lee
03-14-2006, 10:15 PM
I realise that Bournemouth is generally renowned for wee-soaked nursing homes and long, sandy beaches, but unfortunately that’s not the Bournemouth that we experienced. In fact, there’s not a right lot of Bournemouth we could experience driving in on the coach, because straight off the A-road and you’re there. Perhaps it would have been better, as many people in the City end had obviously been doing, staying over and sampling the delights of the local nightlife (and morning-life…apparently). As for the ‘God’s waiting room’ malarkey, we ended up getting mildly showered in snot and spittle as an army of toddlers started shouting, ‘Who are ya?’ at the coach, so I don’t know where that’s come from. Having said that though they did employ a 90-year-old deaf mute in the away ticket office, much to my eventual annoyance after shouting, ‘How much is that please?’ at him for the 15th time.
The stadium was pretty tidy, I have to admit. It reminded me a lot of Yeovil’s, in that it was all relatively new, relatively boxy and relatively similar in height, except for the obligatory crap stand behind one of the goals. At least this one was all seated though. Pretty, but nothing special. What I do have to mention is the pitch. I understand it’s won awards, and I know that most small stadiums that allow a lot of light in do usually have brilliant pitches, but this one was like a carpet. I was almost ashamed when Cadders ran on with his lumberjack stride and started to mess it up. I didn’t even mind when they turned the sprinkler on halfway through the warm-up, sending City players wimpering in all directions. It was that good that I probably cared for the pitch more.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f252/CibaGUAS/Bournemouth1.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f252/CibaGUAS/Bournemouth2.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f252/CibaGUAS/Bournemouth3.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f252/CibaGUAS/Bournemouth4.jpg
The minor distraction before kick-off didn’t seem to affect the players too much, however. I thought we were secure in the first half. That’s probably the best way to describe it. We were awful at times (we even looked a bit dishevelled at the back during one particular opposition attack) but Bournemouth never looked particularly threatening. I thought we gave them way too much time and space. On that lawn of a pitch, they could have got it down and fair pinged it around us, which they did at times, and it worked to good effect when they did manage to do it, they created a couple of decent chances from the wings, which frankly they should have done much better with. However, a lot of times they were just leathering it up to the impressive Hayter, (he was having a good old tussle with Wethers and Stewart, who were again immense) who was mostly looking for support where there wasn’t any.
We were much the same. We didn’t get the chance to foray forward much, but when we did I was bitterly disappointed with the effort. Muirhead’s just come back, so I guess he’s entitled to look sluggish, but the wingers yet again offered precious little. What’s more they were creating problems for Dazzler and Bower because they weren’t getting back and helping out. The ‘guy with the dodgy barnet’ on Bournemouth’s right hand side was having a field day with all the space created by Muirhead’s absence, and the chance to run at Holloway.
What we did create mainly came through the middle with Schuey and MBW doing marginally better than recent weeks and Morrison and Muirhead coming inside. We rarely managed to get past their back line though, with Claridge getting nothing to run on to from Wibraham, who was either robbed of the ball too easily, out-muscled or simply beaten to the ball. I hate to be critical of the new guy who’s obviously starved of match practice, plus he’s been training elsewhere during the week (remind me how that works again Todd, two strikers who don’t see each other or the team all week and you expect us to be LESS defensive?) but he didn’t look too hot in the first 45 minutes. Credit too him though, he never stopped all afternoon and he looked much better in the second half, but we’ll come onto that in a minute.
Couldn’t help thinking how much he reminded me of Peter Crouch amongst our team of short-arses though… you’ll see what I mean on Saturday.
As you can probably guess, we weren’t going to score from open play, so it needed a set piece to break the deadlock. It was a pretty run-of-the-mill scored-from-a-corner goal. The Bournemouth keeper and defenders froze, Stewart rose like a salmon and headed it down into the net. To celebrate, a little bit of Caribbean jiving on the half-way line between Ricketts and Stewart. Very nice, thanks very much, that’ll do me for half-time.
