Bournemouth were buoyed by the news that Wednesday’s in-form striker Connor Wickham, on loan from Sunderland, was out injured and replaced by an unknown Austrian of Albanian descent. The lack of household names among Wednesday’s team of budget buys and loanees, which included three players called Johnson (from Benin, Jamaica and Surrey), gave the Cherries further grounds for optimism.
With the same formation that was so successful at Reading, it was a case of déjà vu as the home team dominated the early stages of the match without creating too much then fell behind to Bournemouth’s first real threat on goal. This time, however, only 10 minutes had elapsed when Andrew Surman’s excellent reverse ball found Matt Ritchie in space. The conspicuously-coiffured winger ran unchallenged towards the edge of the penalty area and drilled a low shot past Martinez, who got a hand to the ball but could only help it go into the net. ‘We’ve got Matt Ritchie, he’s f*#king quality’ sang a small but appreciative away following. Bournemouth took control and nearly went further ahead several minutes later when good work from Grabban and Ritchie put Surman in a similar position. The midfielder danced around a couple of defenders only to see his shot turned round the post by Martinez. Spurred on by the Johnsons (particularly Jermaine), Wednesday pressed forward but were dealt with reasonably comfortably by Elphick and Ward in the centre of the Cherries defence. After 27 minutes, Bournemouth went further ahead. Harry Arter’s sublime pass with the outside of his boot found Lewis Grabban running intelligently into space with Miguel Llera, the Spaniard in a Petr Cech headguard, unable to catch up. With just the keeper to beat, Grabban notched his ninth goal of the season by blasting past Martinez’s near post. ‘Down with the Yeovil’ taunted the Cherries faithful as a chorus of boos rained down from the Kop. With the crowd on their backs, Wednesday tried in vain to reduce the deficit. One of the Johnsons shot into the side netting and Lee Camp turned the Nuhiu the big Austrian’s glancing header round the post. Bournemouth finished the first half with Arter firing wide and Ryan Fraser collapsing in a heap after running into a couple of Owls. 0-2 at half-time with the Cherries looking comfortable against a poor Wednesday side.
The expected onslaught on the Cherries goal at the start of the second half never materialised despite the best efforts of the Kop to make some noise. Bournemouth worked hard to press Wednesday into making mistakes, soak up what little the Owls could muster and rely on the counter attack. Ryan Fraser ventured forward and was fouled just outside the box after 50 minutes. Harry Arter’s free kick was destined for the top corner but lacked the power to beat Martinez. The match then deteriorated into a scrappy affair with Wednesday hoping to lull the Cherries into a false sense of security by being completely and utterly sh*te. Misplaced passes and wayward crosses were the norm which prompted taunts of ‘That’s why you’re going down’ from the Leppings Lane End. Things weren’t much better off the pitch when the stadium PA messed up Ryan Fraser’s name as he was substituted by Marc Pugh. ‘There’s only one Ryan Fisher’ sang the Cherries faithful. Bournemouth nearly extended their lead when Matt Ritchie caught a dithering Llera in possession and shot over the bar. This proved to be too much for some home fans who headed for the exits with just under 20 minutes remaining. ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year’ sang a lone Cherries supporter. Just as it looked as though Wednesday would never score, the Cherries gifted the Owls a goal after 82 minutes. A cross was launched high into the danger zone. Camp’s missed punch caught Daniels by surprise as the ball rebounded off him into the path of Jacques Maghoma who scored from close range.
After being let off the hook earlier in the week when Wednesday’s match with Wigan (0-1) was abandoned due to heavy rain, the Owls hoped for another unlikely reprieve against a Cherries side who should have put the game to bed earlier on. A tense finale ensued as Bournemouth became increasingly tired and defended deeper and deeper, but, thankfully, Wednesday reverted back to type and created little to worry the Cherries defence. Lewis Grabban had the chance to settle our nerves after being put through on goal towards the end of the match but he shot tamely at Martinez. Four minutes of added time with the Cherries keeping possession and running the clock down with relative ease. A pleasing performance and three much-needed points against possibly the worst team we have faced this season. A happy hunting ground for the Cherries with some fans asking if we can play Wednesday every week. Sets us up nicely for the visit of Yeovil on Boxing Day, although nothing can be taken for granted in this topsy-turvy season.
Man of the Match: Lewis Grabban – excelled in the lone striker role, defended from the front and scored what proved to be the decisive goal.
AFCB: Camp, Francis, Elphick, Ward, Daniels, Ritchie, Arter, Surman, O'Kane, Fraser, Grabban
Subs: Allsop, Harte, Addison, Rantie, Pugh (for Fraser, 71 mins), MacDonald (for Surman, 85 mins), Pitman (for Grabban, 94 mins)
Jon Blake, South Shields