The Cherries can make it really tough for Boro

Middlesbrough have hung in well in the Championship race, but this week just might see them just start to struggle to hold on with Watford. It is not that AFCB are ratcheting up their title bid by improving their home performances, Boro have four home games left which is a help but they have Watford and Norwich still to face on their travels. Having fought a hard match against Derby in midweek and Ipswich just three days before that, it has been a very testing period for Middlesbrough which they have come through well, but perhaps this next hurdle will be too high for them.

AFCB will go into the match with plenty of confidence having picked up their home performances after a difficult February and they can see the finishing line getting closer if they can win this match and get a positive result at Ipswich. Middlesbrough and other teams might then be hoping for other teams to do them a favour. It is important that the Cherries do make it a hard match against Boro as they have been under the most intense pressure with so many top of the table clashes in a row. 

AFCB v Boro last season.

Boro are a very strong team and we have seen their key players like Patrick Bamford, Grant Leadbitter and Albert Adomah come to the fore in recent weeks. Now their supporters will be wondering if they can sustain it. That has been the one thing that has kept them from forging ahead in this league. The odd defeat to Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds in recent weeks has just clipped their wings and while they fought back with a terrific performances against Ipswich and Derby, a defeat to AFCB might be harder for them to recover from with the international break coming before the next match.

As always the crowd will be important for this home match and AFCB fans have to raise the roof if they want the team to deliver a result that can take them closer to their dream. There is no place for nervous quietness or silent expectancy. The Cherries will need every supporter to get right behind them to help them get the points. Boro are a very talented team and we saw how well they played against AFCB at the Riverside and it is important that they are not allowed to get their noses further in front. This is the match that can push AFCB much further towards the automatic places and AFCB fans need to shake the rafters and bring the passion to this early starting match - today is the day! Let's give the team the support they need to put this Championship rival on the floor. UTCIAD!

What is the best way of taking on Boro?

AFCB have now got a massive game to try and take charge of on Saturday. It will be Eddie Howe's task to get players and the crowd up for this game if they needed to get excited about it after the disappointment of the midweek result. Again Eddie refuses to be downhearted about not getting all three points at Cardiff and if the team can get a win against Middlesbrough, the point against Cardiff will look a lot better.

Can AFCB do better than another draw against Boro?

The Cherries must go into the game playing with the same confidence and style of play as if they were still top. Any hesitancy will surely be picked up by Boro's players who are themselves on a great run. But if the Cherries can start well I believe that Boro will be the ones looking at themselves and wondering what happens if they get nothing at Dean Court.

This is where we all find out about what AFCB are made of. Have they got the will to beat the big sides and how much do they want to be the ones on top? If they play as if it were their last game of the season and winner takes all, then I think that would be the kind of commitment that they will need to show. If the goals do start to fly in against Boro it could be a great boost for the team as they go into the international break and so far this season the team has done well going into the breaks.

Like Eddie Howe, I don't see much wrong with how the Cherries are playing at the moment. The defending at corners and free kicks is important. I'd probably say there are some better teams at defending set-pieces than AFCB in the league, but it is up to our players not to allow so many of these situations. So how do we play against Boro? By not making mistakes at the back, keeping our heads when defending and giving the fans something to shout about right from the very start. But Eddie Howe will have been planning how this game needs to go for some time now and I am hoping that he has found more than a few weaknesses in Middlesbrough's game that AFCB can exploit. UTCIAD!

SKY Bet Competition Winners announced!
The winners of the Sky Bet Transfer Fund competition have been announced. We had so many entries in the end that Sky Bet decided to give away three pairs of tickets to the AFC Bournemouth v Middlesbrough game! The winners can be seen with their winning tweets on the side bar of the blog.

Don't for get to register for the SKY Bet Transfer Fund to win £250,000 funds for AFCB and £5000 for yourself. 

COMPETITION: SKY BET and Cherry Chimes team up to offer two match tickets

Sponsored article

Jim and Nat will be at the Goldsands Stadium on Saturday.