The second half I thought we did well, TBH. They came out much more determined, and straight away they had a chance where they could have scored 3 in thirty seconds. Thankfully Donovan bailed us out yet again. After that, it slipped into the same pattern as the first 45. I never thought they threatened our goal, however the game was increasingly being played more in our own half. On the other hand, as the game got stretched, we started to see the thing that has made City relatively dangerous away from home (well, compared to at VP, anyway), which is the counter attacking football that we play.
MBW and Schuey decided to fade back into mediocrity, so we had to rely on Morrison mostly and occasionally Muirhead to run it out and feed the front two. This is where Wilbraham seemed much improved. His hold up and linking play with Claridge was good at times and if he gets into his groove a bit more, with a bit more fitness, he could be just what the doctor ordered. Why we brought him in when we had Cooke in the ranks is still beyond me, but I’m willing to give the guy a fighting chance next week. Although we really failed to create any chances up front, (which, TBH, was to be expected, considering neither of them train together, one is 39 and the other was making his debut) I was much more pleased.
Perhaps one more talking point was the incident with Ricketts. It was getting late in the game, and as such we were wasting a bit of time. Ricketts went down with what looked to me like a genuine injury. Browning left his boot in after the corner and caught Ricketts on the top of the foot. Fair enough, it may have been an accident, but Ricketts I felt was entitled to go down. It looked painful enough. This incensed Bournemouth fans behind the goal, who obviously began to shout and motion in the direction of Ricketts. Stewart ran in to stand between the crowd and Ricketts, a bit incitingly, and then the Bournemouth fans got even more wound up. And that’s where my ignorance begins. I have no idea what was said or done in the crowd, but there were reports of a missile being thrown, and we saw one guy getting forcibly carried out by the stewards and then the police, plus a few chavs barking insults at the two players. You do wonder what was said though...
What DID seem stupid was, in the heightened tension around the ground and on the field, the Bournemouth striker trying to kick Ricketts square in the face during the following attack. Maybe the ref put it down to silly frustration, but I thought he did very well (or badly, depending on which way you look at it) not to brandish a card. What was the guy thinking?
That’s basically it, really. I was chuffed with the win, it was a massive game and we did a decent job of sneaking a hard-fought win far, far away from home, exactly the kind of thing you need to be doing if you’re fending off relegation. No complaints from me this weekend.
The stadium was pretty tidy, I have to admit. It reminded me a lot of Yeovil’s, in that it was all relatively new, relatively boxy and relatively similar in height, except for the obligatory crap stand behind one of the goals. At least this one was all seated though. Pretty, but nothing special. What I do have to mention is the pitch. I understand it’s won awards, and I know that most small stadiums that allow a lot of light in do usually have brilliant pitches, but this one was like a carpet. I was almost ashamed when Cadders ran on with his lumberjack stride and started to mess it up. I didn’t even mind when they turned the sprinkler on halfway through the warm-up, sending City players wimpering in all directions. It was that good that I probably cared for the pitch more.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f252/CibaGUAS/Bournemouth1.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f252/CibaGUAS/Bournemouth2.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f252/CibaGUAS/Bournemouth3.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f252/CibaGUAS/Bournemouth4.jpg
The minor distraction before kick-off didn’t seem to affect the players too much, however. I thought we were secure in the first half. That’s probably the best way to describe it. We were awful at times (we even looked a bit dishevelled at the back during one particular opposition attack) but Bournemouth never looked particularly threatening. I thought we gave them way too much time and space. On that lawn of a pitch, they could have got it down and fair pinged it around us, which they did at times, and it worked to good effect when they did manage to do it, they created a couple of decent chances from the wings, which frankly they should have done much better with. However, a lot of times they were just leathering it up to the impressive Hayter, (he was having a good old tussle with Wethers and Stewart, who were again immense) who was mostly looking for support where there wasn’t any.
