Earlier in the season, AFCB were accused of losing some of their intensity. Their was no one saying that though after their display against Spurs. AFCB are best when they get after sides and this was a match when Edie Howe was well aware that that could not just sit back and soak up the pressure.
I heard from one pf the pundits after the match that Bournemouth did a Spurs on Spurs. They hounded and harried the likes of Dier and Vertonghen at the back and to stop Spurs playing out from the back was very impressive, but even at half time the possession was well in Spurs' hands at 60.1 per cent and this was extended to 62 per cent on 90 minutes. AFCB did compete and they did stop Spurs from having many shots on target, apart from a few outside the box and one or two when Lamela and Rose tried to score from acute angles in the box.
Strangely AFCB only had the one shot on target though, so as an offensive force they were not able to exert as much pressure on the Tottenham goal as might have been thought by those watching the game at the time. Hugo Lloris was not that busy. But where AFCB did well was in drawing fouls and a lot of that came on players like Adam Smith and Dan Gosling deciding to run at Spurs, rather than just look for the first off-load pass. Turning defence into a fast attack is where Spurs had to be careful against Bournemouth, as when they did not get that early tackle in there was a good chance that King or Wilson would eventually get a run on goal. Therefore, the midfield scrap was truly intense and it's no surprise that Harry Arter was the fulcrum of most of AFCB's good work, as he was in his element in putting in crunching tackles and using his strength to get his foot in.
The side also went in groups to attack Spurs players on the ball and Lloris was forced to clear long on several occasions. These are all things that Howe has learnt since the last time AFCB played Spurs and even if they did not have Harry Kane to hit long, it was evident that Dier and Dambele were often choosing to go long just to avoid getting caught in the Harry Arter road block in midfield.
I heard from one pf the pundits after the match that Bournemouth did a Spurs on Spurs. They hounded and harried the likes of Dier and Vertonghen at the back and to stop Spurs playing out from the back was very impressive, but even at half time the possession was well in Spurs' hands at 60.1 per cent and this was extended to 62 per cent on 90 minutes. AFCB did compete and they did stop Spurs from having many shots on target, apart from a few outside the box and one or two when Lamela and Rose tried to score from acute angles in the box.
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| High intensity game is rewarding the Cherries. |
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