AFC Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks scored the only goal of the game against Everton, securing yet another three points for the Cherries tally. It also extended AFC Bournemouth’s unbeaten run in the Premier League to eight games, a new club record in the top flight of English football.
After the match, AFC Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola told Sky Sports…
“We had to be patient, even if we had been in control of the game and pushing them a lot. We’ve had chances but they have very good centre-backs and goalkeeper, and we couldn’t make the difference until close to the end. Probably we should have scored earlier but fortunately this time it hasn’t cost us points.
“We wanted to open the game as much as possible but this is tough against Everton. Once they started running out of legs they can even attack you so we can exploit more spaces. That didn’t happen until the end and we needed a very good finish with a lovely goal from David Brooks. He has top quality with the striking and composure so I am happy for him.
Man of the match against Everton
Kerkez
Cook
Huijsen
Zabarnyi
Dango
Semenyo
Brooks
Someone else
Written by kirsikka
Newly arrived twins in the Kepa household (congratulations to him and his family!) meant Travers made the first of what may be three consecutive starts. Meanwhile, Dango came back into the starting XI after his winner from the bench last time out and Kluivert returned to his role after suspension.
Maybe the most significant selection when considering the transfer window was Hill continuing at right back, leaving Aarons once again forlornly peering on from the bench. Surely a move of some kind is in the pipeline for him even given our injuries.
I recently described the Palace match as a battle between two obdurate defences. I think if Sean Dyche emptied a can of Alphabetti Spaghetti on the floor, the letters would land to spell out “obdurate defence”. It’s the DNA of every side he creates.
Prior to today, they’d already had five 0-0 draws in the Premier League this season, with no other team on more than two. I think we all knew what to expect, although it was a particularly large ugly stick that their performance was hit with today.
In many ways, it was a match that encapsulates the enigma of what we are right now as a club. Since we came up, teams have always targeted their matches against us a potential three points. They might play in a low block but there’s almost always been some ambition there on some form.
Today, Everton came for the draw. I was almost rubbing my eyes in disbelief when I saw them time wasting after ten minutes with the scores at nil nil. I don’t think it will happen all that often but if we keep up our run of form then we have to expect to come up against this more.
The match sometimes descended into scrappy, with Everton desperately trying to drag it down into a turgid tussle to negate any technical quality. Fortunately, we mostly managed to avoid the trap and keep playing our own game. Our central midfield, in particular, was dominant.
I must admit, I did fear we were going to have another case of listening to this season’s most commonly played record when we spurned a series of chances.
Dango scuffed an effort after a long throw from which he probably should have scored, Semenyo swept home a pearler of a Christie cross but was clearly offside, and Pickford was called into action multiple times to make good stops, denying Kluivert, Dango and others.
Whilst I was worried, it wasn’t one where I felt hopeless as we kept on creating. Dyche watched on from the sidelines with a face like a man on a Friday night who’s just been told the chippie has run out of gravy to go on his chips. He looked distraught at the sight of a team trying to score.
In the end, the breakthrough came from a moment of quality after the subs were made and the technical skills of David Brooks were introduced. Semenyo flicked a ball on to Kerkez, he swung in a cross to the far post and Brooks met it first time with a perfect left foot volley.
No more than we deserved and Dyche deserved. I think awarding them zero goals for that performance was generous whereas we could easily have scored more.
There was no real late rush of pressure you usually see from a team trailing by a single goal. Was that yet another sign of their lack of ambition or down to us effectively shutting down the game? I’d like to think we can take the credit for it given how sharp we were for most of the afternoon.
I remember the EH and Dyche battles where he always talked about the money and how he was forced to play a certain way whereas the extravagant AFCB could try and do things differently. I know Everton have sold players but their wage bill is around £170m a year. What a waste of talent.
It isn’t a match I’d ever want to watch again but it is a match where the right result was reached. True, we committed daylight robbery at their place earlier this season but I’d still like to think football is the winner when an anti-football team like that get zero points.
It keeps us well in the chasing pack with an FA Cup match up next and then a series of tough fixtures. January is set to be big.
Selected Player Watch
—– Hill —–
The defence wasn’t asked to do too much defending today, Dyche clearly setting his target out to try and win 0-0, but he was solid enough. There will be much tougher tests to come but it looks like it’s his shirt to lose for the next few matches, at least.
—– Travers —–
Pretty much a spectator in terms of making saves but his distribution did have a couple of shaky moments.
—– Christie —–
In the end, it was a match won on the battle in the middle of the park and whilst Cook was good in helping us dominate that, today RC was slightly better. In a match that saw decent performances from many in red and black, he just shaded MOTM for me.
—– Brooks —–
The only thing we were lacking was quality in the final ball or finish and he provided the moment that mattered. A strike that was as sweet as you like. Even though I’ve gorged on too much sugar over Christmas, I still enjoyed that immensely.
—– Dango —–
Right, let’s get this straight. Yes, he was wasteful at times and played some very poor crosses and passes but he was far from the only one. However, today we saw another side to him. Not just the bursting runs that create space through teamwork but we saw him trying to make things happen on his own and nearly succeeding on multiple occasions. More of that please.
AI and Tactics Watch
Another match where he got it very right, and the good news is today the single goal was enough to get the richly deserved points. More than anything I think his biggest achievement today was making sure the players didn’t get dragged into the street scrap for which Dyche’s fists were aching.
Often we see lots of tactical switching in the game as the two managers try to counter the other’s changes but today Everton were dull and low-quality. AI could go with changes we’ve seen plenty before without needing to try anything too funky and it paid off in the end.
I’ll reiterate the point last week that we’re still struggling on the numbers front and could do with an injection of new blood to give us more options from the bench. Having said that, I don’t think any team in the Premier League has had more goals scored by subs this season than us so even with limited cards AI is still managing to slam down aces.
I’ve no idea how we should approach the match next week. Short of blooding some very raw kids there’s a real limit to how much rotation we can do but, with the Chelsea match only three days later, is it wise to risk key players before that? Over to AI…
Another three points on the board and still a case of looking up the table and wondering. Well done to the manager, the coaching staff and the team. Fun, isn’t it?
Your say…
hba1 said…
On my way to the ground, the bus passed The Bell at Pokesdown just as some Everton supporters were disembarking from their coach for a pre-match drink. Those loyal supporters deserve more each week than the negative Dyche tactics we witnessed this afternoon.
Bournemouth battled and a wonderful Brooks goal from a sublime assist won the day and the moral high ground.
MOM could have been from Cook (again) or Huijsen but Kerkez deserved the acclaim. – To join the conversation, click here.
