AFCB v Crewe

I feel like I’m reaching into Saint & Greavsie’s black bag of clichés as this was definitely a game of 2 halves

Bournemouth started brightly and were 1 up in 6 minutes. The ball came to Pugh in the box with his back to goal. His trade mark Cruyff turn then bemused his marker who could do little more than bring him down. He did have the gall to protest but as even his team mates were too embarrassed to join in, it didn’t last long

Up stepped Pitman and he shot low to the keeper’s right, just in off the post. I say just, and I mean it. The way the ball was swerving there was an audible sigh of relief from the crowd before the deafening cheer.

From then on, each player was allowed to read the special message that they had been left in the pockets of their shorts. Unfortunately, instead of an Adkins uplifting message, it was a Groves’ message.

Need I say any more. Crewe passed the ball like we were expecting Bournemouth to, Bournemouth went back to passing amongst the defenders and keeper and giving us all heart in mouth moments. Please do not tell me Jalal is there for distribution – if he is, I’ll do that job, I’m sure I can kick into the stands as well as he did.

Crewe looked a very good side with a special mention for their number 11 – played like Messi – looked like Lescott. We seemed unable to dispossess him and I’m thankful that they didn’t give him the ball more often.

Despite all this negative play and the half chances that Crewe carved out, it was Bournemouth that should have scored next, in first half injury time. O’Kane threaded the ball through for Grabban and, one on one, he rounded the keeper and coolly slotted it in…….to the side netting, TAXI FOR GRABBAN

HT 1-0

Second half and McQuiod came out like he’d been room sharing with Lance Armstrong – he was electric!!! Time and again he burst down the right and put in some really(mostly) well thought out crosses

Pitman was the beneficiary of 2 such crosses and both times he tried to curl the ball into the top right hand corner. You have to feel sorry for the gentleman with the coffees in row Z as he’d only just replaced the first Brett had hit when the second went the same way. No lottery ticket for you, sir.

Chances were now coming thick and fast with Grabban hitting the keeper when through again and Arter missing a header from close range – although the Arter chance was by far the more difficult as it was the keeper that punched the ball onto his head from 3 feet – he did well not to take it in the face

On 66 minutes the lead was doubled. An Arter shot from long range was only pushed out by the keeper and McQuoid was on it like a flash. He spun away from the defender and fired the ball across the goal-line and Pitman was there to knock it into an empty net. Thank God for that – the breathing room we needed and deserved.

The East stand then provided some hilarity by rein-acting  the Swansea ball-boy incident once and for all dispelling the rumour that the East Stand were made up of card board cut-outs …….  ;-)

There was little hilarity, however, 5 minutes later as a misplaced header from Pugh sent the ball straight into the path of an on-rushing attacker. He shot/crossed the ball across Jalal and it was put in right in the corner.

Damn – 2-1

Fogden then came on and with almost his first touch of the ball he carried it into the box and was felled. Sure, I could have done without the pike turn and the inverted finish – but contact WAS made and it was yet another penalty.

Pitman rounded off his hat-trick by banging it down the middle and the game was ours. The score-line should have been even more flattering and would have been if Grabban had chosen to pass to the free O’Kane instead of shooting from an impossible angle, or if O’Kane hadn’t run out of steam after he was put through – but a win is a win

Summary – A very poor first half but a much improved second. MK Dons will not be so lenient next week and so we now have a week to rest (a few today were carrying injuries according to Sir Howe) and prepare for a FULL 90 minutes, not just 45

Star Performer – Josh McQuoid – He galvanised the team in the second half into a much better tempo and performance

AFCB v Wigan (FA Cup Replay)

5%

That’s what I think the difference was – 5% of quality. Both sides were guilty of losing the ball in the middle, but when our midfielder (not naming and shaming) blind passed the ball to the opposition on 17 minutes, it was that extra 5% that allowed him to run on and smash the ball past Jalal for the only goal of the game. When we pounced on mistakes, we just couldn’t make the same impact

I’ve been on Jalal’s back in the past and if I was in a similar mood now, I could point to the ball not going anywhere near the corner, but today, proud as I am of the team, I shall just say that it was the raw power of the shot that left him helpless.

Proud I say, because Bournemouth really took the game to Wigan and had long periods of the game camped in the opposition half but just unable to break through.

If I was playing devil’s advocate, I would say that what we need to do more is improve movement up front when we bring the ball up from the back. I lost count of the times someone from the back/midfield would beat his man and rampage forward. As he ran, he would start to look for someone to offload the ball to, but no-one moved. So on he would run, and run and run, until he eventually lost the ball – so frustrating.

