Rival Lines: Being Newcastle manager is not a difficult job

Rival Lines
Match Preview: Newcastle Utd v AFCB
Blogger Interview: Toon Bano
Twitter: @ToonBano

I had the pleasure of squeezing a few Rival Lines out of Bano at Toon Bano this week. He must be delighted with how Newcastle have started this season and the love for Rafa Beitez seems to know no boundaries up at St James Park.

CC: What has Benitez got right that other Newcastle Utd managers were unable to do?

TB: He has made a true effort to understand the club and its fans. He does something remarkable that not many other managers have done...actually listen to them. Genuis eh? Whenever he meets a fan, or someone from the media with links to the club, he asks them what they think of the team etc and listens. Being Newcastle manager is not as difficult a job as previous managers have made it. Just lock your ego in a drawer somewhere and understand the club properly, instead of making your own mind up through arrogance and ignorance.

CC: While Matt Ritchie has not been in the Scotland squad of late, would you say he is now the complete Premier League player?

TB: I am not sure what the 'complete' Premier League player is, how do you define it?, but he is definitely Premier League standard. I was as surprised as anyone to see him drop into the Championship to join us from yourselves but I am glad he did. He sets the benchmark in our team in terms of hard work and determination [Ed- That sounds like the complete PL player to me!]. He is a players' player and a manager's dream to work with.

CC: Christian Atsu is another former Bournemouth player although we saw little of him at Dean court. What would you say is his best strength?

TB: His pace. Easily. He has a bit of skill and can stick the ball in the net on his day but he can be frustrating at times. He is your typical winger. I remember him going to Bournemouth and was very surprised Eddie didn't use him more often before his injury cut his loan spell short.

CC: Mike Ashley has put Newcastle Utd up for sale which many fans have wanted but is the timing a bit awkward if you need funds in January and things have nit been sorted?

TB: Well, Mike Ashley doesn't do anything unless it's for self-gain. There will be a reason why he has decided to go public putting Newcastle up for sale but only he and his advisors will really know what that is. He did say he will give Rafa money to spend in January if he doesn't find a buyer but I will expect that to be very little.

CC: Jonjo Shelvey had a mad start to the season in the match against Spurs, getting an early red card, but has he calmed down now and started to play better?

TB: He has calmed down but I have said that before, Jonjo is the type of character that needs two, three or maybe more chances before he gets himself right in the head...and even then he still might not be completely right. Just when you think he is past his misdemeanours, he goes and does something ridiculous. He has always played well for us so there are no worries on that front.

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CC:  Have you been surprised a how easily the points have come for Newcastle so far this season?

TB: Well, they haven't come easy that's for sure but I am not surprised by our start. I was adamant at the start of the season that we were far better than some relegation fodder, with a team full of Championship players, that many were labelling us as That's is total nonsense. We have a few Championship standard players in and around the first XI but so do many clubs. Bournemouth included. Plus we have a world class manager. Only a handful of teams in the Premier League can say the same. Rafa is the key to everything. How anyone can say he would be relegated given a full season is beyond me.

CC:  Which defender has played best in the team so far?

TB: Most of them have been excellent this season but if you would pick one you would say captain Jamaal Lascelles, 23, has come of age this season. The youngest captain in the league and has been rock solid. He wasn't even in the first team at the start of the season believe it or not such is our strength at centre-back, but he is the first name on the team sheet now.

CC: Have Newcastle got any injuries ahead of this game?

TB: Mikel Merino has a back injury and a doubt for the game which is a blow for us. The young Spaniard has been phenomenal in midfield. He was so good we took the option to make his loan-deal permanent last month! No messing around. Paul Dummett has been out since the first game of the season and apart from that we have a pretty healthy squad.

CC: How do you think Newcastle will set up for the game?

