Games against Watford for Bournemouth usually end up seeing a penalty or two and Watford don't tend to get many of them. It is notable that Watford have not had one penalty this season, but Bournemouth have had three in the Premier League.
The fact that AFCB get so many penalties is of course a real annoyance to opposition teams, but it reflects the attacking players that Bournemouth have and how difficult they are to stop when they get in the box. The art of good defending seems to go out of the window when defenders see Bournemouth players running at them. Last season Bournemouth only scored three penalties, so at this stage it looks like being a total that could match or better the 2016/17 season when the Cherries scored seven from the spot. In all four seasons in the Premier League, Bournemouth have scored 16 goals from the 12 yard spot.
The calmness of Junior Stanislas to score in the last three minutes against Crystal Palace has been keenly highlighted by Eddie Howe. As Stanislas' first contribution to the game it could not have been easy for him to take control of that situation. But he owned the moment and gave Hennessey no chance with a careful little chip down the middle, when players usually try and hit the ball as hard as they can into one of the corners. Such penalties as Stanislas' one look great when they go in, but had the keeper stayed where he was it would have looked like a very weak effort.
The confidence of scoring plenty of goals certainly is starting to give confidence that AFCB will score from the spot. With Wilson missing his penalty in the first game against Cardiff, both Josh King and Junior Stanislas have been on target, while Jordan Ibe has also done the business from the spot in the Carabao Cup. All the penalties have been taken very differently and by these four players, which must make it hard for keeper to work out where the shot is going to go.
But in away games the penalties haven't come. Referees seem more eager to point the finger at the penalty spot when Bournemouth are at home. So perhaps it is time that AFCB got one in an away ground which is not what Watford fans want to hear!
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| King is likely to resume penalty duties if there is one against Watford. |
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The calmness of Junior Stanislas to score in the last three minutes against Crystal Palace has been keenly highlighted by Eddie Howe. As Stanislas' first contribution to the game it could not have been easy for him to take control of that situation. But he owned the moment and gave Hennessey no chance with a careful little chip down the middle, when players usually try and hit the ball as hard as they can into one of the corners. Such penalties as Stanislas' one look great when they go in, but had the keeper stayed where he was it would have looked like a very weak effort.
The confidence of scoring plenty of goals certainly is starting to give confidence that AFCB will score from the spot. With Wilson missing his penalty in the first game against Cardiff, both Josh King and Junior Stanislas have been on target, while Jordan Ibe has also done the business from the spot in the Carabao Cup. All the penalties have been taken very differently and by these four players, which must make it hard for keeper to work out where the shot is going to go.
But in away games the penalties haven't come. Referees seem more eager to point the finger at the penalty spot when Bournemouth are at home. So perhaps it is time that AFCB got one in an away ground which is not what Watford fans want to hear!
