Gerken great stops first half.

Nouble perfect cross for Murphy goal taken well.

Four points from two away games over Christmas not bad.

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Gerken great stops first half.

Nouble perfect cross for Murphy goal taken well.

Four points from two away games over Christmas not bad.

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An easy journey home as now live near Poole: a fair result, a good point against a good Bournemouth team. In Gerken we have a fine keeper, we don't have to look any further for our No1.
We have a generally solid defence - in the middle Smith and Berra seemed quite as capable as any others in this league. We struggled now and then against some excellent attacking wide play from B'mth, but we won't face that too often.
Up front McGoldrick very hard to play against but didn't get many opportunities. Nouble and, especially, Murphy earned their money with strong pressing play mainly out wide.
Taylor didn't have chance to show much after he came on.
IMO, it's our midfield that stops us being top class at the moment - all good players able to get a foot in, to break play up but we too often gave the ball away cheaply with a misplaced pass. Not always but too often.
My gut feel is that as a team we're nearly there and next season could be ours, especially if we somehow add some finesse to our graft and bravery in midfield.
Finally - a fine showing from all the blue fans who travelled a long way, well done to all.

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thanks badge!

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Just back to London HQ
Glad to come away with a point as Bournemouth had by far the better chances and had loads of corners. Apart from being carved open a couple of times in the first half and Cresswell putting one of their strikers through on goal the defence was resolute against constant pressure. The midfield worked hard, tackled well and supported the forwards but would benefit from a bit more guile. Uo front McGoldrick's class was evident whilst the other two chased hard etc.
Thought some players looked exhausted in the last 15 mins so may need to ring changes for new years day. Think the defence is pretty good but we need more from Hyam and Tunnicliffe in central midfield and a more consistent foil for McGoldrick up front

Gerken - point winning performance with some very good saves
Chambers - persevered against a tricky winger
Berra - stood tall under pressure
Smith - another towering performance, such an improved player
Cresswell - below par for me with some loose passing
Skuse - good controlled performance he adds class and poise to the midfield
Tunnicliffe - had hoped his passing would be better but covered plenty of ground in the middle
Hyam - Lost possession in a dangerous area once and missed a couple of passes but Luke put in a great shift winning plenty of tackles and is improving in possession
Nouble - poor touch, won nothing in the air - had he not created the goal it would have been a poor performance - just does not seem to have the skill for championship football
Murphy - did fairly well though should have hit the target with a chance just after he scored
Taylor - not on for that long and did not do anything memorable
Mings - brought on to help secure the point

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Heresy, but Cresswell could do with a rest based on today's performance. Let's hope it was a one-off. Otherwise solid performances across the team and Gerken outstanding MOM performance. What an attrative passing side Eddie Howe has created in AFC Bournemouth. Very easy on the eye.

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Definitely a point gained against a very enthusiastic team with excellent vocal support from the home fans. Gerken was excellent again today and saved us on more than one occasion in the first half with superb saves. We started brightly with several corners in the first 10 minutes but Cresswells' deliveries were very poor and he generally had a very poor game and looked tired to me. Central defenders were outstanding and the pick of the midfield for me was Skuse who never wasted a ball. Thought Murphy was poor in the first period as was Nouble but Mick must have had words at half time as they were both much improved in the second half. We withstood a late barrage of attacks from Bournemouth towards the end and did well to hold on for the point. Not an easy place to go and I would have taken 4 points from the 2 holiday period games so well done boys and hope for 3 points on Wednesday to build on this.

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Staarting off like a steam train , town forced several corners in the first 10 minutes , thereafter the play fluctuated as both teams had periods of dominance without really testing the goalkeepers. After the break we got the brealthrough with a well worked goal from murphy and for a while it seemed we were gaining the upper hand , but once again , despite heroics from gerkin we were pegged back. From there on we looked to settle for a point we just about deserved. Good performances from gerkin , hyam and skuse . Worst show on the day came from cresswell , but can be forgiven for falling from his high standards.

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