Written by kirsikka
Injuries and suspensions meant Andoni Iraola had to do something funky with the lineup. Scott changed to a 6, Tavs as the 8, Semenyo went to the left wing and Jiminez started as a right winger with Smith at right back. Senesi and Evanilson also came back into the starting team. That’s a lot of moving parts!
Man of the Match against Chelsea
Scott
Scott
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Petrovic
Petrovic
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Semenyo
Semenyo
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Senesi
Senesi
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Tavernier
Tavernier
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Truffert
Truffert
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Someone else
Someone else
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Meanwhile, kind of typical of the way our luck is going at the moment that Palmer, the heartbeat of this Chelsea team, was fit enough to start, having been out for an extended period. Although maybe that’s unfair, as he looked every inch a player with little match practice.
We nearly had a storming start when Scott moved forward from his deep-lying role to pick up an inside pass from Kluivert, who was wide right. He fired in a low cross that Evanilson couldn’t control, but the ball broke to Semenyo and he slotted home.
When things aren’t going for you, the football Gods always seem to step in to make things worse. Enter VAR for a close offside decision. Eva’s shoulder was too far forward. Disallowed and my mind was all “Here we go again”.
Moments later, a good Tavs run and shot was only parried by the keeper. Evanilson tried to pounce and was clearly fouled in the area… but sadly was offside again, so no penalty.
Things did settle down after that. However, it was a marker from the team that they weren’t here to be pushovers. Despite my concerns after Everton, no lurking behind the sofa was required.
If you watched those two games side by side, you’d struggle to believe it’s the same team. There was so much more tempo to things, more desire, more fight. Plus, more noise from the sidelines with the crowd lending a hand this time.
Instant Karma wasn’t a Christmas single, but it was given a spin on the first half metaphorical jukebox. Delap spent the first 30 minutes taking sly and sneaky swipes at Senesi without being punished. Then, after an AFCB attacking corner was cleared, the Argentinian tried to race back to his defensive line but was wrestled to the ground by the forward in another attempt to gain an unfair advantage. Only, when going down, Marcos landed on Delap, who was injured in the process and had to go off.
Not sure I’d ever say I enjoy seeing a player go off injured, but if anyone brought it upon themselves, it was Delap today. Got exactly what he deserved.
On Senesi, he was imperious. Ok, there were a couple of stray passes, but aside he was solid defensively and his ability to spot an opening from deep and ping a pass at pace was essential in a lot of our good play.
In the end, he also had to go off injured in the second half after picking up a knock while intercepting and cutting off a counterattack. I don’t think we looked as much of a threat in the match after that moment. His kick-starting of attacks is crucial.
Also worth mentioning, Jiminez. I thought he struggled for the first 15 minutes before starting to get into things and made himself an outlet for his whole time on the pitch. We even saw one or two bits of decent winger play from him. We needed someone to come in and stand up, and he certainly did that.
Back to the action and we still had several presentable chances in the first period.
Semenyo’s quick feet beat his man on the edge of the area and he fired in a shot from an angle, only for the keeper to make a low save. Evansilon came sliding in at the back post, but from a metre out, couldn’t make clean contact and it went high and wide. To be fair, after the keeper’s deflection, he had no reaction time, but when you’re in form, those go in 100% of the time. When you’re on a barren run? Well, we saw it.
Injury time had two more saves from the Chelsea keeper. First, Scott on a counter attack, fired in a stinging shot that was beaten out and then a minute later, a Semenyo shot brought out a low save.
It’s the second London club to visit us in the last few weeks for whom their best player on the day was their keeper.
Chelsea came out after the break with much more intent and peppered Petrovic’s goal with attempts. For those keepers watching, he made a couple of saves low down where he’s looked vulnerable so far this season. I’m not sure he made one I wouldn’t expect, but he didn’t look uncomfortable at any point. A positive sign.
When the clock hit the late 60s, I wondered, given the match situation, whether AI would stick or twist. Especially with the paucity of options on the bench. Silly of me. Of course, he went for it with his subs.
Among them, Jiminez was switched out for Adli to bring more attack and less defence to our offering. I don’t think a pile-on is warranted, but you can see the Moroccan is really struggling with the physical aspects of the English game and is lacking confidence. After one good run where he cut across the outside of the area, he opted to try and find a pass when it was begging to be hit.
