#bcfc 2 v 4 #afcb

Firstly, an apology

I won't say why, but it will become obvious as today's tale unfolds...

It was an early start as Marco picked me, Eloise and Matt up

We stopped at our favourite services of Cherwell and my mood was immediately lifted as Matt was almost knocked to the ground by a passing Granny

That was a good sign as far as I was concerned 

We made good time to Birmingham and were sat in the Anchor pub before 12

The research had been my job and as it had won CAMRA plaudits I decided to overlook the fact it looked like it was in the middle of an aftermath of a war zone

Inside it had a plethora of 5.9% (or greater ) beers and encouraged by Matt I ended up having 3 before settling for a much more sensible rum (hence the apology)

We arrived at the ground with hours to spare, or at least that is what I assumed as there were so many empty seats but as they were never filled, maybe not

The game started very evenly with Grabban seizing onto the chance to  improve on his own world record of being caught offside

The first chance fell to Birmingham on 10 minutes as a corner was swiped by Arter but luckily it spooned over the bar

Just 3 minutes later Bournemouth turned the game on its head

Good work on the left had Pugh passing the ball to Grabban who was galloping forward

His cross from the left was to the far post and Ritchie met it with a crisp left foot volley back across the goal giving the keeper no chance  0-1

The travelling fans, already out singing the quite frankly poor turn-out home fans went berserk

These are days that we will look back at in the future and realise how good we had it - and appreciate the fact that "we were there"

Seven minutes later and the parallels between this game and the game against Leeds were getting spooky

Pugh broke down the left and after his usual 14 cut backs he prepared to cross

My mate shouted "No - there's only Grabban in the box" as the ball sailed over and the keeper dived and parried the ball, right to Grabban

Christmas had indeed come early and he slotted the ball past the prone keeper to make it 0-2

Fair enough I could have scored it but he had to be there to score so the applause was richly deserved

Birmingham were all over the place 

They had been hit twice and just didn't seem to know what to do

Zigic, so instrumental in their "backs against the wall" win at Dean Court was completely anonymous despite the desperate hoofing of the ball up front that the home side managed

On 26 minutes he might have wanted a full camouflage kit as it was effectively game over

A ball played to Kermorgant was skilfully volleyed forward for Grabban to run on to

He "touched" (I'm being generous) the ball past the diving keeper and was brought down for a clear penalty

Again Pitman was restrained on the bench as Grabban stepped up and slammed the ball into the top right corner of the goal

Two keepers wouldn't have saved that and 0-3 was a rich reward for the pressing, chasing and movement that Bournemouth had brought to the game

Bournemouth dominated the last 15 minutes by just keeping the ball and passing through the clueless home side almost at will

Even when Birmingham made a substitution there was no applause for the player going off or coming on - it was as if everyone had thought "well, it won't make any difference anyway"

So far, Birmingham training on the pitch to shake their home form voodoo had gone horribly, horribly wrong and the half ended 0-3 although Camp did have to make 1 diving save to a header in injury time which would have made it closer - but that would have been very much against the run of play

The second half started much as the first ended with Bournemouth just quicker to the ball and dominating possession

On 52 minutes, the mirror imaging of Tuesday's game was complete

An unusually sloppy Harte corner was headed back to him and he stepped inside and smashed a curling shot into the top right corner to make it 0-4

It was an amazing strike and no less than his performances of the previous weeks had deserved

Then the game changed

Off went Zigic and on came Macheda

Far shorter in stature he was much quicker than the glacier-speed of Zigic and was soon pulling the defence all over the place with his clever runs

Just one minute after he came on a cross from the right was headed back into the middle and he swept the ball in from close range

It was now 1-4 but surely it was too little too late

On 73 minutes it was squeaky bum time all of a sudden 

Macheda picked the ball up just outside the box and looking up he thumped the ball into the bottom left corner to make it 2-4

Bugger

Their tails were really up now as they threw everything at Bournemouth 

Bournemouth are now, though, made of sterner stuff and Birmingham were always going to have to do more than just pump te ball forward

Indeed it was AFCB who had the next best chance on 76 minutes after Grabban was played through for his millionth one on one this season

As he galloped forward half the travelling supporters stood up as the other half sat down and it was the latter that had guessed the outcome

Another one that just go away

Arter had a shot punched out with just 7 minutes to play, or at least that is what we thought

The timekeeper had other ideas as he decided that there were 6, count them, 6 minutes of injury time

No injuries no stoppages yet 6 minutes extra and Fergie wasn't even in the stands!!!

