Artur Boruc was perhaps wondering if he would be the villain after 16 minutes of the WBA game. Certainly Harry Arter was barking back at the Polish keeper after he had conceded possession when playing out from the back. But Artur is simply not as comfortable as some keepers with his feet. We know that and it is possibly something that the team will have to just be wary of in games and should try and make things as easy as they can for him when he is in that position.
For whatever you might say about Boruc's distribution he has the potential to pull points out of the bag with some outstanding saves. He did that against Craig Gardner from the spot and it is something that is not down simply to luck. As well as studying the penalties of the opposition, Artur has an instinct for pulling off miraculous saves. He no doubt gets a big kick out of being the underdog and making a save that he is not expected to achieve and I felt great for Artur that he could put some wrongs right (even though Eddie Howe was more annoyed with the cross and the poor marking than Boruc's kick) with a fabulous double save from Gardner.
Whether it was really a penalty in the first place is perhaps another question that needs clarification. It was a running tussle between Elphick and McAuley off the all and they got in a tangle that saw them both fall to the floor even though the ball was unlikely to find its way to them from the cross. I guess it is down to the degree of holding that the referee will allow to decide if there had been an infringement. If the two players had stayed on their feet I suspect that nothing would have been given. Football is a physical game though and defenders can't keep their hands by their sides all game just because they can't touch an opposition player.
As soon as the decision had been made though by Mark Clattenburg I could not see much hope in AFCB preventing the score to read 0-2. It would have been harsh considering how the game had been going up until that point and you can't praise Artur Boruc's concentration enough in moments like that when he knows he has to give the side something to pull them out of a bad situation. It was a special moment and the crowd responded in typical style by getting right behind the side after that.
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| Artur's penalty save was tremendous. |
Whether it was really a penalty in the first place is perhaps another question that needs clarification. It was a running tussle between Elphick and McAuley off the all and they got in a tangle that saw them both fall to the floor even though the ball was unlikely to find its way to them from the cross. I guess it is down to the degree of holding that the referee will allow to decide if there had been an infringement. If the two players had stayed on their feet I suspect that nothing would have been given. Football is a physical game though and defenders can't keep their hands by their sides all game just because they can't touch an opposition player.
As soon as the decision had been made though by Mark Clattenburg I could not see much hope in AFCB preventing the score to read 0-2. It would have been harsh considering how the game had been going up until that point and you can't praise Artur Boruc's concentration enough in moments like that when he knows he has to give the side something to pull them out of a bad situation. It was a special moment and the crowd responded in typical style by getting right behind the side after that.
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