A lucky clean sheet for the Cherries?

It was great to see that AFC Bournemouth managed to secure another clean sheet on the road this weekend. Eddie could have made some changes to the back four but he reverted to playing Simon Francis at centre back alongside Steve Cook, which was perhaps a surprise but it did give Adam Smith back his place at right back and the back four worked very hard leaving Artur Boruc little to do.

The one big save for Artur came very early on when Ighalo put in a rasping shot which only troubled the side netting. Artur came for crosses well though and was confident in making decisions which helped the side.

Daniels and Cook add another clean sheet to their tally this season.

Of course Watford could have done better in front of goal. They had plenty of chances to test Boruc but simply failed to hit the target. Ighalo was the chief culprit but he was not alone and the Cherries seem to be able to cope well when up against a duo like this, perhaps as Cook and Francis have become used to such partnerships like this in the lower leagues. For Francis it was very important that he did play well after his Stoke City game and he had far fewer mistakes in this game, while Steve Cook was also quick at smelling danger and getting blocks in. It wasn't always pretty but the shutout was well deserved.

In the wing back positions I was pleased with what Charlie Daniels again provided. There was one moment in the second half when he ran the entire Watford half beating three players and then getting his shot away even if it was a little hurried and well wide of the target. On the other side Adam Smith was having a real battle with Amrabat for most of the game and while he got forward the better crossing came from Matt Ritchie on that side. Still Smith's determination to try and win the ball did not give Watford much joy on their left coming forward.

The only aspect that was lucky about the clean sheet was to see Ighalo put his headed chance in the second half wide while unmarked. It is not often that someone gets past Charlie Daniels, but Steve Cook will also not be satisfied with that moment of the game when ighalo escaped his tight marking.  

Michael Dunne of All Departments rakes over the chances created in the 0-0 draw with Watford on the All Departments' podcast along with Chris Whitely.

The Cherry Chimes Newsletter will be out tomorrow.
Cherry Chimes' March Newsletter brings you the best stories on the blog and the thoughts behind them from last month, plus there is a special Newsletter article entitled: Afobe underlines lower league quality

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