Luckily it made no difference

Actually the word luckily is unfair as the whole team made sure that Birmingham didn't even come close to making it "awkward" at the end

Summary : I thought the first half against Leeds was the best AFCB performance I had seen

It was, but little could I guess that that would be beaten within the week

Today the first half was just sublime

Pace and intent of attack and the ferocity to get the ball back was unbelievable

Fair play they did tire in the second half and sloppy play/passing did help Birmingham to apply the pressure but it was never going to be enough to turn the game around

I'm struggling to think of a side that I've seen this season that has played any better than that today an it bodes well for the future whether that be immediate or next season

Star Man : Arter - won so many balls in the middle and had the class and guile to set Bournemouth forward at every opportunity

#afcb 4 v 1 #lufc

It had been a curious lead up to the match

Hundreds of tweets declaring hatred of Leeds but very few just supporting AFCB - I must admit that saddened me somewhat, especially from those not even born in 1990 but I guess I just like to look forward rather than hanging on to the past

Walking to the ground did make me chuckle though as the police stopped traffic to allow the Leeds fans' coaches through and the guy in the first car that had stopped took the trouble to wind down his window and shout boooooooo

I also thought it was a nice touch that before the game started all of the Leeds players went over to applaud the amazing turnout from their fans for a Tuesday night

I'd read that for one of them this was his 2000th consecutive match he'd see - just imagine how many family occasions that guy's missed - I think it's his wife that deserves the plaudits.....

The game started with Grabban instantly charging down a defensive clearance and as he ran through to get the ball he fell over on the slick surface (sack the groundsman) and the chance was gone.

He still had the ball however and managed to get it over to Pugh on the left and he cut in and forced a smart save from the keeper at his near post

A good start and from the corner, it got a lot better

The ball was fired to just outside the box for Francis to hit on the volley. It wasn't a good contact and was clearly going wide but here, unlike previous weeks, we had a stroke of luck

The shot went straight at Kermorgant who managed to quickly adjust his feet to deflect the ball into the net

Less than 2 minutes gone and 1- 0

Leeds however, reacted well and looked much better going forward than defending although they were a little predictable using their giant number 20 as a battering ram, knocking on ball after ball but Cook and Elphick just kept mopping the danger up

On 17 minutes, after clearing yet another Leeds high ball, Ritchie was away down the right.

Then the real surprise. Francis tore past him like he'd been shot out of a cannon

I'm not sure if Ritchie passed it to him or whether the wind-drag of his bullet run just took the ball with him but there he was with it tearing towards the byline

Normally this season he'd look up and there'd be no-one there but since playing 2 up front it meant we had options

This option was Grabban running left to right and meeting Francis' low front post cross at full pace and he passed it past the keeper to make it 2-0

It was SUCH a classy goal. I can't remember a faster break and better finish all season

The weird thing was , despite being 2 goals up and breaking with a directness and pace that the Leeds' 2 full backs may well need therapy to get over, I still was nervous

Going forward Leeds were good on the ball and while they had bigfoot up front ANY cross or set piece was dangerous and there were a couple of minor panics but each time the team worked ferociously to get the ball clear

In fact that was a feature of the whole game as Leeds were just given no time on the ball with Arter in particular snapping at everyone's heels

On 27 minutes Francis was again fired from his cannon and away he ran down the right. This time Grabban followed him and showing that he could see out of the back of his head Francis back-heeled it to Grabban, who cut inside and thumped the ball under the keeper to make it 3-0 and send the home fans into hysteria

Just 3 minutes later it was Ritchie terrorising their poor, unfortunate left back and his cross was met by Kermorgant on the volley and his shot smashed against the foot of the right post and out to safety

The crowd were now singing "can we play you every weeeeeeek"

We were winning 3-0, against Leeds, despite the ref not giving us one single decision - I know he was wearing yellow but come on.......