TB: We will set up the same as we always do. 4-4-1-1 with Perez and Joselu defending from the front with two banks of four without the ball. We will look to frustrate your boys by plugging gaps and chasing everything down. This will be a very interesting game on Saturday. In Boxing, styles make fights, and the styles of these two teams is very different and a cracking match up.

CC: What is your score prediction?

TB: I have gone for us to sneak it 1-0 but this game could be anything. If your boys show up and play to their potential it will be a difficult game for us. We are all about staying organised and being very precise with our passing. One thing we definitely have over you though is at set-pieces. This could be the deciding factor as your boys HATE trying to defend them. Trust me, I see it every week!

CC: A great set of answers from Bano and I think he has give AFCB fans a good idea of what Newcastle are all about. This season I would say AFCB have been better at defending set-pieces bar the opening game against WBA, the problem has been in shooting frequently enough and on target. But the match up between these two teams will be fascinating if Bournemouth also line up as a 4-4-1-1 formation As I expect. It could be just like-for-like and individual battles I feel will decide the day. Bournemouth have shown they win games when they score twice but can they do it against a side being led by Rafa Benitez who is a tactical mastermind? Eddie has to be on top of his managerial game if he is to out whit Newcastle and Benitez.

Do check out Toon Bano where the Ginger Pirlo has his say on the Toon Army.

Newcastle are difficult to beat at home

Last summer anyone looking at the disappointment of Raffa Benitez seeing few of his transfer targets come to fruition. But the Geordies have started the season very well and of the newly promoted teams they are the highest placed currently.

Off we go to St James Park.

It may be good for Newcastle that they have collected so many points early on as their points have come against the bottom six sides. They are strong at set-pieces and Lascelles at the back can get on the end of corners and free kicks. Atsu tends to play on the left but can drift into the middle, while Ritchie favours the right side. It's Jonjo Shelvey who likes to get hold of the ball in the middle and dictate the passes from the middle. Mohamed Diame was meanwhile picked up from Hull City in 2016 and adds protective cover in front of the back four, although he can be used in the whole as a number 10.

The defence has been solid with the left side protected by new summer signing Javier Manquillo and Florian Lejeune and Jamaal Lascelles well capable of dealing with the high balls at the back, while DeAndre Yedellin may not get forward much but he is quick to get across on the right when Newcastle are being attacked from the flank.

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Newcastle have bot been scoring a tremendous amount of goals and whether Dwight Gayle will be given more opportunities as the season goes on will be something Benitez will have to wrestle with you'd imagine. At the moment it is Joselu who is getting the nod and who scored recently against Liverpool slightly fortuitously. Perez can also be a good runner up front, while Mikel Merino and Mitrovic have been mainly used as subs.

In all Newcastle are a tidy side. They have scored more than two goals just the once, against West Ham and will endeavour to press high. Make mistakes and Newcastle will usually punish you, and what I like about Raffa is that he tries to keep the same players starting as much as possible - no wonder they have been building their confidence.

Newcastle Utd's Home Form
LWWDW

AFCB's Away Form
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We have ToonBano on Cherry Chimes' Rival Lines tomorrow to get the inside fan view on Newcastle Utd.

Did Bournemouth miss a trick with Newcastle winger?

When AFC Bournemouth were promoted to the Premier League in 2015 they needed to add quality and they did this through the loan system and landed a big fish in Ghanaian international Christian Atsu. Yet, the loan period from Chelsea was not profitable for Christian who only played in two League Cup matches and he was quickly recalled by and annoyed Jose Mourhinio. It’s been a different story for Christian though on Tyneside where he has become a fan’s favourite.

Christian just couldn't get in a league team for AFCB. Next thing is
he is helping Newcastle win a Championship and now
he has been signed up on Tyneside

Newcastle were quickly in to sign Atsu in June following his successful campaign with Newcastle in the Championship in 2016/17. The Ghanaian scored five goals in the Geordies’ promotion run and a price-tag of £6.2m sounds a reasonable outlay for an international player that has 42 caps and has been in a World Cup squad.

