Written by kirsikka
A couple of changes to the XI saw the return of Adams at the base of the midfield and Kroupi in the 10 role. Cook dropped out entirely, so he is presumably injured. Meanwhile, the return of Tavs to the bench meant we had multiple rotation options for the forwards for the first time in… months, maybe?
Man of the match against West Ham
Rayan
Rayan
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Petrovic
Petrovic
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Scott
Scott
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Someone else
Someone else
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Things nearly started with a bang when they immediately won a corner and were almost ahead after 30 seconds, but for Petrovic getting down well to save the resultant header, and then Truffert making the follow-up too awkward to finish.
In fact, it looked like a humdinger was on the cards when a couple of minutes later they curled a cross around Jiminez only for the attacker’s attempt to be weak.
And then… almost nothing.
Let’s be honest, it was a terrible match.
AFCB trying to play possession football with safe pass after safe pass after safe pass after safe pass after safe pass ariston and on and on and on…
We did almost nothing with the ball. About the only entertainment was seeing Jiminez once again make himself public enemy number 1, boos ringing out every time he touched it. He’s building up a bank of fans right across the whole Premier League.
You know, I thought there was some master plan in action and was waiting for us to spring the trap.
There wasn’t. And we didn’t.
Or, if there was, we never set it into motion.
It took until the 62nd minute for us to give them something to think about. A stunning run by Rayan, starting inside our half and in which he left four defenders for dead, ended when his shot from outside the area hit the post.
There was a genuine lack of bravery to our play, which isn’t something you can usually say about an AI team. We looked hesitant. Too often, we turned and passed back rather than taking a chance on committing the player and perhaps losing possession.
The most excitement I had in the whole match was when the water alarm went off, indicating moisture in my upstairs manifold (oh LordSnooty, where are you when you’re needed?), and I had to go and check to see if the house was about to be flooded.
The final 15 minutes did see West Ham come out of their shell in search of a winner, and there was some back and forth, with a few chances each way.
Rayan squandered a chance to shoot because he refused to use his right foot, and by the time he switched, cover was in place. He was also a bit slack in not making a run to the back post when Tavs created a superb opening. If he’d been where you would have expected, he’d have had a simple tap-in. He isn’t the finished article, so hard to be too critical.
At the other end, for AFCB hero Callum Wilson almost flicked a cross into the net only for Petrovic to make another good save.
We tried long throws in vain, but they seemed kind of pointless when we failed to win the ball on any of them. Might just be me, but it also felt like Hill was getting much more elevation on them than usual, which makes them less dangerous. Maybe down to the conditions?
That was that. Against West Ham, that’s six Premier League matches in a row that we’ve drawn and, in all competitions, that’s now eleven without a win. Not our favourite opponent by any stretch, and little in the way of entertainment to assuage our feelings.
Selected Player Watch
—– Truffert —–
Up against our usual West Ham bete noir Bowen, he won the battle. Well done.
—– Jiminez —–
Equally, up against their form man and only one to really offer any threat, he didn’t always come out on top, but over the whole match came out on top. One last-ditch interception was immense.
—– Petrovic —–
A very good night for him. Made a superb stop and also dealt with the roughhousing on high balls pretty well.
—– Scott —–
Of all the midfielders on display out there, he was the standout, especially when the game got stretched near the end.
—– Tavs —–
Brilliant to see him back. In ten minutes on the pitch almost created a goal twice, and if Rayan had made the run he should have done then he would have.
AI and Tactics Watch
I think if you exclude the last 15 minutes when subs came on and made us look different, whilst, at the same time, West Ham opened up as they started to get desperate for a goal, then it wasn’t a good night at the office. We looked toothless.
There was one stat shared at around the hour mark that showed they’d had 17 touches in our box, whereas we’d only managed 3 in theirs, despite us dominating possession.
In many ways, it played out the way I feared pre-match, with them being typical Nuno, of happily sitting back and then trying to hit us on the break. Meanwhile, we didn’t really know what to do with the ball.
I’m going to say I’m a little surprised, and a touch disappointed. Not at a point away from home because that’s always valuable. But at the lack of any obvious plan as to how we wanted to break them down.
I understand a well-drilled team of PL players in a low block can be tough for even the best sides to get through. That isn’t so much my issue as the absence of being able to see what it was we were trying to do to make them uncomfortable.
Take out Tavs adding impetus and the wonder run from Rayan, and that is about as comfortable a night as the West Ham defence will have all season.
I’d be surprised if the approach to our attacking play was how they were prepared. And almost nobody was innocent from out forward play.
Adli had absolutely no impact in an attacking sense. Kroupi was wasteful with the ball. Evanilson was totally anonymous. Rayan was only rarely in the game.
Our best hope was for Truffert or Jiminez to create something.
The former really needs to mix it up and hit the byline sometimes. The times he did go around the outside, something almost happened. The times he stopped, turned inside and then made a safe pass, pretty much nothing did.
The latter needs to work on his partnership with Rayan. There were moments when it almost clicked. I have high hopes there.
To be honest, Summerville and Bowen aside, West Ham looked a team bereft of confidence, and I think if we’d got at them, they would have crumbled. Instead, we ran up to their defensive line, gave it a gentle prod and then turned back to make an easy pass. Again and again.
It’s still a good point, but given how poor they looked and our complete lack of creativity, it does feel like two dropped rather than one won.
Still, onwards we go, and with two home matches to follow, there’s still a huge chance to put ourselves right in the mix.
Your say…
JT_AFCB said…
Pretty poor performance in all, Truffert, Hill, Jiminez, Petrovic and Scott were decent, as were the subs, but too many were not at it today. Petrovic, particularly, was very solid, and it’s good to see him proving his doubters wrong. Very good reactions and dominance from set pieces, that’s the keeper that we thought that we were getting! We looked a lot more cohesive and threatening when Christie and Tavernier were introduced too, both players make us tick and should probably be starting. Adams is a good player, but in games like this, when we dominate the ball, he is just too safe and slow in possession. Save him for the games against the top sides. Would rather see a midfield of Scott and Christie against Sunderland, as I think that they’ll let us have a lot of the ball.
Evanilson was particularly disappointing. Having been a fan in the past, I’m rapidly losing faith in him. Where was the movement and battle? Neither of their forwards scored, but both at least managed to threaten in different ways; you barely would have noticed had Evanilson not even been on the pitch today. It’s not the first time this season either. I’m starting to think that we need to upgrade on him. – 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…