Cherry Chimes: February 2020

Saturday, 29 February 2020

Bournemouth seek an unlikely double against Chelsea

Eddie Howe was in bullish mood ahead of the fixture with Chelsea in his press conference. He looks upon the game as 11 against 11 on the pitch and would obviously be delighted if Bournemouth could secure an unexpected double win this season against Frank Lampard's side, and he asked the home crowd to get fully behind the team.

Bournemouth will look to help save their Premier League chances of survival today.

One of the bottom six teams is going to pick up a couple of wins sooner or later and when they do it will send tremors through the other teams still down the bottom. Chelsea are a great team but they don't always get it right against Eddie Howe and they have just come off a mid-week game in Europe which they lost - perfect time to play Chelsea? I am not sure, but Bournemouth can't waste any games at this stage and three home wins in a row would be a rare glimmer of delight in what has been a wretched season for the Cherries.

Eddie needs big players and hearts now. Where is he going to find that in his team? The players need to be courageous and start believing that they can keep wins going at home. Bournemouth are likely to have Lerma and Aké back and Eddie will have his choice of central midfielders to pick from again. It might be a time to pair Lerma with Lewis Cook in midfield if he feels the team needs something different. High work-rate and a willingness to take risks in front of goal is what the fans expect from their team, and if Chelsea don't rest players that played in mid-week, it might play into Bournemouth's hands in the second half.

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Bournemouth's problem will be trying to stay in the game long enough to be in touch in the second half. We know Chelsea get frustrated when they don't get a breakthrough as happened when the two teams met last December. The fans need to be positive now and help make the team take their best game to Chelsea and the most unlikely double win of the season could just happen. UTCIAD!

Coastal Garden Buildings

AFCB Home Form

LDLWW

Chelsea Away Form

LWDLD

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Can Bournemouth raise their game for Chelsea?

Possible AFCB line up

AFCB TV Preview

Chimes Newsletter - out tomorrow!
Cherry Chimes' March Newsletter brings you the best stories on the blog and the thoughts behind them from last month. The newsletter has a special story - Bournemouth will need to do it the hard way.

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Friday, 28 February 2020

Can Bournemouth raise their game for Chelsea?

The last match in February for Bournemouth will see them return home and take on Chelsea. Frank Lampard will want a response after their mid-week battering by Bayern Munich. He felt Chelsea had a lot of work to do after such a result, but Bournemouth are equally in need of a lot of improvement for different reasons.

Where can Bournemouth find improvement?

Chelsea might be sitting in fourth place and be aiming to fight off the chasing teams for a Champions League place last season, but it is clear that they have had their won problems when you see that they have only recorded five clean sheets this season, just one more than the Cherries. It does make sense that they are being linked with a return for Nathan Aké with those kind of stats. Of the nine defeats they have suffered, of course one was by the Cherries in December. What is more, Chelsea haven't yet won a way in the Premier League this year.

Coastal Garden Buildings

Lampard does have a striker problem with Tammy Abrahams being injured, but when he can draw on the likes of Olivier Giroud you can't say that Chelsea are toothless up front. They are averaging 1.67 goals per game and average 5.6 shots on target every game. So, already we can expect Bournemouth's defence to be kept busy.

Losing away at Newcastle United and Manchester United this year will have increased the pressure for Lampard to get a result at Bournemouth. But Bournemouth will have a punchers chance of getting another surprise result. Getting up for Chelsea is never a problem and Bournemouth are becoming a bit of a bogey team for the London club. But Bournemouth are only averaging 3.29 shots on target per game and are averaging 0.96 goals per game. At the other end they are conceding 1.59 goals per game, so we can see why they have been losing more matches than they win.

Eddie Had a Dream is on sale now!

Raising Bournemouth's game will need more than a few smart words from Eddie Howe. Bournemouth have to play like their lives depend on it in front of their home crowd, because there aren't many more home games to get points on the board.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Is 35 points enough to stay up this season?

Is 35 points enough for safety this season?