So did AFC Bournemouth miss a trick? The player that mainly kept Atsu out of the Cherries’ team was a certain Matt Ritchie who of course is now at Newcastle. The fact that Rafa Benitez has managed to get both players into his team is either a tale that Atsu has improved and Newcastle had less competition for places or Bournemouth’s wingers were exceptional to keep Atsu out of the team.

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If the latter is true, Newcastle haven’t done too badly as Atsu will be looking to impress in the top flight and with the Geordie crowd behind him, he has everything to play for. For once, Eddie How might have missed out on a player that just needed some games.

Sometimes players need to be give a chance and now that Atsu has found that at Newcastle he looks like a bargain buy. 

HITC - Blades hopeful of Ryan Leonard deal

Nathan Aké strengthens AFCB's back line

AFCB have signed Nathan Aké of Chelsea on loan for next season. Aké played for Watford for most of last season at left back and will give competition to Charlie Daniels, Tyrone Mings and Rhoys Wiggins for a place in the side.

The last couple of season-loan players for AFCB have not really worked out in the case of Christian Atsu and Juan Iturbe, but there is more promise perhaps with Nathan that has already proved his worth in the Premier League. The Netherlands U21 international was Watford's young player of the season in 2015-16 and has played 12 times for Chelsea.

Nathan Aké at Dean Court last October.

This is an important signing in terms of the quality that AFCB need. The back four was not overly strong last season and while the left back role was mainly held by Charlie Daniels it is expecting a lot of him to play just as many games again in this coming season and to have some options must be a bonus for the side. Nathan has also played in a Champions League match for Chelsea so there is no doubting his quality and it is likely that we will see a lot of him at Dean Court. Nathan can also play in midfield and is a product of the Feyenoord youth academy.

It does take a little pressure off of Tyrone Mings to make it back early and I would expect that he will be targeting the second half of the season to be in contention for team selection now that more cover has been brought in for the left back position. 

Is Juan Iturbe ready to scrap for his place?

The first sight AFCB fans had of Juan Iturbe was a second half appearance against West Ham which did not turn out as well as he or AFCB would have liked. Juan managed to have a few runs and had a shot turned round the post, but if Eddie Howe sees him as an impact player that can conjure up a goal with a moment of magic, it will be very interesting to see in which games Juan is played.

Juan may find he gets to play ball with the Black Cats this weekend.

Juan has much on his plate in having just moved to the town and having a new club to get used to, as well as a strange language and a new way of playing to learn in this AFCB side. It was perhaps a risk to drop him in at the deep end against a top six side like West Ham, but it may make it easier for him in away. It could arguably more difficult to see a new player find his feet in what will be a real scrap up at the Stadium of Light where there will be no hiding place. He'll find that he won't get much time on the ball and it is the pace of the English game that I believe is the hardest thing for foreign players to adapt to straight away.  

I had to laugh a little during Juan interview when he gave his first impressions of Bournemouth as a town. He noticed that in January it is cold on the south cost and was looking forward to the summer. I just though he might get a bit more of a shock when he visits Sunderland this weekend. He may feel it's not so bad training at Dean Court after all.

Eddie Howe certainly likes to have many wingers at the club and I guess Juan will have a big scrap himself just to get selected in the squad when players such as Max Gradel and Josh King are back fit. It is vital though that loan signings do contribute to the team I feel as unless they get minutes at the club it will make it harder for other loan signings to feel that they will get a chance when signing for AFCB. We have seen Joe Bennett and Christian Atsu, perhaps for no fault of their own, find it hard to make an impact on the pitch even if they trained and in Bennett's case was so often unused sub. 

I was watching Juan Iturbe on Saturday and wondering what was going through his head as we were coming up to 80 minutes or so when he was warming up with Shaun MacDonald. On this occasion he was not going to get the signal from the bench, but this Saturday could be different.

