Taking on Sunderland at home after the kind of run that the Black Cats were on should have been a game that AFCB would have been relishing. In the end it was as if the players got it into their heads that they were not going to score, and that Mike Dean was set against them.
Sometimes the players need to distance themselves from the anger of the fans and the decisions that don't go for their team. I thought that AFCB were guilty at times of not doing that and by getting sucked into more of a confrontation, the match against Sunderland soon started to suit the opponent's counter-attacking set up rather than the fast passing of an AFCB side that turned to more of a frustrating, and less precise, belief that they could create something of true quality. By frantically rushing their moves and trying to gain any advantage by fair or foul means, the game started to turn against AFCB when they had started so well.
It wasn't just the missed shots on goal that were disappointing or the saves that Jordan Pickford heroically made, it was the failure of AFCB to stop and think - let's try and go about this another way. They got stuck in trying to get as many attacks in as they could, rather than perhaps taking their time to use the 30 minutes they had, against 10 men, to find a well-built goal from gradually prising an opening. In essence they were a bit too impatient. In such circumstances, when things don't come off for you they rattle you even more, and in the end AFCB only frustrated themselves in giving Sunderland a way to win the game.
Sometimes the players need to distance themselves from the anger of the fans and the decisions that don't go for their team. I thought that AFCB were guilty at times of not doing that and by getting sucked into more of a confrontation, the match against Sunderland soon started to suit the opponent's counter-attacking set up rather than the fast passing of an AFCB side that turned to more of a frustrating, and less precise, belief that they could create something of true quality. By frantically rushing their moves and trying to gain any advantage by fair or foul means, the game started to turn against AFCB when they had started so well.
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| The Cherries fluffed their lines against Sunderland. |
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AFCB need to use their heads more in games like this when teams need more thought to be out manoeuvred. The first goal was a simple early cross with Adam Smith getting in behind, but much of the play in the second half was done in front of the 10 men rather than coming at them from the sides. I'm sure there will be further work done on breaking down a 10-man defence in training, but it is replicating the clock and the need to forge a strategy that has a better chance of working, against teams that park the bus, that AFCB will need to master the next time they are in this position.
It's also clear Bournemouth miss Ritchie(as would any team), with his ability to deliver the unexpected.
ReplyDeleteIbe has been given enough starts for the time being at least, and Fraser now needs to be promoted on a more regular basis.
I thought Afobe looked quite good - particularly when working slightly deeper - and this could be another attacking option.