Kilkenny stars in AFCB's 3-0 win over Lyons

Match Report

AFCB 3 v 0 Olympic Lyons

3 August 2019

Eddie Howe wanted a hard fixture to end pre-season and taking on a Champions League qualifying team seemed to be just the ticket. While Olympic Lyons threatened early on, it was Bournemouth that looked more ready for European football and once the Cherries had taken the lead with Callum Wilson netting, they never looked back. A second goal from young winger Gavin Kilkenny rounded-off for him what would be a man of the match display. The second half didn't see Artur Buroc make as many saves at Aaron Ramsdale and Josh King made sure of a Bournemouth win slotting home a third goal with 18 minutes to go.

Lyons were no match for AFCB.

Bournemouth race back after King loses the ball high up the field. Corner and Ramsdale punches before making a save with his feet and another shot goes wide from Traore.

Billing and Anjuma get early touches. Kilkenny and King get down the right and Wilson gets a header in but wide of the target.

King gives a free kick away. Ramsdale poor pass for Offoborh but Steve Cook clears up. Lyons are in the ascendency.

Kilkenny to Offoborh, down right, and Wilson slots home bottom right on 11 minutes 1-0 to the Cherries! That was against the run of play. Bournemouth are taking their free kicks quickly with Kilkenny the out ball up the right usually.

Moussa Dembele fires a shot, but it deflects off Steve Cook's foot to Ramsdale on 15 minutes. Billing looks comfortable going forward. He finds Kilkenny and Adam Smith drills a cross right through the box.

Gavin Kilkenny scores from the right side of the box after a throw from the left after 20 minutes. Wilson was involved in the move with a good assist.

Corner for Bournemouth. Back in Aké heads and it's well saved. Offoborh fouls 11 some 25 yards out a d central. It hits Billing in the face - that's what the tall man is for.

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A long sweeping pass from Billing to Anjuma and Wilson plays a one-two with the Dutchman's shot saved to the keepers left on 28 minutes.

Rico puts in a deep cross which the keeper grabs. Ramsdale is out for a long ball beats Dembele, then is tackled for a throw.

Traore on the break to Memphis Depay and Ramsdale turns shot around the corner.

King drags a shot wide from distance.

Adam Smith blocks Aouar for a corner to Lyons. Traore spins Rico but puts his shot wide of the far post.

Kilkenny plays in King up the right and the shot comes off the keepers legs for a corner

It's half-time 2-0.

Bournemouth were looking good by half-time.

Second half 
Boruc has replaced Ramsdale at half-time. Rico wins a corner which is grabbed by the keeper ahead of Billing coming in.

Smith puts in a cross but Andjum misses his kick. Kilkenny and Smith keep working the right side. King is just a bundle of energy today, hasn't stopped running.

King in to Wilson who shoots wide. Wilson gets the ball from the goal kick and he plays King in but the keeper saves on 58 minutes.

Bournemouth sub Billing for Corey Jordan on 60 minutes. A rare excursion by Lyons. Depay plays it out wide to Dembele but the shot is passed Boruc's left post.

Lyon subs come on after 65 minutes. Depay is off and on comes Kenny Tete and Rafael is off along with Traore, so on comes Pape Cheikh Diop and Jean Lucas.

Dobre comes on for Bournemouth, replacing Steve Cook on 66 minutes.

King with a great pick up and drive. Wilson goes for a header but Dubois clears. Smith at the near post sees his shot go just wide.

Wilson gets on to a poor goal kick and squares it to King, who makes it 3-0 on 72 minutes.

Terrier has a shot blocked for a corner. A long shot from Mendes is saved by Boruc. Wilson is subbed for Surridge and Adam Smith goes off for Jordan Zamoura 76 minutes.

Dembele is off and Gouiri is on after 77 minutes. Lyons win a corner. Lyons sub Aouar and on comes Caqueret and Mendes is replaced by Tousart on 81 minutes.

Aké makes a good block. Boruc hasn't had much to do this half.

Josh King is subbed by Sam Sherring on 86 minutes.

AFCB gave debuts to Anjuma and Billing.

Summary

A great result for Bournemouth. The clean sheet is very timely going into the start of the new season and neither Ramsdale or Boruc looked under pressure very often. The real surprise was Gavin Kilkenny who lit up the first half with his fast breakaways on the right and his good vision. Billing and Anjuma fitted in well and Offoborh was very involved, while King and Wilson looked much more tuned in for this game. Steve Cook came through 66 minutes as well so a good day all round for.