If only we could learn to make the same runs as we do down both left and right flanks (McQuiod apart) – we seem at ease there to know to run into space after giving the ball so that we can put a cross in.

In the past (again) I have slated the quality of cross, which seems to not match the level of play that got to the place from which the ball was crossed. Today, though, I think I’ve been looking at it the wrong way. Such was our dominance going forward down both left and right wings – I was forced to consider again why these crosses don’t result in more goals

Simple, there’s either no-one in the middle to put the ball away, or there’s one person that doesn’t make a run to meet the ball. When you look at our goals tally, they are nearly all shots.  Not since Charlie D banged in a header many games ago can I remember a cross being met with such success – I think this perhaps is what is holding us back from being great, instead of just good.

Tonight, however, we were as close to great as we could be. With Hughes running the show in the middle we attacked down the wings again and again and our harrying was first class.

Just such harrying from Thomas and O’Kane had Thomas strip the ball off their defender and run forward. He slipped the ball to O’Kane who hit it just outside the box with the outstep of his foot and sent it swinging to crash against the corner of bar and post with the keeper stranded. It would have been a deserved equaliser for the home team, who didn’t let their heads drop despite being one down

The second half just felt wrong shooting the other way, but the crowd tried its best to lift the players. It was to be another half of Bournemouth attack and Wigan counter but Martinez had a stroke of luck. An injury to their keeper meant a second half for the first teamer, without which Bournemouth would surely have scored.

A bombardment of crosses and shots rained into the Wigan penalty area but each time the ball seemed to fall to a Wigan player – is it their ability to read the game, or just that they were getting the run of the ball – I’d prefer it to be the former – the latter just sounds bitter

Arter was the first to really rue the keeper change as his shot was heading into the top right corner before the keeper skilfully tipped the ball round the corner

On 85 minutes Pugh’s left foot volley was tipped onto the bar but the icing on the cake was the 93^rd minute save from Tubbs’ free-kick that he curled over the wall. No way was the first keeper saving that.

Sure, in the 88^th minute, Dicko lived up to his name and missed a sitter from a counter attack from the left, but this would have flattered the visitors even more that it already did.

Summary – I thought a draw in Wigan was a deserved result but today I thought we deserved to win. In some ways I’m glad the unbeaten run is over (a pressure just not needed) and that it hasn’t affected out main aim – getting promotion. Let’s please not do a Huddersfield and start inventing ways in which we are still unbeaten

Star Player – Hughes – Rolled back the years and was majestic in the middle

AFCB v Swindon

Let’s not mess about – Swindon were coming and were going to provide Bournemouth’s biggest DC challenge to date

I know that there’s a lot of furore around Di Canio – but a man who brings colour to the game, welcomes flak from the opposition supporters  to take it away from his team, stands in the rain, wears his passion on his sleeve and ALWAYS applauds his own fans – what’s not to like?

Conditions were awful. Now I’ve only seen Swindon once, at their place, where they took us apart piece by piece – it was a humbling day. I remember them being free flowing with lots of passing – so I was surprised by what I saw.

I’ve never seen so many high balls and flick-ons. My only guess is that Di Canio saw the rain, the heaviness of the pitch and so switched to Plan B – keep the ball off the ground – well – I guess it showed he was thinking

To be fair, the contradiction of styles between the short, sharp passing of Bournemouth against the more direct play of Swindon was a joy to watch – I know there were no neutrals in the ground but if there were they would have thoroughly enjoyed a first half of end to end play.

In the opening 3 minutes O’Kane had a shot go narrowly wide and James was forced into a smart tip-over save. End to End

Despite the conditions Bournemouth were having the better of it but on 21 minutes there was an indication of things to come as James slid out to get yet another long ball – and just kept on sliding.

Bambi on ice springs to mind, but at least he did have the presence of mind to let go of the ball as he went out of the area – sure it did send us into a bit of a panic which was rapidly cleared but all was forgotten 4 minutes later.

Pitman found the ball at his feet in the area, he twisted and shot and the ball appeared to hit a defender’s hand – as some appealed for that, the ball ran out to Francis who skied a cross so high the ball came down with ice on it. Headed clear to Arter, he moved the ball to the left and smacked it into the right of the goal, past the diving keeper.