It seems strange that so many teams are finding wins difficult to come by at the bottom of the Premier League. This week was the second week in a row when none of the bottom six managed a win and Brighton were the only beneficiary, by moving a point further clear with their draw against Sheffield United. It does make you winder is 40 points going to be the safety line or can we draw it closer to 35 points this season?

Can AFCB claw themselves away from the bottom three?

Well if the bottom six continue to fail to put points on the board then the situation might not change that much. There will be a few six pointers to come, but most games for the bottom six are against higher table opposition. It looks like there is going to have to be some strange results for various teams to get passed 40 points mark, and Bournemouth need to just start picking up any kind of points to give themselves a real chance of putting themselves out of reach.

I'm not convinced that Norwich City are capable of putting a run of results together to keep them up now, but Watford and West Ham have the ability to beat top sides and Aston Villa will keep motoring along trying to get the odd point and making things as hard as they can for other teams. Bournemouth and Brighton have been looking like they will be caught, but they still sit three and two points above the drop zone, and yet with just one more result going against Bournemouth you'd sense that they would become as highly backed as Norwich City for the drop.

Coastal Garden Buildings

On the other hand a win to take them to 29 points would be a massive step towards safety if those below pick up nothing for another week. It's more a race of attrition as no club looks like escaping the pull of relegation. If it is a slow point accumulator we could see one of the lowest points total on the board with a club still staying up - not a great record to have, but one that any of the bottom six would take right now.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Has Surridge been unlucky not to get more minutes?

Thursday, 27 February 2020

Has Surrdige been unlucky not to get more minutes?

When Sam Surridge was recalled for from his loan at Swansea City, I thought we had a good chance to see a lot more of our home-grown striker. But despite a goal in the FA Cup against Arsenal, his first team opportunities might be sliding away as Josh King and Dominic Solanke slip past him in the pecking order. The Aston Villa home match was Surridge's last sub selection.

Sam Surridge's time is coming but it could be next season.

Sam Surridge has done nothing wrong and has probably elevated his case of being a first team player next season, but breaking into the Cherries first 11 is going to take time and he may have to choose whether he is happy enough with getting odd minutes or going out on loan against next season. His appearances have suddenly dried up, although he is getting time to play for the U21s. Eddie Howe will be pleased that Sam has some Premier League experience under his belt now, but he is clear with young players that it takes time to perform consistently at the higher levels of the game.

It will be intriguing to see what happens this summer. Josh King could well be departing now after the January interest and several teams have made it no secret that Callum Wilson could be a potential target. It all probably depends on where AFCB finish this season as either a Premier League of Championship club. But if Bournemouth are relegated, I'd imagine that Sam Surridge will suddenly become a top priority for AFCB to hold on to.

Eddie Had a Dream eBook version -available now!

Surridge is well acquainted with the Championship and has already made a name for himself, so I am sure he would be up for the challenge. But Bournemouth would loose an awful lot of experience if they were to lose a couple of their strikers in the summer. It could of course be the making of Dominic Solanke, if he played at the Championship level, but AFCB will not want to have to test that. Even if Bournemouth do stay up it is likely that another new striker would be sought this summer and that could again put Sam Surrdige further back in the pecking order.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Can a fit Lerma, Ake and Brooks make the difference for AFCB?

Can a fit Lerma, Ake and Brooks make the difference for AFCB?

Each time Bournemouth come out to play I find myself clutching onto straws as to which player might make the difference in the game and finally get Bournemouth over the line. But it just doesn't happen and I'm left wondering will even Lerma, Aké or even Brooks can save Bournemouth now?

This could be Aké's last few games for AFCB,. He won't want a relegation on his record.

The three mentioned players are probably three of the players that most of us would have considered nailed on for first 11 places at the start of the season. They are quality players and would be seen as central pillars of Eddie Howe's hopes for a strong season. Now Bournemouth are waiting for them to come back into the picture to play games, but can they turn around Bournemouth's performances?