Here is a generous gift for two lucky AFC Bournemouth fans.

The Sky Bet Transfer Fund gives one fan the chance to win £250,000 for their Football League club to spend on new players in the January transfer window. In addition to a cash prize of £5,000. To sign up and start collecting tokens for AFC Bournemouth now, visit: Sky Bet.

As part of this, Sky Bet put Transfer Fund duo Jim White and Natalie Sawyer on the Transfer List and gave Football League fans the chance to win the pair at their league on a match day. The first of these was won by an AFC Bournemouth fan which means the pair will be transferring from the news room to Dean Court this Saturday. Keep your eye out for Jim and Nat before the game as they will be helping the club in various roles from selling programmes, to working in the club shop.

We’re also giving away a pair of tickets for tomorrows big game against Middlesbrough thanks to Sky Bet.

To enter all you have to do is answer this question:
Tell us who you would like AFC Bournemouth to buy should we win the £250,000 Transfer Fund.

The best answer will win the tickets to tomorrow’s game!

Simply Tweet your answer to @peterbell19 and follow to enter the competition.

Answers need to be in by 6pm tonight to be in with a chance of winning - so get tweeting. We hope to announce the winner before 6.30pm.

Job transfer for Jim and Nat. I hear the flood lights are a bit dirty!

AFCB will battle right to the end

I was impressed with the calm face that Eddie put on when speaking with to the media following the Cardiff game. He had every reason to be angry and yet refrained from losing site of the positives and the objectives for his team this season. The league is not won or lost in one match and a positive attitude is something that the Cherries need to take into the Middlesbrough match.

Eddie is keeping positive.

Eddie is very good at setting the tone for the supporters and how he wants the team and the club to be portrayed. We don't want to be seen as moaners and the key factor that he is well aware of is that AFCB played well for most of the match against Cardiff. At this stage of the season it is very difficult to keep scoring lots of goals and winning matches and at the midweek half time scores most of them were draws and were low scoring. Games are getting tight and the stakes are getting higher - none more so than AFCB's game against Middlesbrough.

AFCB players are going to be competitive to the end.

Eddie has always said that he just needs the team to stay in contention. That is the primary goal at this stage of the season. He won't want to see AFCB fall away any further and every point takes the Cherries closer to the minimal objective that we all now want of at least a play-off place. If that turns out to be where AFCB finish then I won't be thinking what if we had got this decision or that decision. You deal with the cards you are given and as Eddie Howe says when things don't go your way, "that's football". I don't think the players could try any harder than they have been this season and we just have to give them all the support we can to see if we can push them on to more success. 

For all these reasons I don't want to get too nervous about playing Middlesbrough or Ipswich.They are simply opportunities to get another three points in some top of the table clashes I keep telling myself. Yes, they are probably more like six pointers but isn't it fun to be involved in these games rather than looking on from a far and wondering what it is like to be chasing the dream. UTCIAD!

AFCB v Middlesbrough has sold out - but there are two spare tickets still to be won!
If you want to come to the game but don't have a ticket you had better come back and have a look on Cherry Chimes this afternoon, when I hope to be able to make an announcement about two special SKYBet tickets to the AFCB v Middlesbrough game. You'll only hear about it on Cherry Chimes!

Don't forget to send your AFCB v Boro score predictions into @peterbell19 on twitter.

I also suggest you ware something Scottish on Saturdayin tribute to Matt Ritchie's first Scottish call up. Oche Aye the Noo!
 

Are Boro about to play second fiddle to AFCB?

All through this season Middlesbrough have been in and around the play-off zone and yet they have only been top of the division for one week between 9-16 February. Whether they have enough about them to win the league I guess will be shown this weekend. They have by far the best defence, but scoring goals has not been so easy for them and yet they have beaten Derby, Ipswich and Norwich well at home. Away from home it is a little different though and it probably tells us why they have not been top for more weeks.

