Cardiff match showed Cherries must tighten up

I have been watching Eddie Howe's team selections with great interest in recent weeks. At the back there has been much experimentation and while results have in the main been good it won't have pleased Edie to see the team let in three goals at home against Cardiff City. Such matches with the Bluebirds have typically been open games in recent meetings, but there is need to see why the Cherries were conceding with the swift attacks of Cardiff last Friday night.

The season opener will demand a strong defensive
 performance as well as attacking intent. 

The centre backs on the night were Sylvain Distin and Baily Cargill. It is a credit to Sylvain that on the night when the team was on the wrong side of a five goal match that he came out as the sponsor's man of the match. He did make some good clearances and made a stunning tackle in the box during the first half when Cardiff looked sure to score, but he'll need to show that his positional play and work with other centre backs is up to scratch for the Premier League games.

For Baily it is going to be a learning curve at the moment. He was probably a little disappointed to see his header land at a Cardiff player's feet for their second goal and Simon Francis was about to let out some frustration, when I think he saw that it was Baily who had guided the ball back across the six yard box, and decided to just hang his head down instead. Tommy Elphick or Steve Cook might have got both barrels, but it is important that the senior players help the younger ones out and don't upset their confidence. They can always go back to the training ground and advise on where matters might have gone slightly wrong later.

Adam Federici has had a strong pre-season, but he won't have been pleased to have been beaten so many times either. He certainly did not have much chance with Joe Ralls' piledriver but he'll want to show that it is difficult to get shots past him. With both Simon Francis and Charlie Daniels playing in the Cardiff match as full backs the Cherries might have thought that they would have stemmed the flow of Cardiff's attacks better, but the blue shirts penetrated with their long passes from the sides and caught AFCB out on more than one occasion. Now Eddie has to decide who has made the grade for that first game against Villa, while also doing more work on defensive duties.

Cherries lose out to Bluebirds in five goal thriller

Match Description

AFCB 2 V 3 Cardiff City

31 July 2015 Pre-season Friendly

Attendance est 4000

Cardiff City tweeted graphic.

AFCB sink to their first pre-season defeat in front of their home crowd. The Cherries expected a stern test against Championship outfit Cardiff City and they found themselves 2-1 down before half time. The best part of the first 45 minutes was Rantie's finish that had given the Cherries the lead on 27 minutes, but Cardiff proved dogged and soon took charge with Joe Ralls and Alex Revell putting them ahead. Things did not get much better when Revell added a third and only a goal from Marc Pugh made the score a little more respectable.

Eddie Howe picked a fairly strong squad with perhaps the surprise being that Distin and Cargill formed the centre back pairing. Harry Cornick was also brought in on the right, fuelling suspicion that Atsu may need more time to recover from his back complaint. Gosling also missed out with O'kane partnering Surman in midfield and Rantie and Kermorgant forming the front two.

Teams
Cherries: Federici, Francis, Cargill, Distin, Daniels, Surman, Pugh, Rantie,  Kermorgant, O'Kane, Cornick,

AFCB Subs: Allsop, Costa, Butcher, Matthews, Whitfield, Walsh, Quigley

Cardiff City: Moore, Peltier, Morrison, Connolly, Malone, Ralls, Whittingham, Dikgacoi, Pilkington, Mason, Revell.

Cardiff Subs: Wilson, Fabio, Noone, Doyle, O'Keefe, Kennedy, Harris, Ajayi, Ameobi.


Match Description as it happened
AFCB started by playing it along the back line with Cargill and Distin getting touches. Cardiff soon won possession though and had a shot with Peter Whittingham,but it was no problem for Federici. The Cherries were playing well though and keeping possession tightly for the most part. Rantie was looking to play on the last man, while Federici had to make a good catch from a Cardiff cross.

Cardiff started coming into the game a bit more with 10 minutes gone. Baily Cargill made a bad header and let Joe Mason in 1v1 but the Cardiff striker hit his shot over the bar! Distin then makes smart tackle to stop another Cardiff attack.

Yann Kermorgant tried to play Cornick in down the right but the winger made no run. Kermorgant was next to have a shot but it was weak at the Cardiff keeper.

Shooting was not looking hot on the night, Daniels the next to hit one over the bar while Rantie was then ruled offside. But Francis won a throw and Cargill played a ball into Rantie passes to Yann and his chip finds Ranite again who opens the scoring - 1-0 to AFCB!

The Cherries are in full flow now and O'Kane tries a curling shot that the keeper just manages to get to in the top corner. An early change sees Joe Quigley come on for Kermorgant. Joe Ralls has a chance for Cardiff from distance and makes it 1-1.

The pressure is really on AFCB all of a sudden. Cardiff win a corner and it's headed off the line by Quigley. Pugh heads another clear but it's 1-2 to the visitors!Alex Revell puts the Bluebirds ahead right on half time.

Cardiff's media team had enough pleasure in the first half to make this rather natty graphic.

Second Half
Sub Quigley is replaced by Matt Butcher. AFCB were looking sharp again and a cross almost gave Rantie the perfect opportunity to score but he was blocked at the last second.