AFCB.
Ramsdale, A Smith ( Zamoura 76), S Cook (Dobre 66), Aké, Rico, Kilkenny,
Billing (Jordan 60), Offoborh, Anjuma, Wilson (Surridge 76), King (Sam Sherring 86)

AFCB

Boruc, Dennis, 55 Corey Jordan, 26 Jordan Zamoura, Surridge, Dobre, 50 Sam Sherring

AFCB Ratings

Ramsdale 6, A Smith 6, S Cook 6, Aké 7, Rico 5, Kilkenny 9, Billing 6, Offoborh 6, Anjuma 6, Wilson 7, King 7

Lyons

1 Lopes, 14 Dubois, 3 Anderson, 4 Rafael (Pape Cheikh Diop 65), 12 Mendes (Tousart 81), 8 Aouar (Caqueret 81), 11 Depay (Tete 65), 10 Traore ( Jean Lucas 65), Dembele (Gouiri 77)

How good are Girona?

I really didn't know much about Girona FC apart form that they were a Spanish team, so when AFCB told us they would play them in Barcelona in the summer I thought I'd do some digging before the match to see what our lads were up against.

AFCB will take on Girona FC tonight at 7pm at
Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona at 7pm.

Girona FC is a Catalan club that now play in the second division in Spain having been relegated last season from La Liga, Spain's top league. They finished 18th just four points behind Celta Vego and Valladolid and managed nine wins and 10 draws form their 38 games which wasn't quite enough to keep them up. Still they did beat teams like Villarreal, Real Madrid and FC Sevilla so they can cause upsets and they had two seasons in La Liga before this relegation.

The team was founded in 1930 and since 1970 it has played at the Montilivi stadium which has a capacity of 13,450. I'd say it is a club of similar standing to AFCB, but interestingly they are owned by Man City's parent company the City Football Group.

They have been looking at the English leagues over the summer and have just bought Spanish midfield player Samu Saiz from Leeds United.  Other new signings include Marc Gual is a striker on loan from Sevilla FC and a Spanish U21 player and defender Pablo Maffeo who is on loan from VfB Stuttgart.

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Alex Granell, 30, is the captain and a Spanish midfielder who has been at the club five years. He has said he longs to take Girona back to La Liga, but also says his future at the club is uncertain. Their top scorer is Cristhian Stuani, 32, who is a Uruguayan and scored 21 goals in 2017/18, fifth top scorer in La Liga and 19 goals in 2018/19. His strike partner is  Anthony Lozano, a Honduran who joined the club in 2018. Jofre Cherta, 18, is one of the club's young players who signed an extended contract this summer to keep him at the club to 2023. 

Last season Girona's manager was Eusebio Sacristán who arrived at the club in 2018. He has previously managed Real Socieada and Barcelona B.

The new coach is Juan Carlos Unzué who was previously at Celta Vigo. he won his first match at the club this summer against in a pre-season friendly against Al Arabi of Qatar winning 1-2.

What kind of test will Bristol City pose AFCB?

Bristol City may have some new signings on show against Bournemouth. City narrowly missed out in getting in the Championship play-off picture last season, but they are looking to improve on that.

AFCB will be a scalp if Bristol City get the better of them.

Among the new faces are Jack Hunt from Sheffield Wednesday, Hakeeb Adelakun from Scunthorpe United and Andreas Weimann of Derby County, Marley Watkins from Norwich City. This week Bristol City have continued their spending with the signing of Mo Eisa from Cheltenham Town. Eisa scored 25 goals from 50 games in League Two - I'd expect him to start against the Cherries, especially as Bobby Reid has been sold to Cardiff City.

Bristol City have also been on tour in Spain where they drew  2-2 with Real Balopédica and lost 1-0 to Rayo Vallecano.

Recent form aside Bristol City are a strong Championship side that are looking to play against teams like Bournemouth to reach the same level. Lee Johnson has done a great job already in not only keeping the team in the Championship since 2016, but making on of the promotion contenders last season as well as a strong English Football League Cup run that saw Bristol City beat Man Utd and eventually go out 3-5 to Man City on aggregate.

Bournemouth's side could include new signings Davis Brooks and Diego Rico and we could see Lys Mousset and Jordan Ibe wearing their new squad numbers.

You can watch the game on AFCBTV from 6.50pm.