The last 15 minutes had AFCB breaking quickly and coming close a couple of times with the final ball just being overplayed and Leeds resorting solely to the long hoof ball tactic of route 1

A season ago that tactic would probably have scared me the most of any tactic but with the whole back 5 being imperious in the air and working as a well linked unit for any second ball, the danger was so minimal and Bournemouth saw the half out at 3-0

Whilst queuing for the loo, I heard one Leeds fan asking another he'd spotted whether he was sat in the Bournemouth end - they were both in the NS concourse at the time - you don't need to be a genius to follow football, I guess ;-)

On 47 minutes AFCB got their first free kick, just as Grabban was running through on goal.

Brilliant, just when we could have done with the advantage playing, he finally finds his whistle

Embarrassed by that, I think, he used it again to give a free kick to Bournemouth on the left as Grabban was hacked down just a few minutes later

Harte's radar was unusually off as he over hit the cross but Arter tore to the touchline to recover the ball.

Seeing Ritchie just inside he passed it to him and his far post cross was met with a towering Kermorgant header and he buried the ball into the bottom left giving the keeper no chance

It was now 4-0 - are you Doncaster in disguise..........?

On 63 minutes it was almost 5-0

Another amazing delivery from Harte had his corner met with a thumping Cook header and how the keeper got to the top right corner to save it I just don't know

Then, the one pubic hair in the pizza - the clean sheet was gone

A nothing ball into the middle of the park found McCormack who bamboozled Cook and he was all of a sudden running through on goal

A touch of class next as he bent the ball into the bottom right corner giving Camp no chance and providing the amazing away support with something tangible to cheer about

On 78 minutes it was time for some light relief as Rantie came on for Ritchie

Within seconds he was running through on goal and with only the keeper to beat he smashed it straight at him and the chance was lost

Worse was to come for the diminutive speedster in injury time as a hurried clearance that Jalal would have been proud of crashed against his own defender and the ball fell to Rantie on his own - surely he'd bury this one on one??

Nope. He did this time make the keeper dive, but hit the ball so close to him I reckon my gran would have saved it, and she's got an arthritic shoulder

Final Score 4-1

Summary : Possibly the best team performance I've seen at Dean Court. Every single player (ahem) stepped up to the plate and worked so hard both with and without the ball

Going forward the speed and movement, especially in the first half, was enough to take your breath away - just ask their left and right backs.

Having 2 up front just gave us so many options the Leeds defence just didn't know where the next threat was coming from and were made to look like they'd never played together before

In stark contrast the Bournemouth back 5 were superb in the air and on the deck and played as a unit to cover each other as this very good attacking side tried their best to disrupt and move our players around

The loss of the clean sheet was a shame but in this league you are always going to get pieces of quality, and when you come across that you've just got to say fair enough, and move on

Star Man : Francis - An amazing performance both in defence and especially in attack and I can only imagine Harte has been giving crossing master classes in training because it was the best I've ever seen from him

#afcb 0 v 0 #boro

There was a palpable sense of optimism around the ground. Three wins in a row can do that to even the most pessimistic of fans

That optimism was tempered, however, when the team sheet was announced - 1 up front at home and no Kermorgant - not even on the bench - blast

OK so we weren't going to win 3-0 it would be a scrappy 1-0 instead

Matt had 3/1 for Ritchie to be an anytime scorer and I had Rantie at 17,000/1 as an anytime this season scorer so we were both on the edge of our seats

