At the moment we don’t have to worry too much about the possibility of not scoring at home, in fact your correspondent pondered the prospect of this being the first Cherries team to score 50 home League goals since 1970/71 ( 51 ) and being the first ever Cherries team to score 90 League goals ( best 88 in 56/57 ). To achieve either of these targets, teams like Walsall need to be despatched by a decent margin.
After just two minutes, McQuoid really should have done better than blaze over the bar from 12 yards after Feeney stepped over a corner.
That was about it for excitement in the opening exchanges as neither team made much impact. Eyes were upon Bignall, the new loan signing from Reading who looked quick and lively.
An interesting midfield contest was developing between Hollands and Taundry and this continued throughout the match. No quarter was given between the two of them in a fair and good spirited battle.
Apart from Jalal fumbling the ball onto the post and grabbing it at the second attempt, there was little of note in a relatively dull passage of play. Jalal was also involved in a strange incident where he called for the trainer with no-one else near him. Neil Moss attended him whilst the players went over to the bench for some instructions.
Shortly afterwards, just on the half hour McQuoid released Pugh down the left, who bamboozled the Walsall left back and floated over a perfect cross. McQuoid had made ground to the centre of the box and leaped high and to place an emphatic header past Walker in the Walsall goal. One-eagle eyed Exile, with truly exceptional eyesight, spotted that Pugh had crossed the ball in such a way that the laces on the ball were facing away from McQuoid at the moment of impact.
Walsall had a couple of attacks but looked low on confidence as an attacking force, whilst managing to contain Cherries attacking intents. It didn’t take long for the Walsall fans to get on to Manager Hutchings’ back after the goal went in. It doesn’t sound like Fellows Park is the happiest place in the world at the moment.
Not a lot happened in the first 15 of the second half either and it became fairly obvious that the Bignell/McQuoid pairing was unlikely to pay a further dividend, so, perhaps earlier than expected, the Big Man came on and Eddie had a quiet, consoling word with Bignell as he came off.
More or less immediately Fletch was getting on the end of things and starting to make it happen. Wiggins got into and advanced position down the left wing, cut back and crossed with his right foot, this time McQUOID stooped low to plant a header under Walker.
Feeney had his customary ‘dither’ but also had some very good touches and a couple of long range shots, one well over and one straight at Walker. If only he could achieve half the end-product ( goals and assists ) of Pugh, we would be an awesome attacking force. McQuoid shot into the side netting as Cherries kept the pressure on.
With McQuoid suffering from a touch of cramp, Eddie was about to take him off on 87, but not before Smith crossed to the left edge of the box, Supa cushioned the ball to Robinson who in turn chested it into McQUOID’s path and his firm, low, first time shot, apparently, took a small deflection as it sped into the bottom corner of the net with Walker rooted to the spot.
Fletch still had time to head a free kick into the side netting as the game ended with some niggling Walsall fouls, pushing and shoving and back-chat. However ref Ward, who, from a Cherries perspective, had a good match, decided to keep his red card in his pocket as he probably thought Walsall had suffered enough.
In every Monday’s paper I see we top the table for conceding the most fouls in Div 1. Four conceded today must be about as low as it can get over a whole match.
On leaving the ground, the eagle-eyed Exile wondered if these were the first back to back hat-tricks by a Cherries player. Your correspondent’s guess that Ron Eyre probably did it and someone else probably did it in the free-scoring 50’s, was inspired. Ron Eyre did it in Oct/Nov 1928 and Brian Bedford in.1957 ( Nov 9 in 4-0 H v Millwall and Nov 16 A v Oswestry T FA Cup R1 5-1, since you ask ).
Eddie Howe quite rightly described this as a workmanlike performance. It’s a tribute to the team thst this type of performance still ends in a 3-0 win.
Josh McQuoid with an honourable mention for Hollands who worked his socks off.
AFCB: Jalal, Smith, Garry, Pearce, Wiggins, Feeney, Hollands, Robinson, Pugh, McQuoid, Bignall
Subs: Stewart, Purches, Cummings, Bradbury, Fletcher (for Bignall, 59 mins), Arter (for McQuoid, 88 mins), Bartley (for Feeney, 90 mins)
Gordon Buchan, Yateley