Bournemouth were now taking control but despite this, the teams should have been level 10 minutes later. A slippery ball and mix up between keeper and defenders resulted in their no 9, Collins, (I don’t normally name but this deserves it) having the ball 8 yards out, in front of an open goal. Instead of passing it in, he blazed it high and wide – to be fair, it still makes me laugh now

HT 1-0

Second half was delayed as the pitch was inspected – most thought it would be called off as there was standing water everywhere. But, much to the groundsmen’s credit, it went ahead – but the spectacle of the first half was diminished – for me, the pitch just wasn’t good enough.

Despite the ever worsening pitch suiting the Swindon game plan, Bournemouth still created and had Arter elected to elevate the ball instead of hitting it with the outstep of his left boot along the ground when through 1 on 1, we could have doubled the lead within 3 minutes of the restart.

On 65 minutes, a Swindon cross, was cleared and blasted back by an on-rushing midfielder. James was committed to diving one way – the shot was going the other. Somehow, and I’m still not sure how, he managed to stretch his legs out and get sufficient on it to knock it away – a classy save.

Chances came at both ends now with Swindon coming into it more as the conditions worsened. We thought though, that we were going to hold on to 3 vital points until 5 minutes from time. James slipped as he took a free kick, the ball went straight to the opposition who headed it into the middle to a colleague. James managed to slide tackle him but the ball ran free and was passed into an empty net from 25 yards.

 
Cook looked like he’d saved the day on the line but conditions played their part again as it skidded past his despairing dive

 

Summary – It’s always galling when you concede late on in the game but for me a draw was probably a fair result. Some other thoughts – Thomas’ body language was awful – this was his shop window, if he doesn’t want to be here – why would he not want to show more? And what does it do to Tubbs’ confidence? Secondly, we need to practise taking corners because we cannot afford to have dead wood in the side whose only real input is that – I’m talking Pitman who for me just wasn’t at the races. Anyway, why would any team not want their “goal-scorer” in the box for corners? Makes no sense to me. Finally – Di Canio broke the dugout – he’ll pay for it out of his own money I reckon – move on

Star Player – James – 2 or 3 crucial saves and coped well with the slippery ball – well enough for me to say that the 85^th minute slip could have happened to anyone

 

#WAFC v #AFCB

I'd checked the sat nav , the Red Robin pub, Wigan, was 4.5 hours away - so can someone explain why the coaches were leaving at 7:15?
Added to this, the guy in front of me decided that the best travelling position for him would be with his head in my lap - brilliant start to the day. Still it amused my travelling companions.
After finally sampling some northern ale in the club's Marquee bar (we were too late for the intended pub) it was time to " make some noise for the boys".

Now we all know that this was t the strongest side Wigan could put out - but class oozed through them. From their ability to clear up at the back as if under no pressure whatsoever, to being able to find space between our players where league 1 players never seem to.

And yet we fought, we challenged and we played. Not just hoofed but played them at their own game.

The travelling AFCB fans were AMAZING - all 2713 of them - I even forgive their 3 renditions of the Bournemouth chant (instead of 2) - today was a day for excess;-)

Our first real chance came on 13 minutes when a quick free kick was swung in from the left to Tubbs' feet. A heavy 1st touch had the ball bouncing away and cleared
On 31 minutes the game's main talking point occurred. Pugh (for once) managed to jink past his marker and ran into the box. A defender clearly stepped across him and sent him tumbling. PENALTY - no - yellow card for a dive. The referee completely bottled it and got it wrong - the crowd were incensed while Wigan fans had the good grace to look abashed.

This galvanised the team and crowd even more and 10 minutes later we were richly rewarded. Another attack down the right (Pugh was having limited success) resulted in the ball arriving at the all-impressive O'Kane's feet 20 yards out - he controlled then lashed the ball into the top right corner - unstoppable - not even the referee could prevent this one

The crowd we t crazy - I went crazy - we weren't just competing, we were winning and deservedly so

HT 0-1

The 2nd half was a different story with Wigan looking to impose their class and AFCB hitting the on the break. The problem was that we had no outlet - neither Tubbs nor McQuoid could hold onto the ball to give us any relief. Yes we did have chances - McQuoid not only did go close but as the half went on you could feel a Wigan goal coming - but not like this

On 68 minutes a Wigan cross came in and - it was a Wigan penalty. How, why, who ? We have no idea - even he Wigan players didn't appeal. Did the ref have this one down as a home win???

Jalal in goal - brilliant - more chance of stopping the tide than him saving this, I thought. To his credit, though, for the first time I can remember, Jalal saved diving to his left but could do nothing about the rebound

1-1

Pre-Howe this would have been the sign for capitulation - but not ow. With Fogden on we had an outlet and his running /fitness stretched Wigan from end to end.