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I think they are the last hope to do that now. We have seen the team struggle when they are not available and with the quality of opposition that the Cherries are coming up against now, they need all three to be in the squad if not on the pitch for some of the biggest games in AFCB's Premier league history.

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We can't expect the other teams around Bournemouth to keep dropping points and rely on them to do so. Bournemouth need to expand the gap from the bottom three and winning at home looks the only way of that happening at the moment. But should Bournemouth fall short against Chelsea, I fear that the home crowds' heads will go down. But we need to stay strong for the players to help them believe that they can escape this difficult season with their Premier League status in tact.

We know a win against Chelsea would be the shot in the arm the club needs to see itself march towards safety. If the selected trio was also a part of this game, I imagine the celebrations would be something very special at Dean Court - now wouldn't that ben something to savour! UTCIAD!

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Will Eddie drop his captain?

Wednesday, 26 February 2020

Will Eddie drop his captain?

Burnley targeted a weakness in AFCB's line up I believe last Saturday. They tried to get Vydra up against Simon Francis whenever they could in a one-one one and Bournemouth looked stretched whenever Francis had to try and go out wide to keep Matej Vydra in sight. Franics had had some reasonable games at home in the last few games, but even Eddie Howe must see that he can't keep playing Francis and expect him to keep pace with top strikers in the Premier League.

Francis gets caught out at Burnley but will Eddie Howe stay loyal to him?

The next match will be against Chelsea and their striker, Olivier Giroud having just scored last weekend, will be relishing the chance to play against Bournemouth's captain. He'll have seen how much trouble Vydra gave him. So will Eddie Howe be brave enough to drop his captain?

I think he has to as long as Nathan Aké is back and fit enough to play. Bournemouth's best central pairing is Steve Cook and Aké and must play his best team against a top four side if it is available. Simon Francis doesn't now command that automatic selection in my book and Bournemouth need to work out a way their defence can get a clean sheet.

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I don't think Eddie Howe got it right with dropping Diego Rico either unless Rico was struggling with something. It looked like just a way to shoe-horn Jack Stacey into the team and keep Adam Smith in the first 11. But it would have been simpler to choose between Smith and Stacey for the right back spot and let Rico resume at left back. Moving Adam Smith to left back didn't exactly go well, and I wonder if a left-footed Rico would have positioned himself slightly differently for that high ball that caught Adam Smith out for the handball.

Coastal Garden Buildings

Selection is really important now. It's time to drop the egos and personal favourites. Bournemouth need points and it needs to be round players in round holes. The best player for the best job. Some players just haven't been producing and it's more than time to let some of those players know who isn't up to the job at the moment.

Bournemouth are still not good enough with possession

No matter how disappointed Bournemouth fans were with the defeat at Burnley and how well the team performed in the first half, the players still made many mistakes and lost possession during the game far too often to help themselves. Burnley broke well for their first goal and the third goal was made from a mistake from Philip Billing on half way.

Bournemouth have to regroup again.

I am not sure why Bournemouth think they can get through games by making as many errors as they did against Burnley and still hope to come out on top. Perhaps a team that takes their chances would be stronger, but there were far too many errors during the game to make me feel comfortable about the way Bournemouth are defending at the moment.

Ramsdale was called upon to make many saves during the game and it is no surprise that he couldn't save the team every time. Simon Francis was out of his depth with Jay Rodrigues and got turned and beaten for pace on several occasions, so it is hard to see why he should keep his place when he is contributing to the problems. Steve Cook also has a habit of getting his hand involved too often when trying to make clearances and was perhaps lucky not to have given a penalty away considering that Adam Smith did give one away for an equally poor clearance.

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The possession was good in the first half and there were times when the team looked menacing, but far too often Surman, Billing and Gosling made mistakes in their own half or further up the pitch that led to breaks that could have been punished. Burnley are not a high scoring team, but they managed three goals against Bournemouth and Bournemouth will have to go up against some of the top six teams in the next few weeks. Eddie Howe has to try and get the players to concentrate more and not make so many mistakes when in possession or the outcome will be even more unfavourable than the Burnley result.