In other news, Sky Sports reports that AFCB target Jefferson Lerma has put in a transfer request at Levante.

Levante conquerors of Barcelona take on AFCB

Levante UD have been spending this month training at Buñol, just to the west of Valencia in Spain. The Spanish side were only promoted to La Liga in 2016-17, but have had some impressive wins, including a 5-4 win over Barcelona last May and two draws against Real Madrid, which helped them finishing in 15th place.

Will AFCB get their first pre-season win against Levante?

Levante have been signing up players that participated for them last season like Coke Andujar at right-back, who has moved from Schalke in Germany. Centre-back, Rober Pier has joined Levante this summer on loan for his third year at the club. Ruben Rochina has also signed on a three-year deal having bean on loan at Levante last year from Rubin Kazan.

Their top striker is Emmanuel Boateng of Ghana. He scored a hat-trick when Levante beat Barzelona 5-4. Incredibly Levante were 5-1 up after 56 minutes, as reported by the BBC. Levante also have midfielder Jefferson Lerma on their books which the Sun has reported this week that the Cherries are willing to spend a club record breaking £32m to sign him, although other reports of £17m seem more sensible.

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Another attacker they signed at the start of 2018 on loan is winger Fahad Al-Muwallad who is dubbed'Saudi's Lionel Messi'. The club has also renewed the contract of defender Fran Manzanara this summer, until June 2019, having been with the club for the last three seasons.

Levante's manager is Paco Lopez,50, who took over the position in March 2018, having been the B team manger at the club. Before that he coached at Villarrael B and  C and Cartagena.

Founded in September 1909, Levate UD the club plays at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium which has a capacity of just over 26,000. Bournemouth will take on Levante at 7pm tonight UK time in La Manga, Spain and you can watch it live on AFCBTV.

In other news, AFCB linked to striker Mbaye Diange playing at Kasimpasa, according to Turkish Football.

The Cherries take on Sevilla FC who have plenty of quality

Bournemouth have a particularly difficult game today taking on Sevilla FC. The Spanish team finished seventh in La Liga in 2017-18 with 17 wins from their 38 matches. They qualified for the Europa League, so it is a step up in quality for the Cherries in pre-season.

AFCB will take on Sevilla FC at La Manga on Saturday.

The history of Sevilla FC is very impressive having been formed in 1890 like the Cherries, Sevilla have amassed five Spanish cup wins, five UEFA Europa League trophies and one Super Cup, a Spanish Super Cup, one league championship and 18 Andalusian Cups. The impressive factor to me is that three of the UEFA Europa League trophies have come in the last five years.

New signings this summer for Sevilla include Roque Mesa who signed from for Sevilla this summer having been on loan from Swansea City. He had already had half of last season at the Nervionense as they are nicknamed. 

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Ibraham Amadou is a new defensive midfielder that can also play centre-back. He signed from Losc Lille, this summer, having played 102 matches for them.

Thomas Vaclik, 29-year old, is the only Czech international player at the club and was the third signing this summer having left FC Basel.

One of the more well-known players for Sevilla is Miguel Layun who is a Mexican international and he played in this summer's World Cup. Steven Nzonzi has been in the French squad, so won't be back in time with the World Cup Final on Sunday. Ever Banega, 30, is a Sevilla midfielder that is an Argentinian international and Gabriel Mercado, 31, is another Argentinian defender that plays for Sevilla. Simon Kjaer, 29, was in Denmark's World Cup squad, Luis Muriel is a Sevilla forward that came on in the second half for Colombia against England in the quarter-final at the World Cup - he successfully scored Colombia's third penalty in the shoot-out. 

Sevilla's coach, Carlos Marchena, was also called up for the Spanish national team at the World Cup following the dismissal of Lopetgui. We probably won't see the players that have been at the World Cup as they will no doubt have extra leave time, but the strength of the Sevilla squad will be a big test for AFCB.

You can enjoy the match today by tuning in to AFCBTV at 7pm.

What kind of shape are the Cherries in?

While the Cherries are away in La Manga getting fit and building their friendships on and off the pitch the work for new players goes on. The news from the club has been pretty slow about what is going right and where they are having problems, but news of the departure of Operations Manager John Yems, after five and a half years with the club, is not something that AFCB were able to keep quiet, thanks to the Daily Mirror.

It's down to business for the players.

Eddie Howe's focus is going to be solely on the players at the moment and getting them in better shape for the start of the season than in 2017/18. Andrew Surman probably has every right to think that this summer is going to be tougher for all concerned and reading between the lines, I think its likely that a few old friendships have been tested in recent months.