Ultimately, the game petered out a little and we won a valuable and hard-fought point.
Our troubles may have meant the side we fielded was something of a chimaera. However, despite having 357 players, it turns out Chelsea doesn’t have Bellerophon on the books.
Selected Player Watch
—– Senesi —–
Head and shoulders above the others in a MOTM display where he was only on the pitch for 60 minutes. Let’s hope the injury is nothing serious. Stepped in to intercept and break down attacks, won the physical battle and picked out some brilliant passes.
—– Jiminez —–
I wasn’t sure at first, but once he settled, he acquitted himself well. I don’t see it as a potential long-term role for him. However, it was understandable that we wanted to add some defensive steel to the midfield in the circumstances.
—– Hill —–
Very hard to come on and replace the best player on the pitch, but showed no nerves and gave them nothing. Can’t fault him for not having the same passing range, so I count it as an impressive showing.
—– Scott —–
We’ve seen him there before, but this was his best performance as a 6 for us. Excellent play and, with the whole pitch in front of him, the way he used the space to carry the ball was a regular threat.
—– Smith —–
Exactly what you’d expect from him. Including one lost far post header that luckily only hit the post. Don’t let that drag down what was a very solid performance.
—– Tavernier —–
No sign of the frustrations from the other night. We know he can blow hot and cold. Given he was playing out of position, today was a scorchio. Key contributor to a point won.
AI and Tactics Watch
How did you play with Lego as a kid? As a child, I tried (unsuccessfully) to be creative with it, but as an adult, when Child 1 went through his phase, I mostly followed the instructions when playing with him.
When it comes to building football teams, AI has the imagination of a child with Lego married to an adult’s clarity of understanding. “I’ll put Tavs here, Jiminez there, Smith there and swap a bunch of others around”. What madness is this? Bloody hell! He’s made a pterodactyl.
It’s a level of genius I can only admire.
First half we were better, second half them, but on the balance of chances we shaded things and could even feel a little disappointed that we didn’t win. To get there with that starting XI is simply brilliant.
Let’s not undervalue the point and that performance. It was top-notch battling from everyone and it should help put the last two games behind us. It showed a level of defensive solidity we haven’t seen for some time, built on the backs of a collective effort where nobody strolled around.
Hopefully, the players recognise and appreciate what they did out there and it consigns any lowered confidence to the dustbin.
Seeing Jiminez in that role reminded me a little of our Championship season when EH would bring on a young Adam Smith as a right winger to shore things up. If this does end up being AS’s last season with us, it would add a touch of symmetry to things should we use this option more.
That said, I’m not sure I see us doing it a lot. It was a means to an end and it worked for today. Not much more than that.
It’s a point. It stops the rot. It gives us heart with some big hitters to play over the coming weeks. And next time out, we should have at least one more midfielder available. Let’s hope Senesi makes it as well.
Well done, that’s that. Onto the Theatre of Poorly Maintained Infrastructure next.
Your say…
Allen said…
Senesi was incredible, the best player on the pitch by a mile.
Truffert was excellent.
Semenyo much better than recent performances.
Tavernier gives the ball away too much for my liking; if not for that, he would be great.
Scott was good but frustrating not to get the shot off or slip someone through, a little too ponderous.
I am one of Evanilson’s biggest fans, but I am starting to get a little worried about him. It didn’t help when Senessi came off.
Jiminez was excellent.
Kluivert pressed well, but like Scott failed to get a meaningful shot off or put someone in, I expect more from him.
Smudge was brilliant and so were Diakite & Petrovic.
Brooks did nothing when he came on. Unal looked lively when he came on and Adli looked rubbish when he came on. Adli looks like he has no confidence and can’t make up his mind what to do when he has the ball.
2 key points for me are that Senessi seems to be our most important player at the moment – Sign him up!
The other is Evanilson is getting further and further from the scoresheet in every match, not getting in the right areas and missing golden chances. He just needs a lucky deflected goal and then he will soon start scoring, but at the moment, Unal is looking far more likely to score when he is on the pitch compared to Eva.
Much better from the lads today – To join the conversation, please click here.
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DJ
I have been a writer and website administrator on the largest AFC Bournemouth fan website for almost 25 years. Previously on a now defunct fan network and since 2005 on vitalfootball.co.uk We have been nominated for various fan website awards down the years, however we have always been the bridesmaid…