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - It could have been embarrassing at Burnley but for Ramsdale

Tuesday, 25 February 2020

It could have been embarrassing at Burnley but for Ramsdale

I really don't want to keep giving man of the match choices to Aaron Ramsdale. It is hard not to though when he is often the only thing standing between Bournemouth a real hiding by some teams. The match at Burnley could have been high scoring for both teams but in the end it was bad enough at 3-0, and I'm sure it could have been much worse.

Ramsdale stretches out at Dena Court.

Burnley weren't scooping many of their shots wide of the goal like Bournemouth were. They needed Ramsdale to prevent most of their shots from going in. Ramsdale is becoming too busy in games and Bournemouth are not giving him nearly enough protection. We can see that Lerma is a big miss and with Aké also out in the last match, that is a big part of the defensive unit off the pitch. But Steve Cook and Simon Francis are experienced defenders so why didn't thy look comfortable with three central midfielders in front of them?

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Despite having a strong midfield and a lot of the possession, Bournemouth presented chances to Burnley more often than not. I didn't see Burnley having to play amazing football to get in with chances and Bournemouth had Ramsdale to thank rather too often. He at least, didn't go missing.

What Eddie Howe isn't doing is getting Bournemouth back to thinking enough about how good a clean sheet would be. It is all a bit gung-ho to try and win games and while wins are what Bournemouth need, the odd point in away games is no disgrace. But I don't think Bournemouth are anywhere near a level where they can get a clean sheet at the moment. That worries me.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Come on Eddie stop the rot

Come on Eddie stop the rot

The one thing Bournemouth fans have been clinging on to in this poor season is the fact that we have stuck with Eddie Howe. We know he is the best chance Bournemouth have at surviving a relegation battle, but Eddie is himself starting to look perplexed at the inability of his team to get the wins they need to get out of trouble. We need Eddie to stop the rot.

Winning seems so hard at the moment.

In his post-match interview, Eddie Howe was not as flat as he has been in some other chats after a Bournemouth defeat. The game against Burnley was end to end and did have its moments for Bournemouth fans to get excited, but ultimately it was a bit of a tragedy the way the game was taken away from the players in the second half. There is a tendency for Bournemouth fans and players to feel sorry for themselves, but we can't escape the fact that the Cherries made mistakes and that contributed to Burnley's win.

Coastal Garden Buildings

Eddie needs to get to the root of these problems. He has had most of the season to work out solutions, but because he has had so many injuries to players he never seems to get a break. But he has to get results from what he has now and we can't keep expecting something better if the players are going to give the ball away and switch off. Burnley scored their first goal with one long ball and Matej Vydra running at Simon Francis. It didn't take much to bypass nine of Bournemouth's players. We can argue about VAR forever, but the two early second half goals for Bournemouth completely sunk Bournemouth. There was no way back, and to lose a third goal was just a mark of how Burnley were enjoying the moment and were able to compound the misery of our players.

We have had too many games that have ended quickly once Bournemouth have gone behind. There needs to be a change of fortune and if all of Bournemouth's remaining bad luck came in this game, then we can look forward to something better in the next few weeks. Let's hope that Eddie really can stop the rot, because Bournemouth aren't looking capable of picking up points away from home.

Premier Talk - Liverpool 3 v 2 West Ham Utd - A let off for Bournemouth

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Another weekend a another defeat, what now for the Cherries?

Monday, 24 February 2020

Another weekend another defeat, what now for the Cherries?

It is easy to get down after watching Bournemouth at the moment. We are constantly hanging on the results of others to see if our plight is going to get worse. The disappointment for me is not that Bournemouth are simply losing games, but that we know the players are much better than what they have been producing.

Disappointment hits AFCB fans again.

