The Cherries came down to earth with a bit of a bang against Spurs at the weekend. I suppose it is not surprising that every now and again your team is going to have a poor performance no matter who you support, but AFCB fans should not be too downhearted about this one game. The gulf in class was immense on the day and it is something that gives Eddie Howe and his team can now work towards rather than trying to pick too many holes in their own performance.
As it was though there were some aspects of the game that could have been better handled by the Cherries. The first minutes are just as important as the last and you get close to players early on to ensure they don't get an easy ride in their own home surroundings. AFCB just were not fully focussed for whatever reason at the start of this match and they were punished.
The second goal was much more to do with Spurs' vision through Delle Alli and Kane's ability to take a goal well rather than slack defending, but the centre halves were up against it all afternoon with the movement and quality that Kane had. The third goal I suppose was a handling error from Artur but the defence did not close the shot down and they were not first to react either when Eriksen saw the chance to stab the ball home.
During the whole match I thought that Spurs were also able to get in behind without too much difficulty. Eddie Howe may have felt that they could leave some space behind and that Harry Kane was not quick enough to out sprint Francis but he had enough to keep Francis at bay and if the Cherries were trying to compress the play with a small gap between the defence and the attack, it would have been important for the Cherries not to give the ball away so often, and I would expect the turnovers of balls won in midfield were very much in favour of the white shirts.
While defending against the best teams is always problematical, even Eddie found it hard to explain why Spurs were so much better on the day. AFCB certainly contributed to their own difficulties though and it is in these games where the team will learn much more about what they need to work on so from that respect it is not all bad.
Why not find out the thoughts of Mike Dunne and Stephen Allen at All Departments to see if he can shed more light on where AFCB might seek improvements after this defeat. Visit the All Departments' website to listen back to the podcast.
Back of the Net podcast is also out today - Episode 5 Let's fill it with Seagulls. I hope they don't want to fill AFCB's revamped ground with Brighton supporters!
You can also take in some of the scenes from around White Hart Lane on Match Day Gallery.
As it was though there were some aspects of the game that could have been better handled by the Cherries. The first minutes are just as important as the last and you get close to players early on to ensure they don't get an easy ride in their own home surroundings. AFCB just were not fully focussed for whatever reason at the start of this match and they were punished.
 |
| AFCB's first visit to White Hart Lane was not one that will stick long in the memory of our fans. |
During the whole match I thought that Spurs were also able to get in behind without too much difficulty. Eddie Howe may have felt that they could leave some space behind and that Harry Kane was not quick enough to out sprint Francis but he had enough to keep Francis at bay and if the Cherries were trying to compress the play with a small gap between the defence and the attack, it would have been important for the Cherries not to give the ball away so often, and I would expect the turnovers of balls won in midfield were very much in favour of the white shirts.
While defending against the best teams is always problematical, even Eddie found it hard to explain why Spurs were so much better on the day. AFCB certainly contributed to their own difficulties though and it is in these games where the team will learn much more about what they need to work on so from that respect it is not all bad.
Why not find out the thoughts of Mike Dunne and Stephen Allen at All Departments to see if he can shed more light on where AFCB might seek improvements after this defeat. Visit the All Departments' website to listen back to the podcast.
Back of the Net podcast is also out today - Episode 5 Let's fill it with Seagulls. I hope they don't want to fill AFCB's revamped ground with Brighton supporters!
You can also take in some of the scenes from around White Hart Lane on Match Day Gallery.
No comments:
Post a Comment