Eriksen condemns Bournemouth to Wembley defeat

Match Report

14 October 2017

Spurs 1 v 0 AFCB

Attendance: 73,505

AFCB visit Spurs' temporary new home at Wembley.

Playing Tottenham at Wembley on a Saturday afternoon may seem cereal, but AFCB fans will have lapped up the occasion even though Christian Eriksen won Spurs the points. The match was a tight affair with no quarter being given in the first half. The Cherries kept Spurs out of their box very well and the visitors could have even gone ahead after a scrambled away corner. Eriksen's cool tip-toeing dance past a lunging Simon Francis and gasping Steve Cook brought a bit of reality to proceedings as Spurs took the lead just after half time. While Bournemouth had a big chance with Defoe coming on and forcing a save from Loris, Spurs had even better chances to kill the game off in added time when Begovic bravely stood firm and kept the score down to one.

The two teams shake hands.

The team selection was slightly surprising in that Josh King was declared fit enough to start and Bournemouth played the three at the back which allowed Steve Cook another start and Daniels and Adam Smith operating as wing backs. Meanwhile, Defoe was dropped to the bench.

AFCB fans Donna, Andrew, Dianne, Jamie and Mark give their pre-match views 

Simon Francis and Hugo Lloris in the middle.

There are more pictures on Match Day Gallery.

The game started fairly slowly with neither team over extending themselves in the first 10 minutes. Spurs hit long balls that were too far reaching for Alli. Bournemouth were intent just to hold up Spurs when they came forward. 

Matters became more urgent when Alli crossed to Eriksen in the box and Francis had to make a string challenge to keep Eriksen from shooting on 14 minutes. A corner to Spurs brought on more pressure with Eriksen lobbing the ball back in before Alli tried a back flick that went just wide.

Bournemouth almost broke the deadlock when Junior Stanislas saw his shot from the centre of the box deflected off of Sanchez for a corner. The shot had been going in and Sanchez had blocked the shot by moving his body across and allowing the ball to hit part of his arm. A Bournemouth corner from the left side soon followed and Toby Alderweireld saw the ball come off him and Lloris had to make a save on the line before the ball eventually ran out to Lewis Cook, but he skied his shot.

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Steve Cook was the first player to be booked when he took out Harry Kane n a promising Tottenham break. When King was pushed off the ball soon after though he won no free kick.

Begovic was called upon to make a low down save against Harry Kane at the near post on 33 minutes and Alderweireld headed over from the following corner. Adam Smith was booked soon after and Lewis Cook found himself almost playing himself into trouble around his own box.

King was brought down by Harry Winks near the end of the half but again no yellow was awarded to the Spurs player. But 0-0 at half time was more than pleasing for AFCB fans.

Half time entertainment - dancers celebrate  the festival of Diwali

Second half
The half started as badly as it could for Bournemouth. Eriksen had been the best player up to this point and he shattered the Bournemouth defence by passing an outstretched Simon Francis and slow to react Steve Cook. He had time to pick out the bottom left corner and put Spurs 1-0 up on 47 minutes.

Video replay still shot from the big screen. Erksen shapes to score!

Eddie Howe was only just emerging from the tunnel. It was not the return pitch side that he wanted to see. Bournemouth were up against it now and Begovic added to some anxiety by missing a cross.

A second goal almost came when a right sided chip from Spurs was headed in on 58 minutes but it was ruled out for offside. Harry Kane should possibly have added to his season's tally after being given a clear shot by Winks' pass that split Steve Cook and Simon Francis, but he was blocked twice by Asmir Begovic when the Bournemouth defence were scrambling to keep him out. Begovic did excellently to make two smothering saves.

Bournemouth did have chances. Gosling put Stanislas in with a great moment to shoot but as he took aim a tackle came in from Vertonghen to save the day for Spurs. King gave Stanislas a one-two that put Stanislas through on goal, but he chose not to shoot and the chance had gone.

Defoe and Ibe came on to replace Stanislas and Adam Smith on 75 minutes. Sissoko also replaced Son.

Defoe  almost scored straight away by taking the ball from Ibe at the near post, but his shot struck Lloris on the legs for a corner.

Asmir Begovic then made an even better save at the other end as Eriksen tried to pick out the top left corner. The last 10 minutes saw Vertonghen pick up a yellow card for a pull back on Ibe and Lys Mousset came on for Lewis Cook.

Harry Kane was taken off to give Llorente the last five minutes. A big chance for Dele Alli arrived when Sissiko crossed for him and the Spurs number 10 headed back across goal but wide of the right post. Dele Alli was then subbed for Nkoudou.

It almost gave Spurs another goal as Bournemouth saw throw-ins high up the pitch turn into Spurs' breakaways and on the second one, Begovic took down Nkoudou on the edge of the box while Harry Winks shot over under pressure from Surman. It was a yellow card for Begovic, but it could have been a penalty and a sending off if he had not timed as well as he did. Still, the game was lost.

The match slips away from Bournemouth.

Summary
Another steadfast defensive performance from Bournemouth almost got them something from the  game but they switched off just after half time and it cost them dearly. The score line was clearly kept down by Begovic's good play, but Bournemouth need to find more in attack. It could come from a fully fit Callum Wilson. But where ever it comes from it needs to come quick as points are the only thing that are going to get AFCB moving in the right direction. Brave and full of heart is now what we are getting, but Eddie Howe needs to find some quality in the last third to start picking up those points.

The players come over to the fans.

AFCB

Team details.

AFCB Ratings
Begovic 7, A Smith 5, Francis 4, S Cook 5, Aké 6, Daniels 5, Stanislas 5, Gosling 5, Surman 5, L Cook 6, King 6

Cherry Chimes' Bournemouth MOM: Asmir Begovic

Spurs
Lloris, Trippier, Sánchez, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Dier, Winks, Eriksen, Alli (Nkoudouat 90+3), Son Heung-min (Sissoko 75), Kane (Llorente 85)

Referee Watch Robert Madley 3/10 - Happy to give Bournemouth players yellow cards but looked the other way when Spurs committed fouls. If he had given a penalty in the last minute to Spurs it would not have surprised me. He didn't want to upset the home fans one bit.