Boscombe KO'd to the home end, in the away strip. Jalal did look a little like David James, with the beard. Connell won an early free, which Pitman sent to the keeper. The latter then took it to the right but pulled the shot to the left of goal - poor. Feeney nearly put Pitman in; early exchanges were mostly Boscombe but a decent tackle by Cummings in front of us was penalised. The same thing happened to Garry more centrally; was the young-ish ref. trying to even things up? Connell was fouled again but advantage was played; home manager Buckle had put out a strapping side, full of effort & running. Both sides were hard-working & organised; Garry seemed to have just an extra half-yard of time & space.
Feeney won a corner; Garry headed it wide when on target seemed easier. Gulls made an early substitution. Then a flowing move from Guyett via Igoe & Pitman to Feeney, who was well-shepherded (evidently Gulls had done their homework on Boscombe which was a compliment), but still managed to cross - caught. The game had become bitty, with too many stoppages; too many contacts penalised & too many of them against the away outfit. Entertainment was gained mainly from watching all the subs warming up. Jalal punched clear & fell; his knee needed treatment. Oh no - would Thomas be required so soon? No (sigh of relief). Then Feeney shot; Robinson put the follow-up well wide & high. Bradbury was guilty of obstruction; Pitman was felled but was straight up & crossed to the keeper.
The speedy home left-winger wore 19 but looked more like 14, fast & tiny. Gulls shot just wide then Robinson fed Feeney whose cross was headed for a corner. Molesley's shot was blocked, & Pitman was defending in the home area - good stuff. Connell was fed but hit it high wide & ugly. Still, Boscombe back on top. Igoe & Feeney swapped, & Gulls made another substitution. Igoe fought manfully for a lost cause at the corner flag, & won a throw. This was good to see - players wanting to fight for Eddie Howe & the team, the club, the fans. Then Gulls shot well over. The stalemate was deserved by both teams. HT: 0-0.
At the restart, Fletcher replaced the ineffectual Connell. Immediately, linking improved. Pitman went heavily on the 6 who needed treatment; perhaps this is when Pitman received the yellow indicated in the papers (your correspondent was too busy taking notes to notice). Gulls had a shout for a penalty, but Feeney was sent scampering up the left wing, cut back, floated a right-footed cross (how come too-tall didn't punch or claim?), & Pitman nodded a superb 135-deg. header to the keeper's left. 0-1, 49 - a real goal-taker's goal, right in front of us, & Pitman took his acclaim in his usual "I'm the man" manner. In response, Jalal had to catch well. Pitman had volleyed before & after the goal; blocked & high respectively. Feeney crossed again, but Fletcher put it behind Pitman.
For me a little early - had he been booked? (not according to the papers) - Bradbury was replaced by Bartley on 54. Robinson went to right-back; this changed the dynamic somewhat as Bartley & Robinson played their positions slightly differently from the preceding. This might help explain - but with no criticism of either as individuals - what happened a few minutes later. But a series of corners - 5 in 5 minutes - should have seen a 2nd away goal. From the last of these, the 11 broke out & a scramble led to a corner. Out, then left. Igoe was at right-back covering for Robinson; little Billy Whiz zoomed round his outside & slung it over. The no.6, not tracked back, galumphed into the area & planted his stooping free header. 1-1, 64. Hmmm… Boscombe pulled about. Jalal had to come out fast & wide. Soon after, Feeney & Igoe swapped wings again, Feeney being more speedy to cover back for Robinson - who tended to charge forward diagonally into central midfield. This, plus Bartley's hesitant return, put more load on workaholic Molesley who found himself deeper & deeper.
However, Igoe's shot was deflected; too-tall half-gathered it but Guyett came in & tapped the seemingly free ball into the net. No - foul given. The game seemed to unravel, lose its shape. Too much last-ditch defending as Gulls went for the lead. Feeney was always the out ball, but was not always fed well. A home cross saw the no.8 head onto the top of the bar. To many Boscombe passes were not counting; this was muck & nettles. But Gulls were as bad; a Igoe shot deflected up & the keeper went into the net to catch it - but held it outside the goal-line.
Evidently Bartley was not match-sharp - some instances of poor positioning & control letting him down & frustrating forward moves - but he did have increasing nuisance value. Thus his presence allowed space for Robinson to feed Feeney on the right; the cross came over, & Fletcher rose majestically, like a salmon, above his marker to head down to the keeper's left. 1-2, 87 - oh frabjous day! Massive celebrations in front of us & by us! And the Gulls had been gullible in the same way twice!
Feeney was knackered. There was enough time for Hollands to replace Igoe on 90; again, a "gentle" return. From a Gulls free, the header was just wide. Then the final whistle - relief & joy! FT: 1-2.
Joint top with Millers - the 17-point club! Another strong performance, if not the highest on quality. Substitutions were good for bringing back injured parties. Once Pearce is fit, that's 4 centre-halves (inc. Partington) & 4 central midfielders, for rotation. We're still light at both full-backs (especially given Cooper's long-term absence), & wide, & (frankly) up front as Connell is some way off still from consistent effectiveness & Fletcher's knees can't last the season. The transfer embargo will have its effect before too long. As I understand it, we were penalised 10 points for going into administration (Feb.08); 17 points for coming out unsatisfactorily (Aug.08); & the embargo imposed (Aug.09) for both lack of funds _and_! having a financial advantage because the previous debts had been cleared. There is something wrong in the state of the Football League with this nonsense. So let's enjoy this spell while we can, a team that fights all the way; hopefully it can gain the further 25 points before too long to reach the 40-for-safety mark (plus another 10 needed in case of another administration?).
Two long-standing away fans were celebrating other matters this weekend: one, his umpty-eighth birthday with a few days on the English Riviera; the other free at last from his day-job; both now had icing on their cakes & cherries on the icing.
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AFCB: Jalal, Guyett, Garry, Bradbury, Cummings, Igoe, Robinson, Feeney, Molesley, Pitman, Connell
Subs: Thomas, Partington, Webb, Fletcher (on for Connell, HT), Bartley (on for Bradbury, 54 mins), Hollands (for Igoe, 91 mins)