It's been AFCB mainly in the second half but no equaliser yet. When Cardiff do get the ball, Surman is there t clear up. O'Kane and Daniels manage to force a corner. Some 30 minutes to go. The attacks are coming a little more consistently from the Cherries now. Cardiff may break it up though with a few subs.

Francis is busy putting in another cross and Rantie wins another corner. Daniels manages to shoot wide though. Francis wins another free kick as AFCB come again.

On the break though it's Cardiff and you guessed it -1-3 now! Revell gets his second of the night. You'd expect Eddie Howe to make a few changes now. The defence is not functioning well enough tonight. This was a scrappy third goal whereas the other two were well worked by the Bluebirds, according to Cherries' Blog. No one in particular to blame.

AFCB are fighting back though. Cornick puts the ball in the box and Pugh with a sharp turn and shot makes it 2-3 on the night. Federici is forced to make a save. Ameobi has a go now, but fires over.

Of the Bournemouth players, Rantie is probably the pick of them for tonight's performance, says Cherries' blog. However, the sponsors pick Sylvain Distin on a night when AFCB ship three goals!

That was the end of the action. A home defeat will give Eddie plenty to ponder.

Official Tweets from AFCB and Cardiff City

01: Rantie and Kermorgant kick-off for #afcb at Vitality Stadium

C - 4 - Peter Whittingham's effort from 25-yards easily held by Federici. (0-0)

04: Federici makes a comfortable early save from Whittingham's strike from distance

13: A let off for #afcb as Mason goes one-on-one, only to fire well over. Still 0-0

13 - Great chance for the Bluebirds. Poor attempted clearance, Mason unable to capitalise though, firing over one-on-one. (0-0)

16: Distin uses his experience to halt Mason with a perfectly timed last ditch tackle

STREAM: Apologies to Player subscribers for the lack of stream. The #afcb media team are working to rectify the issue.

C -22 - Chance for the hosts. Yann Kermorgant's side foot from inside the area well saved by Moore. (0-0)

22: Good work from Rantie creates an opening for Kermorgant, who aims his effort straight at Moore.

C - 24 - Charlie Daniels volleys over from an acute angle. Still #AFCB 0-0 #CardiffCity

24: The ball breaks for Daniels in the box, but he can't keep his shot down. It's 0-0 at Vitality Stadium.

28: Rantie wins the ball back, plays a one-two, rounds the goalkeeper and slots home. 1-0 to #afcb.

30: O'Kane picks up the loose ball 25 yards out before driving in a strike, which is caught by Moore.

35: Kermorgant is replaced by under-21s forward Quigley in an early change for #afcb .

39: Ralls equalises for the visitors with a clinical finish. #afcb 1-1 #cardiffcity .

C 39 - GOAL!!! - @Joe_Ralls with a fantastic effort from 25-yards! #AFCB 1-1 #CardiffCity

C 39 - Great interception from @Connolly035. Plays it to Whittingham, who decides against the shot, sets for @Joe_Ralls who fires home!

C 43 - Sean Morrison's header cleared off the line by substitute Joe Quigley. (1-1)

C 44 - GOAL!!! Alex Revell gives the Bluebirds the lead! Well taken finish from the forward at close range. #AFCB 1-2 #CardiffCity

44: Revell gets the final touch to put #cardiffcity ahead just before half-time. #afcb trail 2-1. 

C HALF-TIME: @afcbournemouth 1-2 #CardiffCity

46: #cardiffcity get the second half started. They lead 2-1 at #afcb.

46: Quigley has gone off for his under-21s team-mate Butcher. 4-5-1 now for #afcb .

49 - Harry Cornick's low shot easily held by Moore. (1-2)

49: Cornick comes in off the right and has a shot from the edge of the area. It's too close to Moore.

50: It's takes a brave block to deny Rantie the equaliser. #afcb are 2-1 down

60: Cornick rushes in at the back post, but he can't quite apply the finishing touch to a low cross.

61 - Rantie looked to break clear - but the assistant referee's flag is raised. (1-2)

64: Goal for #cardiffcity.

64: Federici gets a hand to it but Revell gets his second of the night. #afcb 1-3 #cardiffcity .

65 - GOAL!!! Alex Revell breaks through on goal and scores his second, the ball bouncing in off Federici. #AFCB 1-3 #CardiffCity

70: Goal for #afcb

C 70: Great touch, turn and finish from@MarcPugh7 to pull one back. #afcb 2-3#cardiffcity
3 minutes ago

70 - First #CardiffCity change: @craignoone replaces @Pilkington_11. (2-3)

C 77 - Second double #CardiffCity change: Fabio and O'Keefe replace Peltier and Dikgacoi. (2-3)

C 79: Substitute Butchers ventures forward and goes close for #afcb with a powerful strike.

85: #afcb #s @sylvaind15tin is the sponsor's choice as man of the match

90: There will be three minutes of additional time at the end of the second half.

C FULL TIME: The #Bluebirds complete an unbeaten pre-season campaign with victory at @afcbournemouth.