The other surprise saw Coulibaly selected on the left ahead of Fraser when the wee man had been playing so well but Coulibaly had shone before his injury so who knew - this could be a masterstroke

The game started evenly with Boro pressing high up the pitch and Ritchie did his best to do the same as both teams tried to get a grip on the game

The first chance of the game fell to Bournemouth on 7 minutes as good work from Surman on the left had his cross cleared to O'Kane and as he smashed it at the corner flag Grabban just wasn't quick enough to get out of the way and it struck his egg-shell head and went just wide

Six minutes later and we were treated to variation 104 of the short corner as it was played low into the near post and the ball was trapped and swung low into the box but unfortunately there was no-one there to tap it in - hmmmm where have we seen that before......

On 19 minutes Leadbitter kicked out at Ritchie miles off the ball and that allowed Harte to dazzle us with his delivery

He didn't disappoint and the Boro defence flapped and headed just over their own bar. I wouldn't have worried about an own goal - anything would do, and I still had Rantie in my back pocket.......

Our plan seemed to be playing the ball over the defence for Grabban to run on to - if only we could work out how to a) miss the defender stood right in front of him or b) hit the ball so it didn't end up in the south stand

It just needed to find that middle ground - but we just couldn't do it

It took 28 minutes for Boro to create their first threat as the defence backed off their 19 as he ran forward but luckily his shot was deflected wide

Just 3 minutes later and it nearly got worse for AFCB as O'Kane was robbed as he stuck to the Howe philosophy of playing the ball out from the back but luckily Cook was there to put in an outstanding block

The next few minutes it was all Bournemouth as they surged down both wings crossing the ball to an empty box, again and again

Kermorgant didn't just bring goals, his mere presence caused problems and this helped Arter get his brace. Without him we went back to the home games against the likes of Bolton and Birmingham

Actually that's not fair - in those games you just knew our lack of firepower was going to lose us the game - today however, I just didn't feel that the defence was going to concede - so that at least is a positive

On 39 minutes possibly only the one of two talking points occurred

Another long ball was, as usual, over hit and Grabban gamely ran on.

As the keeper ran to his right the ball was getting closer and closer to the edge of the box and as he jumped down on it he seemed to realise he was going to slide outside the box holding the ball so seemed to take his hands off the ball

In nipped Grabban, took the ball away from him and slotted the ball into the empty net

GOAL 1-0 to Bournemouth

Nope - not going to happen - the protect keepers' union was having nothing of it and it was disallowed

Yeah OK, maybe I didn't have the BEST of views - but that's what it looked like to me :-)

Despite Bournemouth clearly being the better side in the first half, they could still have ended it one down as a cross from the left was volleyed over by their 10 from about 10 yards when completely alone in the box - the only time the defence was found wanting throughout the game

Half Time 0-0

Ritchie was almost the game changer straight after the second half started as he ran down the right and his cross surprised the keeper by going near post and it actually struck the post with the keeper stranded.

To be fair he might have been aiming for the post or perhaps trying to emulate the crossbar challenge winner at half time because there were bugger all people in the box anyway....

This was further highlighted just a minute later when running at goal Ritchie looked up for support and all of the other 10 players were behind him. He had absolutely no-one to pass it to and so had to double back and pass it back to the defence - truly disheartening

On 50 minutes we beheld the rarest of occasions

Another Ritchie sortie and cross down the right had, wait for it, Grabban in the middle, actually jumping / challenging for the ball

Inexplicably, however, he seemed to manage to head the ball with the back of his head, such was his timing

When fit, I hope to God Yann has the patience to lead the training session on heading the ball for Grabban

This sounds like I'm down on the "goal machine" but I am an admirer of his pace and his ability to hold up the ball, most of the time

I just think he needs to be braver - he just doesn't seem to challenge enough, hoping for a mistake to come his way

Good players wait for things to happen and react - great players MAKE things happen - we just need him to make that transition

On 57 minutes, shortly after a Surman shot was deflected just wide, Coulibaly was flattened and then subbed for Fraser

I hoped he was OK, but glad he was off. You can't expect him to be match fit for a while and his touch and vision let him down quite often but you saw glimpses of what he can do and for that I am hopeful

For 15 minutes Boro seemed to take the game by the scruff of the neck and really have a go

But, unlike the beginning of the season, the back 5 never looked in danger.