The more the players get caught up in the pressure to play well though, the worse they seem to get. We had some hope with the wins over Aston Villa and Brighton, but on the road the Cherries have been pretty toothless, scoring just one goal against Sheffield United since the start of the year at away grounds. The thing is that Bournemouth have been really in games. They could have got something at Bramall Lane and they could have got something at Turf Moor, but they aren't picking up points.

The teams Bournemouth are playing are often not even playing decisively better, but Bournemouth are almost expecting the worst and unfortunately it's happening. I think that is just what happens when you are near the foot of the table. It's not that the players are not trying, but they haven't got their game together and they are starting to believe the worse could happen.

Eddie Had a Dream eBook version -available now!

The players need to snap out of their plight and start seeing that they can change things. They can keep feeling down about their situation or they can come out fighting. The fans will get behind them if the come out and try to raise their game. It's painful to see players that have done so well in the Premier League look like they have forgotten how to play well.

Bournemouth's problems are probably mainly in their heads. The players still have the talent but they have too many negative thoughts in their heads. I say that because when things went against them at Burnley, we didn't see them managing to up their skill. Instead they got more tetchy and we saw bookings and aggression rather than calm heads and clear thinking. Pressure does strange things to us all, but Bournemouth have to find away of coping with it fast.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - We celebrated twice, but there was no joy at Burnley

We celebrated twice but there was no joy at Burnley

There is no doubt that VAR has changed football in the Premier League. You won't get clearer evidence of that than the defeat that Bournemouth suffered at Burnley. Matters conspired against the Cherries in some dramatic moments but it is becoming hard to celebrate goals these days when we know that VAR can take them away in a matter of minutes.

VAR took away potential points for the Cherries.

That is what happened at Burnley. I thought the goal that King thought he had scored was particularly unlucky in that Billing was not looking at the ball, but was turning away from it when he was judged to have handled it with the ball coming off his shoulder before king rushed in to score. There is no doubt thought that Billing's contribution was key in the goal being scored and if the ball was redirected towards goal because of his intervention from a part of his body that is technically up for scrutiny in the rules, then you can understand why the VAR decision was made. There was no intention from Billing and it was perhaps ball to shoulder rather than shoulder moving towards the ball. The shoulder is not actually considered part of handball, so Bournemouth were very unlucky.

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The second decision for the handball from Adam Smith was much harsher. It not only ruled out a goal for Bournemouth but gave a penalty to Burnley as well. A two-goal swing if you like made by VAR and not the referee. Mike Dean didn't see any problem with Adam Smith's clearance at the time and whether it was a clear and obvious mistake by the referee was sure to be questioned by Eddie Howe. Sadly, any criticism of the officials and, more than ever VAR, has to be put aside and Bournemouth have to recover their spirit.

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For both goals Bournemouth fans thought they had got closer towards safety and it was cruelly taken away from the team. But these knocks can make Bournemouth stronger. The players will feel that they deserve more from games and they'll be even more fired up for the next match.

Previous post in Cherry Chimes - VAR sickener for the Cherries at Burnley as two goals disallowed

Sunday, 23 February 2020

VAR sickener form the Cherries at Burnley as two goals disallowed

Match Report

Burnley v AFCB

22 February 2020

Attendance: 18,227

Another big day for VAR.

VAR had the biggest say in Bournemouth's match against Burnley. Chances fell to Callum Wilson and Matej Vydra in the first few minutes, but the shock of the first half was to see a Bournemouth Josh King goal ruled out by VAR for the ball previously coming off Billing's shoulder. Vydra had other chances to score as Francis struggled to keep him at bay, but so did Harry Wilson and Jack Stacey who couldn't beat Nick Pope, so it was 0-0 at half-time. That was nothing to the second half with Vydra putting the Clarets in front before Harry Wilson thought he had equalised, only to find that Adam Smith had made a handball in the build up and a penalty was awarded to Burnley with Jay Rodriguez making it 2-0. The game had gone and Burnley made sure with a late third goal from McNeil which was the pick of the goals. Even VAR hates Bournemouth now.