Getting a positive vibe going though is crucial now. We have seen it with the England national tam and the Cherries could take note of how the preparation and relaxed nature around that squad brought results. When there is unease and tension about things it doesn't create the conditions for winning games and I'm keen to see how the players find their way through the friendlies.

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We know there is a need to bring in new players and not to over spend. But while we might be sweating over what signings AFCB may or may not make it is clear that a lot of Premier League clubs are in a similar position looking at the ins and outs of SkySports' Premier League transfer list.

AFCB need to get on and prepare as best they can with what they have at the moment and I want to see Eddie Howe working the players hard as the players at the club, I believe can improve further if they are incentivised to want to be the best. I see the newly promoted teams as having that excitement and desire to do well and AFCB need to find that kind of excitement again that got them into the Premier League. With a month to go to kick off, AFCB are keen to sell tickets but I'm more concerned about how the club is going to go forward with the new ground, pulling in better signings and whether the players on the pitch are showing early pre-season form.

I've no doubt that how well AFCB get things in order in the next four or five weeks will have a huge impact on how well the 2018/19 season goes. We'll get a first view of the players at least in tomorrow's match against Sevilla.

GD Estoril Praia should be a competitive early test for the Cherries

AFCB will play GD Estoril Praia today in Marbella. The Portuguese side has been signing a few new players in the summer and the Cherries will find it tough going by all accounts as their opponents recent results look very impressive.

AFCB will get their first proper run out today against GC Estoril Praia.

GD Estoril Praia were 10th last season in a league topped by Benfica. They had 10 wins and lost 16, so they are a mid-table side and that should be more than enough for AFCB's players to have to cope with in the Spanish heat. The game is kicking off at 7pm local time (6pm in the UK).

What we would all like to know is what team Eddie Howe will start with and will it be a a real hot-potch or will he pick a side that is very much what he expects will be his starting 11 against WBA, taking into account an injury-free selection. I suspect that Eddie will field a strong side but might like to try a couple of combinations out as well in the first half. So we could see Begovic in goal and perhaps the recognisable AFCB back four. 

Things could get interesting in midfield if Harry Arter and Andrew Surman are being protected and given recovery time. We could see Lewis Cook and Dan Gosling start the game, but Emerson Hyndman was also impressive in Scotland and should be given some minutes as well at some stage.

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The wing position is where Eddie always throws the dice and I can see him working Jordan Ibe hard to try and get him up for the new season. Interest will also surround the prospects of Max Gradel. If he is selected to start, can we dismiss rumours about his possible exit?

Much attention will also be on the strikers as AFCB fans will surely be waiting to see if Eddie plays a new strike partnership of Jermain Defoe and Josh King. How will the two get on together? And would Eddie like to see how the big Afobe plays with Jermain? Jermain might be rested though, having been back to the UK for Bradley Lowery's funeral yesterday.

All our questions will soon be answered, but I suspect more questions will pop up after the game which will probably seem very much like a training game, if there are few spectators. Expect a whole load of second half substitutes as well.

My predicted AFCB starting line up:

Begovic (GK), A Smith (RD), Francis (CD), S Cook (CD), Daniels (LD), Ibe (RM),
L Cook (CM), Gosling (CM), Fraser (LM), King (FW), Defoe (FW)   

There is a live stream for those that register on AFCBTV  You can register online

HITC article - Should Steve Bruce look at Hull City attacking midfielder?

What has AFCB's pre-season told us?

It is not usual for AFCB to go through pre-season and not suffer a defeat at some stage. Eddie Howe was duly very praiseworthy of what the squad has done over the summer and the results they have achieved. While those games were not always against sides that knock sides over like Man Utd, they have given Eddie a chance to see how the new recruits will fit in and how some of the U21s have developed and grown into games.

The first thing I notice about these games is like the last couple of seasons AFCB have a multitude of goalscorers and are not dependant on any one player which is a great factor to have. We know how easy it is for injuries to mount up and when you know there are goals in the side it is a big comfort to have. What it does mean though is it is getting more difficult to make out a starting 11, and I'd imagine there will be more opportunities to change things if Howe doesn't think the team is functioning as well as it could at various parts of the season.

AFCB will have plenty of choice up front for this season.