Even when they surprised one defender, another would be there to cover - the way they worked as a unit was a real joy to watch

Both Cook and Elphick are the types of players others would crawl over broken glass for and with the calmness/experience of Harte and the strength of Francis, Camp had little to do

Then on 74 minutes came the second and probably defining talking point

Smart work down the left had the ball crossed in low and the ball ricocheted to Pugh (a sub for Ritchie) in the 6 yard box and instead of listening and complying to the 9000 shouts of "f***ing hit it!!!" he tried his "trademark" cut-back past a defender who couldn't possibly have got there in time to block the shot and was robbed of the ball

Unbef***inglievable!!

How many more times are we going to waste guilt edged chances like that??

He's been benched - surely he has a point to prove? - Absolutely gutted!!

That was the chance that we needed. The chance that other teams have had against us, taken, and won the game

While I was calling the tourettes hotline another Bournemouth attack had the ball laid back to Francis and unlike Pugh he lit rip an instant blistering shot destined for the top left corner but somehow the keeper tipped it over - a fantastic save

We then turned into Stoke, using Cook's long throw to launch attack after attack but the ball just wouldn't fall kindly

Surman had the last chance 5 minutes from time as he curled the ball again into the top left corner but this time the keeper was positioned better so had the time to create a real camera save, punching it wide

I hope he was smiling, that one's a cert for a key ring

Rantie did come on for the last few minutes for Surman and while the defence didn't like his pace  - it didn't create any more chances

Final Score 0-0

Summary: This was like groundhog day. Bournemouth looked great on the ball until that last ball which needed to nutmeg 3 defenders and pass through the windmill to get to the recipient, or until the cross went in to an empty box

The bad news was that we played 4-5-1.

The worse news is that with the players that we had available, that was actually the best formation that we could have chosen

Sure Coulibaly was a risk, but with every minute's match fitness he could turn out to be the final piece of the puzzle

Yes Howe could have played Pitman to try to fill Kermorgant's giant boots - but I was there in Blackpool and saw what he "offered" to the team and in my opinion, its not the way forward

But for a bit of luck, or Pugh shooting, we could have, should have, won this game

The fact I'm disappointed that we didn't beat a very organised Boro side speaks volumes on how far we've come but without Yann we really lack teeth, especially at home where you are expected to make the running and break teams down

Star Man: Cook - just outstanding in the air and in his positioning. With he and Elphick playing like this, how does Ward get back in the side?

#bfc 0 v 1 #afcb

This was a treat

Not only was it a long away day - but we were up here for the weekend, Friday to Sunday

I say treat, but it was a 7 hour drive (with stops) and after a quite frankly excellent curry Friday night, we got to see the real Blackpool on Saturday

Matt decided to tweet some pictures of the promenade and they were all best described by Amy when she questioned why he kept using instagram's "dismal" filter

No need for such a filter for a town kindly described as "tired"

The sign outside a sweet shop best described the place : "WE SELL FAGS"

They say the sun makes anywhere look nice and this IS a seaside resort but I feel the sun would have to go nuclear before you could take the "wince" glasses off

The ground itself was lovely even if the entrance for the away fans was a little grim and the food and facilities were more in tune with roughing it with Bear Grylls

The pattern of the game was set even as the players shook hands

As Blackpool went down the line you couldn't help but feel the tangerines were shaking hands with the mascots, such was the height advantage

So, as predicted, the ball didn't spend much time on the grass

Their 24 won header after header and you feared it would be only a matter of time before someone guessed where the knock on would land

Pitman took a boot to the face after 8 minutes - I didn't want him to play either but even to me that seemed a little harsh.....only a little though.....

