Sept 14 AFC Bournemouth 1-2 Blackpool Att: 9446

Last updated : 15 September 2013 By Peter Wicks

A draw in each game would give 50 points & probable safety. A dry, breezy afternoon; O’Kane in for Arter, and young Cornick on the bench where squad rotation seems to apply. Tangerines k.o. towards the North Stand, but Pitman chipped long for Grabban to head wide – possibly looking for his provider? Pugh nicely nicked it off the wrinkly Ricky Fuller; Pitman fed Fraser but, as with MacDonald just after, a cul-de-sac of opponents formed around him. Then Tangerines had a throw-in on their left; back-header on, the defence let it bounce and Fuller stooped to (conquer and) head past Allsop. 0-1, 7. The time was absent on the scoreboard. Much-vaunted Tom Ince was tricky & stylish on the Tangerines right. An excellent ball to Daniels and a first-time cross led to a throw; a mirror-image of the opening goal saw a header flick on & a Grabban left-foot tap-in slotted the equaliser. 1-1, 12.

Pitman back-heeled and Grabban’s shot was deflected over. A Pitman chip (as usual, confident and inventive) saw Ward & Grabban just miss. Fuller hit just wide across goal; this was developing into a decent match. O’Kane seemed a little short of match sharpness and awareness. Some Pugh magic allowed him to cross; the header was deflected and the keeper had to scramble. Pugh then supplied Daniels to show his magic touch; there were plenty of balls down the inside-left channel, with the away defence looking uncertain. Fraser chased one such but a great tackle cleared. Then Fraser was felled at inside-right; the felon being yellowed which turned out to be a very influential moment later. Daniels’ free was blocked. Francis came in from the wing & tried a left-footer that the goalie fumbled. A Tangerines attack saw the ball go well over; both sides had pace to beat defences. Ince Minor exemplified this, but was shepherded enough so that his strike hit the outside of the post. Then, with plenty of time, his cross was too long, but Tangerines had come more into the game.

Grabban turned well in the area but the touch was too heavy and the keeper was first to it. Tangerines went straight down the other end and hit over. Pugh defended well, nudging the wide attacker away from the ball for a goal-kick, and for the last 5 minutes of the half the home side defended very well, forcing the opponents to keep retreating to half-way. HT: 1-1.

On restart, time was back on the scoreboard. A few passes were misplaced in the first half, and it started to happen again. But a good low cross was cleared well by Boscombe for a corner. Young Ince hit it to the near post, where our old foe Bishop touched a header and the ball went in past a flummoxed Allsop. Not clever – again conceding from a set-piece. 1-2, 48; yuck. In riposte, Grabban won a corner. Now the old heads of Bishop and, especially, Barry Ferguson, showed their influence especially after the next event. The left-back ankle-tapped Fraser near the corner of the area, the yellow was flashed, then the red, and before you could say Jack Robinson the defender was off (for it was he) on 58. Daniels’ free was caught well, and this observer reflected how easy it is for a team in the lead to defend it when down to 10 men. Indeed, Tangerines were better at reading and anticipating. Pitman tried a long shot, but wide, and on a break-out Cook was the last man 30 yards out and the tackle was clean and timed perfectly – worth the admission money on its own. Both sides still over-hit long passes.

Thomas replaced Pugh, with Grabban sitting behind him and Pitman going left. Francis put in a decent cross; Thomas battered the header over when perhaps a cushioned nod might’ve put it to the right of the goalie. Fraser scuffed a left-footer at the keeper; it was evident that Tangerines did not come across as a top-flight team but had the edge on reading & positioning as 4-4-1 was employed with both banks of 4 back in the area for every home attack. Daniels was pretty well solely a winger now, but O’Kane was a minor player, apart from a late dribble along the by-line. Fraser went at goal, was blocked, and Thomas’s attempt was deflected over. Substitute Delfouneso was through but hit it wide; Ince Major threw a bottle in disgust, it bounced and hit a home fan, so the away manager was invited to leave the bench. Then his son dribbled over the by-line. Boscombe passing was not good enough in spite of the massed ranks against them, and too often crosses had not gone beyond the first man. Grabban hit one over, but the home formation meant Pitman was away from his most influential area. Ward headed down but Thomas hit it at the keeper. The 5 minutes of added time was one long siege, a war of attrition with Ward up front permanently. Pitman put it in the net, but the offside flag had been raised already. A frustrating end to the game. F-T: 1-2.

A bit like the home defeat to Blades later last season; a couple of older, wiser heads controlling for the away side as against huff’n’puff. Tangerines were no great shakes, & if promoted would be blown away by at least a dozen of the top-flight teams. Tom Ince showed lots of class & ability, but would seem to be a luxury buy for a top-tier side; difficult to see where he’d fit in other than perhaps Arsenal or Everton. Perhaps the first yellow card was too early, as the red meant a blockade whereas 11 opponents seemed to offer the home side more space.

Possibly Boscombe might play worse & win on another day. And will Tokelo Rantie be worth the money? We’ll soon see. From the YouTube edits, he seems the sort where if we’re ahead (or drawing away) we can give him the ball & he’ll keep it the rest of the game.

Mixed feelings on saying farewell to the chairman & co-owner Eddie Mitchell. Big up for turning the club round from the previous shyster regimes, but some of his behaviour was very regrettable. Still, bad publicity’s better than none.

Man Of The MatchMacDonald worked hard, Daniels did well at both ends, and Fraser kept to his brief. Difficult to see what hand he had in either goal conceded, but - for sheer cool and stylish & clean tackling - take a bow Steve Cook.

AFCB: Allsop, Francis, Cook, Ward, Daniels, Francis, McDonald, O'Kane, Pugh, Pitman, Grabban
Subs: Flahavan, Elphick, Harte, McQuoid, Hughes, Cornick, Thomas (for Pugh, 71 mins)