Sunday 15 March 2015

"Once we had four we wanted more!"

The Cherries put away bottom of the table side Blackpool with consummate ease on Saturday and the only slight disappointment Eddie Howe said was that they did not score more. "Once we had four, we wanted more," he said.  I don't think that was because of a lack of killer instinct or because of poor finishing it was just that Blackpool dug in and AFCB did not create such good openings as they had don in the first 50 minutes.
Tommy was taken off in the second half which led to a change of playing system.
The incentive to score lots of goals was there of course as everyone is talking about how tight the Championship is and how goal difference could be an important factor in the final placings. While AFCB are scoring four and above a game though and are starting to get back to getting clean sheets you can't ask for much more as the back-to-back wins start stacking up.

The change in formation in the second half against Blackpool was perhaps showing that AFCB can try new things when they feel the need. Tommy Elphick's yellow card prompted the decision I suppose but Eddie Howe could easily have stayed 4-4-1-1 and brought on Elliott Ward. That he didn't and experimented with Simon Francis making up a back three, with Adam Smith coming into midfield and Junior Stanislas supporting Brett Pitman and Callum Wilson, the side had even more license to go forward and it will give other teams something else to think about if this system also starts to click as well.
Brett with his match ball after his hat-trick and going past 100 goals for the Cherries.
Junior Stanislas still hopes to add some goals this season.
The chances did come in the second half, mainly through Adam Smith and Junior Stanislas but the final ball was never quite good enough and Tokelo Rantie also added some zip to the Cherries attack. I thought Tom Aldred had kept up with Wilson pretty well for most of the match but when Rantie came on he was all at sixes and sevens. With so much attacking strength I am sure Eddie Howe is not too worried that the score did not go to five, six or seven, but he can use that to the team's advantage in telling them to be yet more clinical and that could happen against Cardiff City on Tuesday.

There are more pictures from Saturday's game on Match Day Gallery.

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