Although not dominant, Blackpool had the bulk of the opening possession and on 10 minutes a fierce shot saved by Camp seemed to send Fraser into panic as he passed the rebounded ball back into the packed penalty area only to be cleared by captain fantastic, Elphick

It took until the 20th minute for Ritchie to register Bournemouth's first chance with a trademark cut inside and low shot, a feat he repeated just 2 minutes later with both being comfortably saved by the keeper

Last week we had Kermorgant challenging for every ball. This week we had Pitman 5 yards off the pace and Grabban protecting his egg shell head by refusing to challenge for any ball in the air

I can kind of excuse Pitman as him lacking match fitness ( even though in my heart I just don't believe that he's good enough for this league) but for Grabban, our "goal machine" to not challenge in the air, ever, was more than disappointing

Kermit has only started 1 game and yet we could see what he brings to the game and what we sorely missed

While I'm talking players I also need to mention O'Kane and Surman in the middle - both awesome in a 451 but in a 442 together they are just a bit too defensive for my liking - I hope that Arter's injury isn't too serious

To mix things up on 30 minutes Ritchie and Fraser swapped sides but apart from a hopeful Grabban volley (high wide and poorly executed) and a low, blocked Harte free-kick Bournemouth offered little to frighten Blackpool

That said, the hosts were similarly ineffectual in this battle of the duds with Camp more than able to finish his Sudoku uninterrupted as Cook and Elphick mopped up the high balls raining down on them

Half Time 0-0

The second half started with such a rush that it had anyone still queueing for a rock hard slightly cold pie regretting their decision both because of the quality of purchase and because of missing the game's biggest (one of two) talking point

Grabban was played through in the first minute and as a he leaden-footedly knocked the ball past the out rushing keeper he was felled by him just outside the box

Or so I thought - In fact it was just INSIDE the box, resulting in a penalty and a yellow for the keeper

Maybe it was the fact that Grabban had hit the ball practically out of touch that the card wasn't red - ie not a goal scoring opportunity- or maybe the ref just thought Grabban wouldn't score a 1 on 1 ....

Up he stepped, though, to take the penalty and he coolly slotted it home into the bottom left corner despite the keeper guessing the correct way

Possibly the first time I'd not seen Pitman gab the ball for this type of chance -maybe he IS changing for the team

Four minutes later and Fraser could have doubled Bournemouth's lead when played through into the box by Grabban but after refusing the early shot he swivelled and was clearly up-ended - but no penalty given

The ref had obviously reached his away team decisions quota

Pugh was brought on for Fraser in the 57th minutes so Ritchie went back to his familiar right and on 75 minutes his "no surprise" shot from cutting in on the right was easily saved

Every now and then the home crowd could be heard (still poor for 13,000) but it was all about the high ball

I was half expecting Howe to send on the brooms to fully "quidditch" the game, such was the aerial bombardment the back 4 had to withstand but withstand they did, magnificently

Pugh did have one weak shot saved with 12 minutes to go having been set free on the left but at that pace even Jalal would have saved it - although he probably would have kicked it in his own face as he cleared it #distribution

The rest of the time we were either defending against the high ball as resolutely and focussed as I have EVER seen the team play or ruing the PK period - PK = post Kermorgant - a period of time where a high, cleared ball from Bournemouth will always be returned , with interest, by opposing players completely unrushed and unchallenged

There were, as mentioned, plenty of threats from corners, long balls etc as they clearly played to their strengths but I never really felt that we were in any danger of securing a 2nd successive win

Final Score : 0-1

Summary : Definitely the worst attacking performance I've seen for many a game. Oh how we missed a man challenging for every ball, bringing the midfield into the game and scoring goals

On the flip side, possibly the best defensive display of the season. Defending as a team whatever was thrown at them, they countered this tactic in a calm, no frills manner

At the start of the season we would have crumbled and lost the game - today I never really felt we were going to concede, so the goal early in the 2nd half sealed the game there and then

Star Man : Elphick - Totally dominant in the air and nimble enough on the deck to keep Blackpool to long (hopeless) range shots

#afcb 5 v 0 #drfc

Opinion was widely divided in the bar between those expecting a good win and those fearing another game of multiple chances, no goals and a breakaway defeat

@paulww2302, the deluded chap, even thought that we'd win 4-1 - I soon put him right on that - I thought we would win, but not by that much - ridiculous suggestion.....

