Distin is just a tower of strength

It was certain that at some point that Sylvain Distin would make a Premier League start in an AFC Bournemouth shirt. That it happened as early as the sixth game is no shame on Tommy Elphick and Steve Cook who have made a good start to their top flight careers, but the injury to Elphick may funnily have come at a good time. Tommy can now look back at his game and assess a few areas where he can do better, while Steve Cook gets the chance to work with a very experienced central defender on match day.

Sylvain's Distin's Premier League debut in
an AFCB shirt could not have gone much better.

Steve Cook played on the right side of Sylvain against Sunderland which was perhaps a surprise, but it probably kept Cook more on his toes than usual. Having Sylvain next to him though must have been inspirational as the big man just won header after header and put in some hefty challenges to boss the back line and give Borini and Defoe little room or encouragement. AFCB fans have not seen much of Distin apart from in the pre-season games and Capital One Cup, but on this latest performance it is hard to see him not carrying on for some time in the team as long as he does not need a rest.

While Sylvain did make one misjudgement that let in Defoe for a good shooting opportunity against Boruc that was the only slip he made all game. For most of the time he was in charge at the back clearing balls over the East stand or powering headers some 20 yards up the pitch for the midfielders to latch on to. It was impressive and he seemed to have so much more time to make his clearances and passes than the rushed passes that we sometimes see as defenders come under pressure.

I think it was important that Distin played in either the Sunderland or Preston match as his experience would be vital for the Stoke away game this week. Now that Distin has dipped his toe back in the frenetic atmosphere of the Premier League, he should be well up for keeping a clean sheet at the Britannia.

if you have not already found out why Tokelo Rantie missed the midweek game at Preston have a look at the official AFCB website - Dublin is a long way from Preston.