This selfless running created chances for Arter and Pugh but the Wigan keeper was equal to their attempts

Wigan will look at 2 chances that hit the bar and perhaps rue missed opportunities but a home win would not have been a true reflection of the game

Summary - Bournemouth were excellent value for this result and will take great confidence into their next game against Swindon. Teams should now study and prepare for a Bournemouth onslaught on the league - their time has come

Star Player O'Kane - ran the midfield as if HE were the premiership player and scored a goal worthy of any player up and down the country

Brentford v AFCB

I LOVE away days!! Home games are good – but making the effort to travel knowing that youare going to shout until you are hoarse (and out-sing a home crowd) – brings anextra element to the day

I was being picked up at 10 and had done all the research thatis needed to make an ok trip into something memorable – I’d found the closestpub to the ground that were ok with away fans. Sure, we did have to walk past 4pubs to get there, but it was well worth the wait.

When we arrived it was empty (it had only just turned 12)but when we left it was heaving with AFCB support, all hoping to bring 3 pointsto the seaside.

Now some of the more harsh of you have queried whether Iwrite any notes during the game as some passages of play can be sketchy. WhileI continue to hide my hurt, I will admit that for this game notes are scarce.Not because of the pre-match beers, but because there were so few clear cutchances, especially in the first half.

Both teams seemed to have got over-worried by the pre-matchhype of their equally impressive runs and were treating each other with theutmost respect. Players from both sides were quickly harried when receiving theball and although Bournemouth did edge the exchanges it wasn’t until the 28^thminute that either keeper had a real save to make, a long range shot from Pugh.

Brentford started to come back into it after that but itwasn’t due to their own play but due to our own sloppy play. Too often amidfield pass would go astray and worse came from the clearances from the back.I’m not sure whether in training they learn to just hoof the ball as far asthey can – but rarely in the last 15 minutes did such a clearance fall to aBournemouth player.

This gave Brentford the platform to go forward but whileElphick and Cook were performing their usual heroics, Brentford were restrictedto long range shots – including a shot that just narrowly missed the post aftermore Arter sloppyness

Half time 0-0 – Probably a fair result

I would guess that the average height of the Brentfordplayers to be 6 feet 5 but the Brentford management clearly didn’t think thiswas enough as the subs came on to boot the average to nearly 7 feet. I was likewatching stilt men play the borrowers – but the borrowers didn’t buckle, infact they flourished

On 52 minutes Fogden had a shot blocked to Pitman who’sinstinctive shot was arrowing towards the goal before being cleared off theline. On 65 minutes Pugh had a header just wide before possibly the best chanceof the game on 70 minutes

Grabban did some excellent work down the left and squaredthe ball to Mcquoid. Mcquoid missed the ball but it went through to Fogden.“Hit it” came the cry from the 1400 or so travelling fans. Instead of thatthough, he performed a Ronaldo-esque 17 step overs before passing to Mcquoid,on his own, in the middle of the goal. His shot went wide – “oh blast” wethought, or something like that.

There was still time for Fogden to dither again as he ranthrough and refused to shoot before the time that Arter finally made his markon the game in a positive way, and not as you might be expecting, in attack.

Brentford were a good side and they put us under a lot ofpressure. I haven’t described all their chances as they were mostly long rangebut there was one move that started on the left that resulted in the ball beingsquared to an on-rushing midfielder.

We were all hoping for a piece of James’ magic but it wasn’trequired as, out of nowhere, Arter slid in and magnificently blocked thepowerhouse shot. A truly great challenge that if mis-timed, would have almostcertainly resulted in further punishment for the card happy midfielder.

Summary – Before the game I would have been happy with anaway point against a very good side like Brentford. I know that Brentford DIDhave their chances, but I can’t help but feel that this is a match that gotaway. Promotions aren’t won in January but bearing in mind who we were playingand what form they were in – I can see us going from strength to strength asthere were periods that you would have been hard pressed to guess which was thehome team. One final word, for the supporters. They were MAGNIFICENT. Cheeringand chanting throughout the game, totally out-singing the home crowd despite being out-numbered 5 to 1

Star Performer – O’Kane – Despite giving away a heightadvantage the equivalent of carrying Arter on his shoulders (an analagy with 2meanings, if you get my drift)  he nevershirked his responsibility and was tireless going forward and helping out atthe back