New AFCB Wallet up for grabs.

Score Prediction competition
Win yourself a new AFCB zipped wallet just by predicting the correct score line of the game between Sunderland v AFCB. Tweet your prediction to @PeterBell19 and follow.

Many thanks to Cherry Chimes sponsors for enabling us to offer some competition prizes with their continued support - Natterjacks Vets, Broomhill Garden Buildings and AltamiraDeco. Make sure you mention Cherry Chimes and have a good chat about AFCB when visiting these local businesses.

Transfer Watch
AFCB may be moving away from their interest in QPR's Matt Phillips with the Daily Mail now linking them with Motherwell winger Marvin Johnson.

Depleted squad means some players will have to fill holes

The Cherries are fairly well stretched at the moment. They have players that are injured in every section of the team now, and so we may well see players filing in positions that they are slightly less familiar with, and the team will have to change a round a little just to give some players a rest.

We saw that at Man City Matt Ritchie was moved to the left to accommodate Adam Smith on the right wing. While Matt had a good game, I wonder if AFCB will get the best out of him there? The move probably had more to do with what Man City were likely to do than about how AFCB wanted to attack, but as the squad is now being fully-utilised there could be some surprises in where players pop up on the team sheet.

I'm sure it is not how Eddie wants to go about setting up the team. He'd rather pick a side that has the most potential for scoring goals and causing problems for the opposition rather than trying to nullify their threat on goal. Adapting the team too much though is not helpful. A settled side is what everyone will want if results are to pick up. There have not been many occasions when so many positions have been a bit of a question mark, but the injury list is adding to the selection issues and picking the best side is becoming a more difficult part of Eddie Howe's week now.

Joe Bennett is probably itching to play his part on the field on match day
even if he has been a great help already during training. 

It is possible that he might hit upon something that works in training that he can bring into the team, but I'd almost rule out nothing now as he looks for some solutions. It is clear that the utility players are becoming more evident in the team. O'Kane, Smith and MacDonald are getting game time now. Cargill, Bennett, Rantie and Atsu have not yet experienced the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth, but they are probably just seconds away from it now and it is going to be important for them they start well when they do get involved.


Do check out All Departments today. If you visit the All Departments' Website you'll be able to hear a podcast with White Bear which is a new sponsor for the podcast.

Murray is fitting in well

Two goals in two games. It's not a bad start for Glenn Murray. Who said that the Cherries would be toothless in attack without Callum Wilson? While Glenn is a different type of striker he has shown that he is a powerful Premier League striker and is capable of getting the goals that the team need to pull them up the table.

Glenn has two goal in his last two games.

Glenn's goal against Man City came a bit unexpectedly. At the time the Cherries were 2-0 down and had been punished for their mistakes, but they were still playing their strong passing game and that is what really led to the goal. Some of the sweeping passes from Surman and then O'Kane just opened up the run on goal for Murray. It was one touch football and very crisp and clean movement that punches a hole in the Man City defence. Glenn still had plenty of work to do and ran strongly towards the box before hitting his powerful strike past Joe Hart who was beaten by the pace and accuracy from about 20 yards out. 

There was certainly a lot more balls hit early up to Glenn during the game and he is starting to look more at home in the team. That is a really big thing for the team to grasp hold of now. They know that they can hurt teams with Murray's finishing and he can finish in various ways with head and feet. Getting him into the positions to hurt teams is what Eddie Howe will be working on and it looks like Josh King is going to have to find a way of making the partnership work especially at home.

In some ways I am hoping that Glenn's form is encouraging for others. I'd also like to see a Christian Atsu or a Tokelo Rantie get some playing time running off of Murray. It is a bit early for that yet but we could well see that at some point this season. 

Shoot has released an article of mine on Harry Arter, possible Eddie Howe's best ever signing. You can read it at Shoot's website.

Is pace all important for the Cherries?