Pressure was on for me too - I'd wanted to see Grabban and Kermorgant up front as soon as we signed Yann and had been quite vocal on his inclusion instead of the badly misfiring Rantie so I was up for some major humble pie if it all went wrong

It didn't start well as in the first minute Kermit was flattened and had to be treated by the physio - please let him not be another Demouge I thought .....

Two minutes later and Yann showed what he can bring to the side after the rampant Fraser burst through on the left and he met his cross with a header just wide

The Fraser inclusion was yet another genius move by Howe (not said that very often this season) as his speed and directness scared the bajeebers out of the ponderous DRFC defence.

No disrespect to Pugh but he's not the same player without Daniels as his wing man and it's really noticeable how much quicker Fraser is and how much more often the cross comes in without the "cut back" delay

I expected Doncaster to be big and strong and be prepared to out muscle AFCB but instead they were meek and seemed to come hoping for a 0-0 - especially reinforced as each throw in took an eternity

We are in the first 5 minutes - surely no team can play for time with 85 to go ??

Maybe they should have tried a little harder with that ploy as they had no answer to Bournemouth's attacking play and Fraser might as well have donned a sombrero and poncho so that he could get the authentic feel of being the match piñata

Every time he got the ball he either beat his man or was scythed down - no middle ground - the wee man must be made of steel to take this kind of regular punishment

After 15 minutes of constant pounding from Fraser on the left and Ritchie on the right, Doncaster finally reminded Bournemouth that they were still here when a corner caused some confusion at the back and the ball had to be hurriedly cleared

I wasn't going to mention it, but then I looked at my notes and thought if I didn't include that then the only time I'd mention Doncaster in a good light today was to say how impressed I was that most of their fans stayed to the bitter, and it was bitter, end

On 19 minutes Fraser again had evaded the thigh high tackle to charge at goal and only a fantastic last ditch challenge stopped him from pulling the trigger

From the low, training pitch-rehearsed corner Surman hit the ball fist time and their giant keeper dived full stretch to stop it nestling into the top right corner

Howe, like a master puppeteer was now pulling all the strings and the coded flick of his ear followed by an ar#e  scratch meant it was another low corner, an Arter step over and Kermorgant was there to just fire wide

He looked gutted that he'd not forced the keeper into action but he had to wait only 5 minutes more to make amends

Again Fraser was rampant on the left (their right-back's head must still be spinning) and his cross was flicked on in the middle and Kermorgant met the ball on the volley to punch the ball between the keeper's legs to make it 1-0

A minute later and this time the sublime Surman was bearing down on goal before he was completely up-ended in the box - but no penalty was given. He obviously didn't arch his back in the way that Martin did last week - no ref can resist a performance like that......

It was all Bournemouth now as Doncaster just imploded. Unable to get the ball they resorted to kicking out and Arter was next to be taken out. I might have imagined it but Fraser had a "thank God its someone else's turn" look about him ....

Even the keeper, who had already pulled off a string of saves before saving again at the feet of Fraser, fell apart. With the distribution of a poor man's Jalal  he started peppering the stands with his clearances - unless of course he subliminally realised that that was the safest place for the ball....