We were much the same. We didn’t get the chance to foray forward much, but when we did I was bitterly disappointed with the effort. Muirhead’s just come back, so I guess he’s entitled to look sluggish, but the wingers yet again offered precious little. What’s more they were creating problems for Dazzler and Bower because they weren’t getting back and helping out. The ‘guy with the dodgy barnet’ on Bournemouth’s right hand side was having a field day with all the space created by Muirhead’s absence, and the chance to run at Holloway.
What we did create mainly came through the middle with Schuey and MBW doing marginally better than recent weeks and Morrison and Muirhead coming inside. We rarely managed to get past their back line though, with Claridge getting nothing to run on to from Wibraham, who was either robbed of the ball too easily, out-muscled or simply beaten to the ball. I hate to be critical of the new guy who’s obviously starved of match practice, plus he’s been training elsewhere during the week (remind me how that works again Todd, two strikers who don’t see each other or the team all week and you expect us to be LESS defensive?) but he didn’t look too hot in the first 45 minutes. Credit too him though, he never stopped all afternoon and he looked much better in the second half, but we’ll come onto that in a minute.
Couldn’t help thinking how much he reminded me of Peter Crouch amongst our team of short-arses though… you’ll see what I mean on Saturday.
As you can probably guess, we weren’t going to score from open play, so it needed a set piece to break the deadlock. It was a pretty run-of-the-mill scored-from-a-corner goal. The Bournemouth keeper and defenders froze, Stewart rose like a salmon and headed it down into the net. To celebrate, a little bit of Caribbean jiving on the half-way line between Ricketts and Stewart. Very nice, thanks very much, that’ll do me for half-time.
The second half I thought we did well, TBH. They came out much more determined, and straight away they had a chance where they could have scored 3 in thirty seconds. Thankfully Donovan bailed us out yet again. After that, it slipped into the same pattern as the first 45. I never thought they threatened our goal, however the game was increasingly being played more in our own half. On the other hand, as the game got stretched, we started to see the thing that has made City relatively dangerous away from home (well, compared to at VP, anyway), which is the counter attacking football that we play.
MBW and Schuey decided to fade back into mediocrity, so we had to rely on Morrison mostly and occasionally Muirhead to run it out and feed the front two. This is where Wilbraham seemed much improved. His hold up and linking play with Claridge was good at times and if he gets into his groove a bit more, with a bit more fitness, he could be just what the doctor ordered. Why we brought him in when we had Cooke in the ranks is still beyond me, but I’m willing to give the guy a fighting chance next week. Although we really failed to create any chances up front, (which, TBH, was to be expected, considering neither of them train together, one is 39 and the other was making his debut) I was much more pleased.
Perhaps one more talking point was the incident with Ricketts. It was getting late in the game, and as such we were wasting a bit of time. Ricketts went down with what looked to me like a genuine injury. Browning left his boot in after the corner and caught Ricketts on the top of the foot. Fair enough, it may have been an accident, but Ricketts I felt was entitled to go down. It looked painful enough. This incensed Bournemouth fans behind the goal, who obviously began to shout and motion in the direction of Ricketts. Stewart ran in to stand between the crowd and Ricketts, a bit incitingly, and then the Bournemouth fans got even more wound up. And that’s where my ignorance begins. I have no idea what was said or done in the crowd, but there were reports of a missile being thrown, and we saw one guy getting forcibly carried out by the stewards and then the police, plus a few chavs barking insults at the two players. You do wonder what was said though...
What DID seem stupid was, in the heightened tension around the ground and on the field, the Bournemouth striker trying to kick Ricketts square in the face during the following attack. Maybe the ref put it down to silly frustration, but I thought he did very well (or badly, depending on which way you look at it) not to brandish a card. What was the guy thinking?
That’s basically it, really. I was chuffed with the win, it was a massive game and we did a decent job of sneaking a hard-fought win far, far away from home, exactly the kind of thing you need to be doing if you’re fending off relegation. No complaints from me this weekend.