played well and won all the balls that came near him, however when he plays with Addison he never performs to the best of his ability.

Addison: 6- When he plays our defence suddenly seems very ropey and good teams will take advantage of it. While he's sometimes good in the air, he gets beaten often and is prone to costly mistakes. Drop him and make him wake up a little, it's needed.

Daniels: 7- His link up play with Pugh is fantastic and there is real potential in that combination yet to be realized. The pacey Taylor gave him a tough time though and cross field balls sometimes caught him out of position. 

McQuoid: 7.5- Got another goal and is on fire in terms of scoring right now. Leaves a bit to be desired in terms of providing width, may be better off playing up front?

Arter: 9- Ran the game from midfield with another superb performance. He always provided an option for teammates and worked hard constantly. Notably for the second time in a row after getting a yellow he calmed himself and reacted maturely.

MacDonald: 7- Shaun is a talented player and last night he seemed to drop in a much deeper role. I think his best position has yet to be realized as he seems to go missing some times. That said, reliable passer and can make some quality tackles.

Pugh: 8- Even though he didn't have that much success in the game, defences are so scared of him that it changes how we play. Whenever he gets the ball he is a threat, and he can tear most right backs to shreds. Please sign a new contract Marc.

Barnard: 6- Right, I'll probably get criticism for this but this guy seriously doesn't do much for me. Admittedly his touch is fantastic whenever he is on the ball, but his impact on games is very small. He doesn't seem to get behind defences nor lurk on the edge of the area, might be sacrificing himself for the team but I'd like to see more from him.

Grabban: 7.5- Lewis has been a different player since Eddie returned. Under Groves he looked devoid of any ideas, but now his height and pace have become real weapons. Needs to improve his finishing, but he's becoming more of a threat each game.

Charlie Daniels grabs the opener

Swindon Town 4-0 AFC Bournemouth

Cherries Rocked By The Rockin' Robins

Report 

AFC Bournemouth slumped to their second defeat of the season this afternoon at The County Ground as they were thumped 4-0 by a confident Swindon team. The defeat leaves Bournemouth 17th in the table after gaining a mere 8 points from their first 8 games.

Bournemouth made three changes to the side that faced Brentford on Tuesday as the injured Pugh, Arter and Francis were replaced by Fogden, McDermott and Cook respectively. Swindon started the game on the front foot, with wide man Matt Ritchie in particular looking dangerous. After having control of a lightweight Bournemouth side, Swindon broke the deadlock just after ten minutes. Bournemouth's insistence on passing out of defence produced a mistake as Fogden failed to control Cook's pass, Matt Ritchie intercepted the ball on the edge of the area and smashed a rocket past Shwan Jalal and into the back of the net. Paul Groves once again tried to make a diamond midfield work, but yet again it failed to produce good results. As the commentator on BBC Wiltshire said, "if you come to Swindon you must play 4-4-2 and try to match them". Grabban and Tubbs were often left isolated up front and could not make an impact on the game despite running around.  The second goal came once again through Swindon's width, the ball found it's way to Gary Roberts who hit a curling cross from the left hand side, the ball somehow evaded all of Bournemouth's defenders leaving Andy Williams with a simple header. Bournemouth's best (and only) chance of the match fell to Matt Tubbs, the ball was played over Swindon's defence and Tubbs hit a low shot, but goalkeeper Wes Foderingham made a great save low to his right hand side. The teams went in at half time with Swindon looking increasingly comfortable, basking in their 2-0 advantage.

Groves made two changes to begin the match, with Josh Wakefield and Josh McQuoid replacing Donal McDermott and Wes Fogden. The visitors finally started pressing forward a bit, but a few sub standard corners aside, they never really looked like threatening Swindon's goal. The game began to have a feel of a training match, Swindon's players looked calm on the ball and played some nice, neat passes in short space. The third goal game when Matt Ritchie hit a low driven free-kick from the outside the right side of the Cherries penalty area, it amazingly went through everyone in the box and hit the back of the net before Jalal had time to sufficiently react. "Groves out" started to belt out from the visiting supports, alongside "you're getting sacked in the morning". With 10 minutes to go and the game looking bleaker by the minute I decided that it was time to go, so unfortunately I cannot comment on the fourth goal, but it was scored by Birmingham loanee Adam Rooney.

My Thoughts

Where to begin? It is simply beyond my understanding how a team that has cost so much money can play so appallingly. I have seen some bad times as a Bournemouth fan, but I do not remember walking away from a game this demotivated. I think this feeling is also held by many fellow Bournemouth supporters, there is simply something missing within the club. The team plays without passion, without fire or flair, there seems to be a constant lack of determination to push on and win the game. Today it was boys vs men, we were absolutely outclassed by a Swindon team that did what we should have done in all four of our home games. I don't like giving anyone abuse, but it is time for Groves to go, the results and performances have been completely unacceptable. Miles Addison's post match interview clearly shows that there is disarray in the dressing room, and this all just comes back to the leadership of the team. We can't play a diamond midfield with 3 lightweight players in it, McDermott, Fogden and O'Kane all get easily muscled off the ball constantly, and Partington isn't exactly a ball winner either. Addison and Elphick seem to have a lack of understanding when playing together, and the ball constantly gets past them. Grabban and Tubbs did nothing when they got on the ball, Tubbs has now missed two one on one's, and Grabban can't beat a man to save his life. We seriously need a man (like Di Canio, not as nutty though) to come in and give this team a kick up the backside and whip them into shape.


Anyway, thanks very much for reading once again and Up The Cherries...

Former Cherries target Matt Ritchie grabbed two goals