On 39 minutes Doncaster did remind us that they were still here by quickly breaking on the right and crossing in for their 4 to head wide - the first trip into our half for some time but at least it gave their tiring defence a bit of respite

That "break" lasted fully 4 minutes as Ritchie tore down the right. His cross was blocked but Francis was there (as always) to deliver a perfect cross into the middle

For the whole of the season - that would have been the end of the attack as normally we'd have no-one in the middle - but not today

Today we had a man that not only wants to be in the box, but his head ISN'T shaped like a 50 pence piece so when he heads it it isn't a lottery as to whether the ball goes backwards or forwards

Up he leapt and crashed the ball past the keeper with a thunderous header even Supa would have been proud of

I had just witnessed AFCB dominating a half and taking advantage of that domination by going into half time 2-0 up - a rare and hopefully pivotal day

The second half started with the crowd in fine voice and almost immediately Kermorgant turned provider to slide an inch perfect pass through for Grabban and again the defence managed to scramble back to deny him a shot

Doncaster had changed into a 4-4-2 but it was too little too late as the game was over on 50 minutes

More good play down the right and the ball was whipped in, causing chaos in the Doncaster defence. The ball was half cleared to the edge of the box, bouncing up invitingly to Arter

As he wound up to shoot, the North Stand, half the East Stand and all adults in The Family Stand ducked for cover (we'd all watched the warm up) so most of us missed the crisp connection  as he fired the ball into the bottom right corner - giving the keeper no chance 3-0

At this point Elphick decided that the AFCB defence weren't getting enough Solent air time so decided to perform his next 2 tackles, one immediately after the other, while he was lying on the floor

From the second the ball was pushed out and all of a sudden Grabban was through again 1 on 1

Now his record for this time of opportunity isn't "that great" so it was no surprise that his thumping shot was well saved. The shame was that had he not been so desperate to score he could have just rolled the ball over to the flying Frenchman who would have had an open goal to complete his hat-trick

Being a striker isn't just about scoring - it's about decision making and this was a poor one - but in a game where so much was good, I can't really blame him for having a go - after all how many times have I been shouting SHOOT FOR GOD'S SAKE this season...

On 73 minutes Kermorgant's inaugural hat-trick was complete

Francis provided yet another fantastic cross and this time, in the North Stand, we finally got to see what we were missing all season at close quarters

Between 2 defender he jumped early and hung in the air like a young Fletcher. As the defenders faltered he remained airborne and punched his header back across the keeper into the bottom right corner to make it 4-0

A magnificent goal - just think how we might have prospered if we'd had this option all season - he may not have wanted to come originally, but with service like this he won't ever want to leave

Pugh and Rantie then came on for Kermorgant and Fraser and unlike in the past where subs weakened the team, instead they just offered another headache for the already battle weary troops from the North

With 10 minutes to go, Arter provided the cherry on the icing on the cake by capitalising on a poor punch out from the keeper to cleverly steer the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal from the edge of the box as all on the line desperately dived to the right

He'd given them the eyes, and they'd all fallen for it 5-0

Even Coulibaly got a run out for the last 10 minutes and you couldn't fail to be impressed by the midfield work-rate

In the past I have bemoaned the fitness levels at AFCB but today they were hunting the ball in packs and never gave Doncaster any time on the ball

It was from one such hunt that Surman won the ball and passed it out wide to Francis

His low cross found Rantie unmarked 12 yards out and as he leant back to strike the ball we all thought he must have something up his miniature, speedy sleeve - but he hadn't and the ball sailed up into the stands

Hey it was already 5-0 - so I'd have been greedy for any more ......

Summary: This was a result that has been coming for weeks

Our performances have been much better than results have suggested and now we have someone up front who not only can head the ball but can hold the ball up and bring others into the game

I want also to mention Arter and Surman today - both were immense and they way they supported both defence and attack has posed the question I thought I'd never ask - how can we accommodate O'Kane into the side?

Both were faultless and dominated the middle of the park and with them winning the ball , supplying the wingers and supporting the front 2 ( who are no longer penalty box- phobic) we attacked and defended as a unit, and were able to break a team down for possibly the first time this season

Star Man : Kermorgant - goals, a physical presence and the ability to hold the ball and link up with runners - I couldn't ask for more

One Very Happy Boy