Are the Cherries off the pace? Well it is true that the side is not equipped with as much pace up front as they had at the start of the season but it does not necessarily mean that playing with a different attitude means that the team will slip down the table. Eddie Howe can look at games in a more individual way than he might have before as it will be even more important that he gets the very best out of the players that are available now, and I don't think that will mean a settled side for some time to come.

If Eddie Howe wants to continue with a forward line that has pace then he'll have to look to get King, Atsu, Stanislas and Rantie into more games. And yet there is good reason for trying to play more tactically against some teams and we have seen only this last week with the Republic of Ireland's win against Germany that keeping a team's defensive shape can bring big rewards when the opposition get frustrate and tired, and there is potential to bring on quick forwards in the second half to get a win.

Eddie has been very keen to play possession football though and to do that he needs ball winners and players who can add movement and passing to the team in a more controlled fashion. Can AFCB play with more patience and use the talents of Tomlin and Kermorgant on a more regular basis? I suspect that there has been some long discussions about how the team can freshen up and still have the ability to sting teams quickly when they do press high and win possession. We could see AFCB look to be more compact and harder to play through if Eddie does not rely on pace, but there is a danger that the team will fall back in its own half under such situations and against the likes of Man City it is something that Eddie is probably keen to avoid. 

Yann may still have to wait if Eddie goes with pace again.

I think greater movement and power in midfield is the answer and Harry Arter's inclusion in the match day squad is what I am most keen to see. Without pace the team will need quick thinking players and more strength in the centre. It is really going to be intriguing to see what Eddie does against the more favoured teams in the next few weeks and how he will try and take points off of them if he can't rely on pace.

Enjoy the game if you are heading up to Manchester - you might see me there. UTCIAD! Thanks for all those that sent in their score predictions.

A quick word with captain Tommy Elphick

While the barriers tend to go up at the reception to the Vitality Stadium on match days since the team has reached the prowess of the top flight and more red carpet is seen around the entrance than the loose grit that used to adorn the surroundings, you can still manage to get close to the players and have a word with them now and again which is what I managed to do for a brief moment with Tommy Elphick before the team played Watford.

Tommy was not playing on the day as he had sustained an injury to his ankle a few weeks before when playing at Norwich City. The talk about the captain’s injury had died down rather since the club had informed everyone through the official website that Tommy had been to see a specialist in Sweden to get a second opinion on his troublesome joint that had swollen up after the game at the Canaries. So on seeing him walking, with more than a slight limp towards me, at the back of the Ted MacDougall side, I was momentarily shocked to see him walking gingerly towards me and chatting to people as he moved along. I had my camera in my hands and quickly shouted “Hi, Tommy!” at the top of my voice. I needed to get his attention to make sure he would put on a smile for me and sure enough he did.

I hope I don't have to wait to long to see this sight again.

Friendly as ever, he came right over to me and said hello before stopping and waiting to see what I was going to ask. “Hi, Tommy ,” I said “How’s the ankle?”

“Not good,” he said. “It’s still painful.”

I asked him about his trip to Sweden and how things went and he was a little more forthcoming.

“Yeah, I saw my specialist. He said it wasn’t good. He knows what it is though, which is something,” replied Tommy.

“Okay,” I said. “How long are you out for then?”

“Hard to say,” came to the reply.

“What a couple of months then,” I guessed, trying to eek out a more exact timescale for the recovery period.

“At least two months probably,” said Tommy “but I don’t think that is out yet officially.”

Oops, I hope I have not landed Tommy in it too deep by letting you all know that he is not expecting an early return to the team. But then that is our players, honest and approachable. I still hope that the club will say that Tommy is making great progress and early assessments may not be correct when things settle down and that we see him back sooner.

Still I was of course disappointed to hear the way things sound, but Tommy was very calm in his response and seemed to have come to terms with his own disappointment of missing some games. 

