Eddie Howe felt that Bournemouth had their opportunity to do well against Burnley but simply didn't find a way to stamp their authority in the game. The Cherries certainly managed to survive the first half hour in good enough shape to be in the game and start to create some chances, of which, Nathan Aké's diverted shot that hit the cross bar was the closest that Bournemouth came to getting in front.
The chances that did fall to Brooks and Lerma were the closest that the Cherries came to getting somewhere in the second half, and we didn't see King or Wilson really look like the players that would break Bournemouth's duck. A few runs from Ryan Fraser through the middle did give glimpses of the creative energy that the Cherries required, but it was the inability to cope with Burnley's breaks that eventually led to the big scoreline.
When Bournemouth are up against it we need to see more from players in the middle of the park like Lerma and Surman to get in and win balls and fight harder. Howe now has some difficult decisions to make in whether he sticks with the same players or makes some changes for the next league game. The absence of Dan Gosling may well have had more of a negative impact than Howe was expecting.
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| Bournemouth couldn't capitalise on early play. |
So where did thins go wrong from there? I felt that the Cherries didn't get close enough to Gudmundsson on the right wing for most of the first half. The crosses just kept coming in and they caused a lot of problems. Diego Rico was subbed at half time with the team going to a back three and that did stem the flow of the game that by that time was running in Burnley's favour, who were 2-0 up. But there was no power in Bournemouth's shooting and no belief that they would get the third goal and force their way back into the game.
The chances that did fall to Brooks and Lerma were the closest that the Cherries came to getting somewhere in the second half, and we didn't see King or Wilson really look like the players that would break Bournemouth's duck. A few runs from Ryan Fraser through the middle did give glimpses of the creative energy that the Cherries required, but it was the inability to cope with Burnley's breaks that eventually led to the big scoreline.
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The absence of Gosling maybe wouldn't have had such an unexpected negative impact if Lewis Cook had been selected as his replacement, the continual crab like side to side play of a very static Andrew Surman who mainly stood standing still and was very noticeable for making no effort to stop the runners getting on the end of the crosses raining in.
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