Game 11: Laverstock & Ford 0.3 Bournemouth (WESS PREM) 17.08.10

Alan drove up the A36 and picked me up en route to his first visit to Laverstock's ground. After parking up and sampling the delights of the refreshment stand we wandered pitchside and browsed the excellent programme.

Bournemouth had a good season in the league last year, finishing 4th - 3 points behind promoted Wimborne. Laverstock's season wasn't so good and they had to rely on a reprieve from relegation after finishing second bottom. While a few of the team from last year are still at the club, new manager Nev Beal has brought in 8 new players to try and improve things on the pitch. This includes Kent Kauppinen who played a few games in goal last season for Bemerton and is now playing an unusual utility player role - goalkeeper / forward.

The first period of the first half was fairly even in terms of chances and possession. Bournemouth were more confident on the ball and played a more controlled game than Laverstock. Laverstock would often play the ball out from defence and bypass the midfield which asked a lot from their strikers who were left chasing after the long clearances. They had a couple of set pieces that were wasted with shots flying well over the bar.

The first clear opportunity on goal fell to Laverstock in the 30th minute. They broke down the left side and one of their players reached the ball ahead of the defence and took it into the area. He hit a shot on target but from such a narrow angle that the keeper didn't have a problem in stopping it.

Bournemouth hit back and a minute later a shot on the spin flew wide of the post. They came closer to scoring in the 35th minute when a break down the right lead to a quick cross into the centre of the penalty area. Their number 11 received the ball and hit a first time volley just wide.

Laverstock made an early defensive substitution to try and stop the flow of chances coming down their left side. This was successful but only because Bournemouth switched their attack to focus on the other side. The substitution didn't prevent Bournemouth taking the lead in the 39th minute. Some simple passing play got the ball into the area and as one player dummied a shot, a team mate was in position to hit a low shot past the keeper and inside the left hand post.

I was impressed with the Bournemouth number 9 who was continually picking the ball up in midfield and running though the Laverstock midfield. In the 40th minute one of these runs made it through the defence as well as he reached the edge of the penalty area. With two team mates in good positions for a pass, he took the selfish option and ended up over-running the ball which went for a corner.

He learnt from this mistake as minutes later he took the ball on another run down the left side and this time played the ball to a better placed team mate. This lead to a shot on goal but the keeper was aware and made a good save. As the game went into injury time Bournemouth scored a second. A corner on the far side was hit deep and the ball ended up on the nearside. A Bournemouth player ran onto it and hit a pacy low cross into the centre for a team mate to stoop down and slide in to hit a curving shot past the keeper.

Laverstock came out for the second half with more determination. Perrett was almost through in the first minute of the half before a defender blocked his run and took the ball. A shot was fired over the bar and in the 51st minute a long throw from the substitute caused chaos in the area when it was flicked to the back post. Only a last ditch defensive clearance stopped it from sneaking in. Another long throw a few minutes later saw the ball scrambled around the penalty area before it was cleared.

The turning point in the match came in the 56th minute. Laverstock broke down the left side and hit a powerful rising shot past the keeper. It looked to be going in but crashed off the underside of the bar, down to the ground and bounced away from the goal. It didn't look like the ball had crossed the line and none of the players protested as play carried on. Bournemouth broke away quickly and took the ball down the other end. A low shot in the area beat the keeper and gave the visitors a 3.0 lead.

Laverstock were forced to use their last substitute in the 70th minute as their keeper was unable to continue. Four minutes later one of their outfield players went down after a tackle and ended up having to be stretchered off so Laverstock were down to 10 men.

With the numerical advantage it was no surprise to see Bournemouth pushing forward. They should have made it a four goal lead on several occasions with shots and headers flying wide and a good cross was dummied for a team mate to hit when the player was in a better position to score.

There had been a few niggles in the game and tempers boiled over following a late tackle. The referee booked two players and had to deal with an off the ball scuffle as the game went late into injury time. It looked like he was going to show another yellow card to a Laverstock player but the offender managed to talk himself into receiving a red card.