While not wanting to jump in before the club said anything more official about another probable long term injury I waited until the international break to post anything on the blog, but hearing that Tommy is not likely to feature in the next couple of months deprives the team of the player and his influence as a captain on the field, even if not off it. The players might have to get used to that for a bit.

He’ll bounce back as quick as he can I am sure, but things could have gone much better for Eddie Howe and for a lot of his players and as we have already heard it gives a chance for others to come into the team  and many have been staggered at just how well Sylvain Distin has played.

Sadly, I see that Christian Atsu is to miss the Ghana friendly against Canada as he has had a knock in training last week. Tokelo Rantie has also withdrawn from the Bafana Bafana international squad after a thigh injury. Let's hope we hear better news on the AFCB injury front soon.

Pleasingly, the players are still finding time though to talk to the fans and are willing to share their news. I believe they know how much us fans are willing them to succeed and are praying that they can all recover quicker than expected. Whatever knocks they seem to get, our players are there to give something back to the fans and I think that is tremendous in these times. I believe a lot of that is down to the way Eddie Howe has told the players how important the fans are to the club and no matter what happens this season, all the players know we will do everything we can to help them through the difficult times.

Was it best to let Fraser go out on loan?

Ryan Fraser has been on fire since his loan move to Ipswich this summer. He has already netted three times for the Suffolk team, has been their player of the month and has scored for Scotland's U21. In short, his form has been top class and having been set the challenge to play regularly in the Championship and bring his game on, Ryan has been ticking off all the challenges and more so far. But in light of what has happened to the Cherries in terms of injuries, there is part of me thinking that maybe it was a mistake to give Fraser a season-long loan at Ipswich Town when he is developing so fast.

Ryan is making a big statement at Ipswich already.

Ryan Fraser did not play that many games last season and was mainly used as a sub but he is already showing that he is more than capable of being one of the star players in the Championship this season, a fact that has not escaped Mick McCarthy who even tried to see if Ipswich could sign Ryan permanently. While AFCB turned any such thoughts down by offering Ryan a new contract last month, AFCB fans must wonder whether it would have been just as good to see Ryan run out at Dean Court in the Premier League considering the kind of form he is in.

The left side of AFCB's is still well served by Marc Pugh, Josh King and Junior Stanislas but the loss of Max Gradel was certainly a big blow. Ryan plays a very direct style that is not really matched by other wingers at the club and while a full year in the Championship will bring his game on his services could probably have been equally effective at the higher level even if sub appearances are all that Eddie Howe could have offered him. I guess that is the nub of the matter. The manager wants Ryan to get games under his belt and he just could not guarantee him that at AFCB this season. He wanted to try and bring in new players like King and Atsu and these players will have to show that they are worthy of that inclusion in the squad. 

While it is hard to see another team benefiting from Ryan's strong form, it is important that he keeps that going and has his eye's set on coming back to AFCB next summer knowing what a good player he is becoming. While I want AFCB to stay in the Premier league for more than one season, I am particularly hoping for Ryan that the team achieves that so that we can see him running out for the Cherries in the top league. Well done Ryan - keep it going!

Premier Talk has an article that whispers - now is the time to get a lead on the slow starters.

All Departments has a new podcast out with AFCB Head of Media and Communications - Max Fitzgerald. Visit All Departments or scroll down Cherry Chimes to the All Departments' logo and press on it to listen in.
Finally, Happy Birthday Tommy Elphick!

Seagulls, injured Atsu and Stanislas goals - Yeovil beaten 0-3

Match Description

Yeovil Town 0 v 3 AFCB

28 July 2015

Attendance 2442 (687 Cherries)

The late night sunshine at Huish Park saw a string AFCB line up start the game against Yeovil and they were rewarded early on with a goal from the penalty spot taken by Junior Stanislas after Marc Pugh had been tripped in the box. Earlier in the first half Wes Fogden had deflected Josh King's shot on to the post as AFC Bournemouth applied lots of pressure, but Eddie Howe was more concerned with Christian Atsu who hobbled down the tunnel on half an hour after possibly pulling his hamstring. With the score at 0-1 at half time and Rantie on for the injured Atsu it was hoped that the Cherries could extend their lead. Stanisals duly obliged with a tight finish just a couple of minutes into the second half. Players started to slow the pace as they tired, but Josh King made the game safe at 0-3.

