Sept 10 AFC Bournemouth 0-3 Chesterfield Att: 4989

Last updated : 12 September 2011 By Ellis Griffin

The new signing was Wes Thomas who already appears to have a stand named after him, the south end of the main stand bearing the legend WES STAND – ominously reminiscent of the shambolic entrance to Reggie Perrin's Sunshine Desserts?

Another notable addition to the team was the returning Malone at left back. Once again, Purches played at right back with Byrne on the right wing. Thomas and Doble led the attack.

And things looked promising early on, with the front two linking well. Even the corner routine nearly came off when Cooper's shot was cleared off the line before Pugh blazed narrowly over. Soon afterwards a Barrett header nearly found the target, and a goal seemed to be coming.

And so it did, but at the other end of the pitch. Against the run of play, a rare Spireites attack down the left saw Cooper let the ball roll under his foot and Clarke skip past him to cross for Mendy to power a header past the helpless Flahaven. 32 minutes gone. Inept defending had let us down again.

For the rest of the half, we continued to press with Byrne and Doble both going close, but no joy. Although some useful defensive work by Macdonald was required to keep the visitors at bay, the general feeling at half time was that we were playing well enough to turn the game around.

HT: 0-1

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first – Cherries pressure followed by a Chesterfield goal. This time Westcarr found himself in acres of space on the left-hand edge of the penalty area and had all the time in the world to curl a shot into the far corner. More inept defending.

With Cherries now facing an uphill task, it was only Pugh who ever looked vaguely like scoring. Unfortunately, he found the visitors' keeper on great form, deflecting a goalbound effort onto the bar and out of play.

The introduction of Fletcher and Stockley for Byrne and Doble helped a little, but it was hardly a surprise when the Spireites added a third 10 minutes later when goalkeeper and defenders dithered, allowing Clarke to nip in and score.

Conceding three goals against the run of play only serves to highlight our defensive frailties. If we don't bolster our defence soon, we'll have little chance of staying up.

After the final whistle, the fans chose to vent their anger on the Chairman who unfortunately rose to the bait. The rather unseemly events which ensued have attracted widespread publicity and will no doubt be remembered long after this game has been forgotten. However, a Delia Moment it was not.

On a positive note, Wes Thomas looked useful (but must be wondering what he's got himself into).

 

Man Of The Match

 

Marc Pugh

 

AFCB: Flahavan, Purches, Cooper, Barrett, Malone, Bryne, Arter, MacDonald, Pugh, Doble, Thomas
Subs: Jalal, Cummings, Molesley (on for MacDonald, 58 mins), Stockley (for Doble, 66 mins), Fletcher (for Byrne, 66 mins)

Ellis Griffin, Chertsey