AFC Bournemouth 4 - Oldham 1

What a wonderful afternoon’s entertainment! In the first half the players showed us what a well organised and determined team they have become. They defended as a whole team pairing up, taking responsibility and not allowing any meaningful pressure on the back line. Macdonald is very impressive protecting the back four; a completely different player from earlier in the season. Better teams than Oldham will come to the Goldsands and find us very difficult to break down when we play like that. Disappointed that it was 0-0 at half time but satisfied we weren’t going to lose. At the start of the second half the North Stand gave us the “Barmy Army” as if they knew what was coming. The Oldham players were left standing around admiring our play and before they knew it Grabban had slipped two past them. Paul Dickov tried to wake them up with a double substitution but it did not make much difference. Then Arter who was playing out of his skin won a penalty. Grabban tried to persuade Arter to let him go for his hat trick but no dice. Great credit to him as he did not go off and sulk but went back to work like he did all game and was rewarded when Arter pinged his penalty off the goalie straight onto his foot to show Harry that some things are meant to be. Pugh and Daniels have taken “Partners” to a new level. The way they work the ball down the line is a joy to watch and Pugh has taken to working as hard helping Daniels defend as Daniels does helping him attack. Once the team had cleared out the space for Daniels to run into, Pugh chipped a free kick onto his head for the fourth goal. The Mcquoid and Francis partnership will be just as good in time. Mcquoid needs to just stop wishing he was playing in the hole and give his whole heart to the partnership. He will get more goals meeting Pugh and Daniels crosses at the back stick than playing in the hole. Macdonald and Arter are also developing a partnership with Macdonald protecting the back four leaving Arter free to attack or defend as required. Barnard like Macdonald worked tirelessly for the team, pulling the defenders all over the place creating space and opportunities for others which Grabban took. Elphick and Addison are looking very assured defenders except for the rare occasions when Oldham managed to exert pressure. Right at the end we were bought back down to earth, after the substitutions were made to give standing ovations to individual players, when they exploited our vulnerability to high crosses to score. Our wing /fullback partnerships are vital for protecting against this. One thing to work on: Players coming on need to fit seamlessly into the partnership they join or the quality of our play will drop significantly. Standing ovation for the whole team at the end well deserved.