Match Day Bournemouth v West Ham, Tuesday 26th December 15:00
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AFCB_Mark
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Another Bournemouth game low on quality but chock-full of drama, incident, entrainment, and controversy. A game we should have wrapped up earlier in the second half, when at 2-1 we have numerous good chances to increase the lead. But in the end a game we were lucky to even draw after West Ham turned the game on it's head.
We snatched a draw from the jaws of a defeat, which itself was snatched from the jaws of a victory!
In real time in the ground I thought that controversial equaliser went straight in from Ake, and the question with the linesman was whether Wilson was offside / interfering with play. I later gather that the bigger issue was in fact Wilson heading and then 'arming' the ball over the line.
That coming after Begovic slipped increadbly with Arnautovic right there to tap in. Tricky conditions sure, but West Ham's keeper Adrian was superb at the other end with a string of saves. Unfortunately our keeper made the first howler of his Bournemouth career and it threatened to deal us a massive blow. We were so comfortable at that point and the game was only going to end in an increased Bournemouth lead. It became crushing when shortly after Arnautovic bundled in what looked to be a totally undeserved winner. That would have been tough to take. But on the other hand West Ham will find our equaliser perhaps even tougher still to take.
In short both sides are a mess, Moyes hasn't yet done anything to improve their defensive organisation and they looked like conceding at just about every Bournemouth attack. On the other hand we ourselves looked like conceding at every West Ham attack for periods in the first half, particularly the first 20 minutes in which our defence resembled a group of strangers. The team looked like a back 3 on paper before the game, and that would have suited the players far more than the 4-4-2 we ended up lining up with. It was a shambles first half.
What pleased me the most was the fight is there. When initially behind we fought back to lead. Then we pushed hard to increase the lead. Then we had to fight back again. Many struggling sides could have dropped heads and just accepted defeat. We kept at it, despite knowing we have injuries and despite knowing we have problems, we kept battling. Yes in the end we got very lucky with the equaliser, but the performance showed that we're up for a fight. And we'll probably need that, because this side is likely going to be in the mixer for relegation.
We snatched a draw from the jaws of a defeat, which itself was snatched from the jaws of a victory!
In real time in the ground I thought that controversial equaliser went straight in from Ake, and the question with the linesman was whether Wilson was offside / interfering with play. I later gather that the bigger issue was in fact Wilson heading and then 'arming' the ball over the line.
That coming after Begovic slipped increadbly with Arnautovic right there to tap in. Tricky conditions sure, but West Ham's keeper Adrian was superb at the other end with a string of saves. Unfortunately our keeper made the first howler of his Bournemouth career and it threatened to deal us a massive blow. We were so comfortable at that point and the game was only going to end in an increased Bournemouth lead. It became crushing when shortly after Arnautovic bundled in what looked to be a totally undeserved winner. That would have been tough to take. But on the other hand West Ham will find our equaliser perhaps even tougher still to take.
In short both sides are a mess, Moyes hasn't yet done anything to improve their defensive organisation and they looked like conceding at just about every Bournemouth attack. On the other hand we ourselves looked like conceding at every West Ham attack for periods in the first half, particularly the first 20 minutes in which our defence resembled a group of strangers. The team looked like a back 3 on paper before the game, and that would have suited the players far more than the 4-4-2 we ended up lining up with. It was a shambles first half.
What pleased me the most was the fight is there. When initially behind we fought back to lead. Then we pushed hard to increase the lead. Then we had to fight back again. Many struggling sides could have dropped heads and just accepted defeat. We kept at it, despite knowing we have injuries and despite knowing we have problems, we kept battling. Yes in the end we got very lucky with the equaliser, but the performance showed that we're up for a fight. And we'll probably need that, because this side is likely going to be in the mixer for relegation.
Super_horns
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The 3rd goal was an example of where VAR would have been useful..
Mind you it would still be debated.
Mind you it would still be debated.