Yeovil tweeted the seagull's moment of stardom.

Eddie Howe kept to his promise by mixing up a team to face Yeovil from a selection of U21 Development squad players and some members of the first team. The only surprise for me was that Josh King started rather than Tokelo Rantie. A fee was agreed between Blackburn Rovers and AFCB for Josh King today so he is now an AFCB player for certain next season. Junior Stanislas was playing behind King and Pugh on the left with Atsu on the right wing in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Both terrace at either end were closed and so the fans were in the stands on either side of the pitch - one Bournemouth fan tweeted that the sun was right in the AFCB fan's eyes!

Match Description
The Cherries won much early possession. Marc Pugh had the first shot but dragged it wide. Junior Stanislas then went close. Shaun MacDonlad was in control on midfield, but even he had to stop play when a bird on the pitch stopped the match!

Pugh then won a free kick and the Cherries hit the post! king's shot was deflected onto the post by Wes Fogden. Stanislas then jinks into the box and Pugh is up ended. Penalty! Junior Stanislas to take and it's 0-1 to the Cherries! There was some confusion over the penalty taker but it was definitely Junior Stanislas' goal.

Cook has a bit of a slip but recovers well. Yeovil were really struggling to get into the game. There was a worry that Atsu was going to have to come off. Indeed, he's off down the tunnel. It's a short appearance for Christian Atsu then - hamstring! Tokleo Rantie comes on early- only half an hour gone. New signing today -  Iffy Allen - is on for Yeovil replacing Jordan Gibbons!

Stanislas moves over to the right wing and King plays off Rantie who is up front. Rantie is already looking dangerous and almost gets played through by Pugh. As we near the end of the half  Artur Boruc finally has to make a save as Dolan hits a great volley from 20 yards out.

The second half hardly got started before that man Junior stanislas made his mark again having been put in by O'Kane and scored from an acute angle to make it 0-2. Adam Smith's positive run leads to another Stanislas shot but this one is saved. A promising free kick  opportunity soon  followed for AFCB from 25 yards out dead centre, but it's deflected and goes out for a throw. A rare Yeovil attack gives Artur Boruc a chance to reacquaint himself with the round object.

Rantie looks menacing again after Smith finds him but he overruns the ball. Next Rantie has a go at a volley but the flag goes up. Meanwhile, Yeovil make a double sub. It's still all AFCB though as King wins a corner.

It was King again making his presence felt when he made the game safe at 0-3 just after the hour with Mings providing the assist. Moments later King was replaced by Quigley. The subs are coming thick and fast now with Yeovil bringing on Matty Laird for Dolan and AFCB replaced Mings with new signing Costa at left back. Beck was also replaced by Yeovil for Bird.

Boruc has enough time to wave to the fans - not a lot to do for him tonight or for AFCB's back four. Joe Quigley heads the ball in after a Costa shot is deflected, but it's ruled out for offside! Stanislas is applauded off with 10 minutes to go and is replaced by Mason Walsh. Rantie then goes on a great run and wins a corner after not being able to get his shot away. Meanwhile Yeovil bring on Sowumi.

The game is running out of time but MacDonald wins another free kick. Macca is replaced. A late effort sees Yeovil head over! Josh Wakefield is on. That's it - Cherries win 0-3.


Teams
Cherries XI: Boruc, Smith, Cook (cpt), Distin, Mings, Stanislas, MacDonald, O'Kane, Pugh, Atsu, King

AFCB Substitutes: Holmes, O'Flaherty, Costa, Butcher, Wakefield, Carmichael, Walsh, Quigley, Rantie. 

