Connell was nodded through but was just off. Cummings took a free from the right; 'Dale muddled the clearance. Pearce shoulder-barged a striker, but no pen. From the 2nd of 2 successive corners, Jalal missed his punch; 'Dale had done the homework & knew he'll come for everything so crowded him looking to pick up pieces. Neither side settled early; Hollands showed he can't cross with his right foot. However, 2 dummies nearly put in Connell. Feeney fancied his chances against the left-back, & Hollands covered well in midfield. Connell was proving a handful, & the ref. spoke to him & his marker.
The first home corner was on 20 mins but Cummings put it high over everyone. Robinson was solid but then sold Feeney short; indeed, both sides frustrated the other's fluidity. Jalal punched well from a 20-yard shot, & the corner was cleared. Feeney crossed on the fly & Pitman lobbed just over the angle. Another Feeney cross on the run allowed Pearce to volley & the keeper slapped at it. Feeney went through; the defender was yellowed for handball. Pitman took the free from 30 yards out, the keeper tipping round down at the post. From the 2nd corner Pearce headed over. Cummings took another free; a header flicked on & Pearce headed in but offside was flagged. Boscombe dominated but didn't make it count. A poor clearance allowed Hollands to hook it back but the keeper was back to catch.
'Dale had not made major inroads but had sussed out the midfield. The no.9 was in that Hidegkuti/Revie withdrawn role (for those with knowledge of 50s football) so was able to run between defenders onto a clever little pass & clip it over the onrushing Jalal. 0-1, 45(+2). Fletcher had just enough time to collect, turn & shoot just wide. HT: 0-1.
Fletcher won an early free, leading eventually to a corner. Early pressure saw Boscombe dominating again but still not delivering. The 'Dale 15 clipped just over, again between Garry & Pearce. Connell put Feeney away but the ground-level cross didn't reach the incoming striker. Garry was not on his game - position, timing, distribution - putting pressure on midfield & defence. The 15 went inside-left again & put it over from 20 yards. The match was becoming more, er, competitive. Feeney went up alongside Fletcher with Pitman on the right & Connell in the "hole". Then Feeney went left - but none of this confused the defence; rather, the home side was losing its shape. Pitman over-hit his through ball to Connell. Fletcher won a free 24 yards out, central. Pitman hit it against the wall; Robinson dummied for Connell to shoot but it rebounded. Feeney was double-teamed & won a free for obstruction (perhaps unlucky on the defender). This led to lots of home crowd noise but the subsequent corner was poor.
Then collapsimundi. The no.9 passed along the 18-yard line; the no.19 (provider of the assist for the first goal) with all the time in the world hit it left-footed first time from between the spot & the 'D' to Jalal's top right-hand corner. 0-2, 63. The response was to see Garry yellowed for a body-check half-way into the 'Dale half. Connell battled everywhere, & Bradbury made a good recovery & tackle. But then the 14 came in from the right, twisted & turned, in then out, not tackled by Hollands amongst others, & shot across Jalal. 0-3, 69. Ouch. How easily the edifice crumbled.
Bartley replaced Fletcher on 70; Bradbury pushed it too far for Pitman. No unit was firing properly, so when the no.9 turned Bradbury inside out (Bradbury being on 4 yellows couldn't risk a tackle, especially in the area) & put it back to the spot, no-one was surprised to see the 19 knock it in. 0-4, 72. 'Dale then put 13 consecutive passes together; it was all falling for the away side, with better passing, movement, positioning. Robinson by now was wide left & no longer an influence.
What happened next is unacceptable in any game, but pointless & bewildering when 4 up away. The no.4 went through Bartley like a hot knife in butter, right leg raised, studs up. The red flashed immediately & 4 home players separately gave him verbal on the long trudge off. Indeed, Cummings was yellowed for his over-heated protest.
Pride saw Boscombe win a free, a corner & another free, from which Connell hit a long shot to the keeper. But the game ended with the home side well-beaten. FT: 0-4.
Essentially the embargo (with consequent injuries) dictated a side (& a reduced set of subs) wherein the units did not combine internally or with each other. Bradbury & Garry have had better days; Cummings & Pearce had either too much space between them or not enough. Hollands & Robinson proved a combination little better than Hollands & Bartley against Chesterfield; Hollands is a yard short of necessary pace. If there's one tactic first on the board, it has to be Robinson in front of the back 4 for 90+ minutes. Neither Hollands nor Bartley can perform that role adequately; both need to be further up the pitch. The combination of the 3 potential scorers also did not work. This result must have hurt the players as much as it hurt us.
This was one of 3 such results in the top 5 divisions, so Howe can feel empathy with the Bolton & Cheltenham managers. The team has been punching above its weight for some time. As the players clapped the crowd morosely, the North Stand chanted Eddie's name. At Wembley '98, after the game I took my future wife over to Eddie in the hospitality suite & in front of him said to her, "This guy doesn't know how good he is." What he's done as a manager in 10 months is quite extraordinary, but his biggest test is now. And with such a build-up to this game, will those that came for the first time this season return? Rename the ground Fortress Fragile.
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AFCB: Jalal, Bradbury, Garry, Pearce, Cummings, Robinson, Feeney, Hollands, Pitman, Connell, Fletcher
Subs: Thomas, McQuoid, Goulding, Bartley (on for Fletcher, 70 mins)