How will Middlesbrough play it against the Cherries?

On the road Boro have taken 10 points from their last six away games. It's good but not amazing and it was only six points from the previous five away games before that. Boro like to keep it tight and are very good at keeping clean sheets though and they are capable of pinching games with the likes of Patrick Bamford, Albert Adomah and Lee Tomlin - Derby County found that out recently.

It is really not an easy game for the Cherries, but it's the kind of game the players should be looking forward to. You should want to play against the best players and Boro have a team that is well managed and strong in virtually all areas. But would Boro be happy to take a point from this game and move on? I think they might and that may have a bearing on how Aitor Karanka sets his team up. I hope they come to play with the cameras at Dean Court and that the game is open, but everything tells me that Boro's best chance maybe to try and slow the game down and simply aim to stay in the game, before an opportunity might fall to them.

AFCB have not been beaten at home since 10 January when Norwich beat them 1-2. AFCB are getting better though at home and playing in front of the cameras, and if they can go into the international break in the automatic promotion places the break will have come at a good time.

Middlesbrough Away Form
WDLLW

AFCB Home Form
DDDWW

Watching every kick is nerve-racking now

It is easy to get too close to following AFCB when there is such a lot at stake and you don't know whether to look away or pray to the Gods for some divine intervention. We all knew that there would be twists and turns in these last 10 games and it was the Cherries turn to have a set-back on Tuesday night. Like most of you I am pretty sure that on Saturday it will seem like most of the season will be played out in those 90 minutes even if there will still be another seven games to go after that.

Let's try and give AFCB an extra boost this weekend.

It is tough at the moment and it is going to get tougher. The run that Watford and Middlesbrough are certainly not helping AFCB in their quest for a top two finish, but it is clear that the gaps are starting to appear and that it is those teams that can hold their nerve and come out fighting even when they have had a set-back that are likely to succeed in the end.

Keeping your emotions in check is a strenuous affair when AFCB are right in the thick of it. We might be sitting less comfortably than a few days ago, but I don't think fans of Ipswich or Derby particularly feel like celebrating about their team's recent form. It will be paramount to stop Middlesbrough now though if AFCB have designs on those top two places. A gap of five points is not something you want to have to claw back at this stage of the season and it might just be that even a draw against Boro might be very valuable in the long run, but like you I'll be yelling full heatedly for a win.


I imagine that Michael Dunne has been thumbing through the football rule book to find out whether Callum Wilson had a valid case for a goal at Cardiff. You can listen in to the latest All Departments podcast by visiting the website or by scrolling down Cherry Chimes' right side panel to the All Departments' logo and click on the sound bar.

Good luck to Shaun MacDonald in the Wales' squad for their Euro qualifier against Israel on 28 March.

Harry Arter keeps chipping in

Eddie Howe was delighted with his midfield dynamo at Cardiff as Harry Arter once again took a pot shot and came away smiling with the result early on in the game. While his other shots at goal did not have as much success on the night, the policy of shooting around the box is one that Arter now beginning to excel a little more often at now.

Harry Arter has been striking the ball well this season
 and added another to his total at Cardiff.

Harry Arter said that he has been told off before from shooting that far out but I don't think Eddie Howe was at all disappointed with his strike on this occasion.

When asked about Harry Arter's goal Eddie Howe said: "It was a good start to the game for us," said Eddie How. "We found pockets of space, we passed the ball very well and it was on the end of a good move and a top draw finish - an outstanding finish."

But the way the team failed to make the most of perhaps even better opportunities was the frustrating part of the evening. The word frustrating has come up a lot of late and while Harry can whined himself up in that way the players should take any anger out on their finishing for the next game. It was good to see that Harry was calm on his post-match interview and the goal certainly helped AFCB settle into a good passing mode once they had the lead. Everyone has to keep their heads now and just concentrate on playing to the best of their ability and not get too caught up in refereeing decisions or anything else, because when players like Arter try their hand at spectacular shots they have a habit of going in at the moment.