Yeovil Town: Krysiak, Smith, Dolan, Lacey, Arthurworrey, Sokolik, Allen, Fogden, Dickson, Jeffers, Beck.

Yeovil subs: Weale, Bird, Burrows, Gibbons, Laird, Collins, Sowumni.

AFCB and Yeovil official match tweets

01: The game is underway at Huish Park.

05: First chance for #afcb , who have dominated the ball in the early stages. Pugh drags his shot wide:

Y 5: - Early pressure the visitors sees them force a corner but Town clear away.

05: Stanislas then has a curling effort blocked. #afcb experiencing a lot of joy on the left so far: 

08: Close again for #afcb as King tries to head on a ball into the box. The Cherries are firmly on top:

Y We have a pitch invader. A baby seagull has held up play. Now stewards and ground staff are chasing it.

Y We shall call the seagull Stephen. Stephen Seagull… get it

10: The groundsman has caught the bird! Play resumes at Huish Park

16: Off the post! King's shot is deflected on to the post by ex #afcb man Fogden: 

16: Junior Stanislas jinks his way into the Town area only to be denied by Krysiak.

17: Penalty to #afcb ! 

Y 17: Penalty to Bournemouth after Sokolik upends Pugh. Stanislas sends Krysiak the wrong way to make 0-1

18: Goal to #afcb

18: Pugh is tripped inside the area and Stanislas steps up to hammer home the spot kick. 1-0 to #afcb :

Y 30: Sub for #YTFC as Iffy Allen is replaced by Jordon Gibbons.

30: @ghanafaofficial's Atsu has just put the ball out of play after pulling up with an injury.

31: He goes straight down the tunnel & #bafanastriker Rantie is warming up

33: @afcbournemouth playing with ten men at the moment as Christian Atsu has gone down the tunnel, but hasn’t been replaced yet.

35: #bafana striker Rantie finally enters the pitch, much to the #afcb fans' delight. He replaces Atsu:

41: Superb volley from Dolan from 20 yards is well saved by Boruc low to his right.

45: There will be a minimum of one minute of additional time played here:

HALF TIME: #ytfc 0-1

Y Half time here at Huish Park. Bournemouth lead 1-0 thanks to a Junior Stanislas penalty after 17 minutes

Second Half
46: The second half is underway between #ytfc and#afcb :

47: GOAL to #afcb !

47: O'Kane plays in Stanislas and he finishes coolly from a tight angle. 2-0 to #afcb 

Y 47: Stanislas slots home under Krysiak to make it 2-0 to Bournemouth

51: Stanislas' free kick deflects away from goal.#afcb are still on top here

55: Rantie tries his luck with an acrobatic volley but it goes over, and the flag was up:

Y 55: Double sub for #YTFC. Dickson and Jeffers replaced by Jamie Burrows and trials Roddy Collins.

59: Arthurworrey pokes King's low cross into the side netting. #afcb still lead 2-0

Y 60: Tonight's attendance is 2,422 with 687 from#afcb .

61: GOAL to #afcb !

61: Mings plays the ball into King's path & he shrugs off the defender, & slots the ball beyond Krysiak

62: Bournemouth make it 3-0 as Josh King races clear to slot home past Krysiak.

65: Substitution for #afcb as King is replaced by Quigley

Y 69: Another sub for #YTFC. Marc Laird comes on to replace Matty Dolan.

69: Another substitution for #afcb as Mings is replaced by Costa:

80: The impressive Stanislas is replaced by Walsh for #afcb

80: Quigley has the ball in the back of the net as he meets Costa's cross, but the offside flag is up:

83: Sowumni comes on to replace Sokolik.

90: There will be two minutes of additional time played here. #afcb lead 3-0

90+1: Another substitution for #afcb as MacDonald is replaced by Wakefield

Full time! It finishes 3-0.