The match against Minnesota United was a gentle introduction into the games. It could have been much more difficult had the Cherries not get a couple of goals up early on. Portsmouth's late comeback was a bit of a wake up call and of all the games I believe it was the one where AFCB found they had vulnerabilities, when they faced a team that was equally confident in possession. Reading was also a close game but was much more controlled by the team, and that is the kind of performance they need to get better at. It was the shooting edge that was not there. But against Valencia they showed they could hang in games when they weren't necessarily the best team for long periods, and coming from behind is always welcome to see when things have not gone smoothly from the start. The Angers  SCO game intrigues the most though as playing away in France was good for the players with a physical test, but it was also helpful to get a clean sheet again. Federici has some awkward moments against Pompey, but he came out of this game with plenty of credit.

So while AFCB are not yet scoring lots of goals, they are looking very competitive and more determined not to lose early goals. This was a problem in the early part of last season and hopefully it is something that the team can keep up for a long time as it goes into this second season. Jordan Ibe and Lewis Cook could just be the best business that AFCB have done since Callum Wilson's signature - we eagerly await what the Cherries can do this time around.

Pugh scores as the Cherries beat Angers SCO 0-1

Bournemouth's final pre-season game that was held away from the eyes of most fans in France against Angers SCO . The players still had to perform though and Marc Pugh certainly got noticed scoring in the second minute to give the Cherries an early lead. Things got a bit too lively second half with and Angers player sent off for a bad challenge on Marc Pugh. Pugh was subbed which might make him doubtful for next weekend, but Arter and Wilson benefited from a good workout and the Cherries will have been pleased to go unbeaten in pre-season.

AFCB needed to give a few players more minutes with the season fast approaching, and it was no surprise to see Callum Wilson among those starting having seen him tweet that he was looking forward to this last game. It was certainly going to be a test run out for Harry Arter who had been carrying an injury, and there was another chance to try Eunan O'Kane at right back as cover for Adam Smith. Nathan Aké reverted to centre-back and would play alongside young Corey Jordan.

Marc Pugh was the star man against SCO Angers
but was subbed after being on the end of a bad tackle.

Coverage of the game was pretty poor at first with 20 minutes going between tweets in the first half - perhaps AFCB staff were stunned by such a good start! Or more likely, the less information is passed to Man Utd the better. Still, the Cherries appear to have been on top for most of the game and a win is always very welcome.

Official Match Tweets from AFC Bournemouth
01: @AngersSCO get us underway here in France.
GOAL for #afcb! It's Marc Pugh!!
02: It's taken two minutes, Wilson nicked the ball back and fed Pugh who cut inside and arrowed the ball into the top corner! 0-1!
10: Opening ten minutes gone here, #afcb well on top, dominating the ball. No more chances as yet though.
31: The players pause for a water break here in the searing heat. Pretty uneventful since the goal, #afcb having more of the ball.
35: Just wide! Lovely move as Grabban and Daniels combine before it gets to Pugh, who hits a low effort just wide from the edge!
39: Federici makes his first save, from a low effort from the edge of the box - it was straight at the 'keeper.
HALF TIME: Angers 0-1 #afcb - Marc Pugh's strike after two minutes separates the two sides.

46: #afcb kick off to resume the game.
48: Fraser tries to slide a ball through to Wilson but the 'keeper is alert to smother it as Wilson went in on goal
50: Save! Federici palms away an effort from 20-yards which was heading into the bottom corner!
57: Red card for Angers! A horror challenge on Pugh and a reaction off the ball saw has seen the Angers full back dismissed!
60: Pugh got up but has been substituted for Shaun MacDonald.
65: Save! The Angers frontman got in behind but saw his effort from 12-yards well tipped away by Federici!
70: Sub for #afcb - Ben Whitfield comes on to replace Ryan Fraser. Still 0-1 to the Cherries.

75: 15 minutes left to play and the Cherries are continuing to probe with the majority of possession.
79: Substitute for #afcb - Ake makes way for Ollie Harfield.
86: Double #afcb sub - Sam Surridge and Jake McCarthy come on for Wilson and Arter.
FULL TIME: Angers 0-1 #afcb - Marc Pugh's fabulous second minute strike settled the game as the Cherries end pre-season unbeaten.

AFCB XI:

Federici, O'Kane, Jordan, Ake, Daniels, Fraser, Gosling, Arter, Pugh, Grabban, Wilson.

AFCB Subs

subs: Holmes, Harfield, MacDonald, McCarthy, Whitfield, Surridge.