More bad news on the injury front saw Jefferson Lerma out with a back injury and Nathan Aké missing out having been concussed in mid-week training. Bournemouth really weren't helping themselves, but Steve Cook was back, while Rico was dropped to the bench to enable Jack Stacey to come in with Adam Smith moving to left back. Josh King also replaced Ryan Fraser on the left wing.

Burnley had their own problems with Chris Woods and Ashley Branes missing out but they brought in Jay Rodrigues and Matej Vydra.

It was a really gusty day at Turf Moor and Bournemouth could expect to be tested under the high ball with plenty of crosses aimed at Rodriguez. A former Burnley player' Brian Pilkington's life was celebrated with a minutes applause.

Match Description
Bournemouth started well enough with plenty of touches at the back. Gosling played a good ball into Callum Wilson and he crossed for King, but was just kept off the ball. A snap shot from Calum Wilson is just saved by Pope's outstretched foot. Great start from the Cherries.

King is getting plenty of the ball on the left but is held up by two Burnley defenders. Adam Smith is bringing the ball out well. Bournemouth are looking to pinch the ball whenever they can. McNeil to Rodriguez and Francis blocks for a corner.

Stacey does well to stop Burnley's McNeil on the left wing. Stacey puts a cross in but Billing doesn't connect well.

A mess between Bournemouth defenders, Billing and Stacey looked at each other and Cork has a shot from 20 yards saved by Ramsdale. Sloppy from Bournemouth.

Francis gets it all wrong against Vydra who is in behind and beats Steve Cook but Ramsdale makes an amazing save on 11 minutes, down to his left. Bournemouth were far too open and we know Vydra has the pace to trouble Francis.

Harry Wilson does well to win possession. Simon Francis and Steve Cook look nervous at the back though and concede another corner. Surman puts it out for another corner. Bardsley goes through the back of Callum Wilson and is lucky to get away without a card.

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Stacey has a head injury. Harry Wilson as a drop shot but it's well wide on 18 minutes. Billing flows forward and has a shot deflected off Tarkowski for a corner on 21 minutes. It's in the cross from Surman went right across the six yard box and as it got flicked on by Billing and King could stab the ball home 0-1.

No, it's disallowed by VAR. Looks like Billing's shoulder but a very harsh decision on Bournemouth. It looked ball to shoulder and not shoulder to ball.

Cross from King and Harry Wilson heads it straight at Nick Pope! Bournemouth have had three great chances to be ahead, but haven't taken any of them. Bournemouth have at least been making chances.

Stacey wins a corner. Surman has a shot blocked. Callum Wilson can't get a shot away. Surman makes a mistake with Stacey on half way but McNeil can't make the most of it.

Gosling just gets back in time to take the ball off of Vydra as he cut in past Steve Cook. Bournemouth are starting to lose the ball in areas where they are under little pressure, it's careless. King wins a free kick against Bardesley.

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Billing tackles back but has given a free kick away. Steve Cook struggles to get the ball away with the ball flicking off the defender's right hand. Vydra is offside with a ball over the top.

King in the left to Stacey and the shot is saved by Pope at his left post. At the other end Ramsadale has to come out to stop Vydra, Francis headed it backwards straight to Vydra.

Ramsdale makes a punch. Burnley getting some possession as the first half come towards a close. Francis is booked, taking down Vydra, two minutes to half -time. The ball is deflected for a corner. Ramsdale catches cleanly.

A long shot from McNeil is held by Ramsdale. More blocks by Bournemouth defenders. It's a free kick to Bournemouth. Just one minute of added time.

AFCB possession 60%, Shots 8, Shots on target 3, Fouls 2
Burnley possession 40%, Shots 7, Shots on target 4, Fouls 4

Second half
Francis skies a clearance. The wind is against Bournemouth this half. Gosling wins the ball well. Adam Smith gets a cross in which is knocked behind by McNeil for a corner to Bournemouth.

Taylor wins a Burnley corner. Surman heads it out on the near post. Bournemouth clear again. Callum Willson wins a soft foul. Bournemouth needed some possession. Pope punches clear.

Vydra on the break has cut inside Francis and shoots past Ramsdale it's 1-0 to Burnley on 52 minutes. VAR is reviewing the goal for a possible offside. The goal has been given. Francis just out played and over committed.

Bournemouth have to come out now. A shot from Gosling is held by Poe low to his left. Tarkowski now plays for time to slow the game down.

Callum Wilson breaks free and Harry Wilson has scored through the legs to make it 1-1 on 57 minutes, it's another VAR check. Did Adam Smith handball it? The goal has been disallowed and it's a penalty to Burnley. Ramsdale is beaten by Jay Rodrigues from the spot 2-0 on the hour.

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Bardsley is booked for a foul on Josh King. Bournemouth prepare a double sub. Fraser and Stanislas are coming on. A shot from Westwood is held by Ramsdale.

Burnley win a corner off Steve Cook. Surnam and Josh King are replaced on 70 minutes. Billing concedes a free kick and Ramsdale saves from Rodriguez, down to his right.

Ramsdale against Rodriguez one-on-one but Ramsdlae wins the battle and stands big. Steve Cook was beaten by the pass and Rodriguez should have scored.

Harry Wilson is subbed fir Solanke on 74 minutes. Solanke makes a block from Jack Cork. Another chance for Burnley and Vydra has missed at the far post. Hendrick made the play from teh right and it came across the box and it was a tap in for Vydra really.

It's becoming end to end now. Just 10 minutes to go. A strike from McNeil and he's hit the post from 25 yards. Burnley sub Vydra from Lennon on 82 minutes. Lennon is carded for fouling Surman.

Lennon gets a cross in, but Bournemouth get it clear. Billing loses the ball. Bournemouth keep losing possession and this time they are punished as McNeil breaks and fires in a third on 87 minutes 3-0 to Burnley.

Another yellow card is handed out to Hendrick on Fraser. It's all kicking off with Adam Smith going in on Tarkowski. A yellow card to Adam Smith.

Burnley sub Cork and McNeil and on come Brownhill and Bradey on 90+1 minutes. Four minutes of added time are being played. Stacey is in and crosses and Callum Wilson has fired wide from six yards!

Solanke is taken down by Ben Mee on the edge of the box. Mee is yellow carded. Stanislas will take the free kick. It goes wide and that's it.

Summary
Bournemouth won't have many more painful games than this one. The score line was unjust, but Bournemouth didn't take their chances and VAR came in to sweep the game away from the Cherries. At the end of the day the Cherries had no luck and while as fans we can be encouraged by the first half performance. Football is cruel sometimes and Bournemouth simply have to recover better than they did in this game.

AFCB Starting line up

AFCB Subs: Boruc, Rico, Simpson, L Cook, Stanislas, Fraser, Solanke

AFCB Ratings:
Ramsdale 8, Stacey 6, Francis 3, S Cook 5, A Smith 6, H Wilson 5, Gosling 4, Surman 5, Billing 4, King 7, C Wilson 5

Burnley

1 Pope, 26 Bardsley, 5 Tarkowski, 6 Mee, 3 Taylor, 13 Hendrick, 18 Westwood,
4 Cork (Brownhll 90+1), 11 McNeil (Bradey 90+1), 19 Rodriguez, 27 Vydra (Lennon 82)

Burnley Subs:
20 Hart, 7 Gudmundsson, 8 Brownhill, 12 Brady, 23 Pieters, 25 Lennon, 28 Long

Cherry Chimes MoM: Aaron Ramsdale

Ref Watch: Mike Dean 5/10 A hard game to referee but the decisions were largely taken out of his hands. A few more yellow cards may perhaps escaped him though.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Can Bournemouth get their first away win of 2020?

Congratulations Tyson Fury - WBC, Ring and Lineal Heavy Weight Champion of the World!

Fellow football fan link
AFC Wimbledon are trying to get back to Plough Lane. They have launched the PloughLaneBond scheme to try and raise funds.

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