Torquay United 1 AFC Bournemouth 2
Attendance: 3,881
Match Sponsor: MANOR FARM
Matchball Sponsor: EUROPLAS
This afternoon at Plainmoor United went down to a second successive home defeat , this time Bournemouth were the visitors and the evergreen Steve Fletcher was the executioner with an 86th minute winner after Chris Todd had equalized a Brett Pitman opener.
Paul Buckle made one change from the side that beat Cheltenham in midweek with skipper Chris Hargreaves coming back into the starting line-up in place of Tyrone Thompson who dropped down to the bench. New signing Marvin Williams was also on the bench and goalkeeper Michael Poke is still awaiting the imminent arrival of his and his partner's first child back in Southampton.
There was a very good tempo to the game from the first whistle and it was the visitors who had first sight of goal with a 25 yard free-kick from Feeney but it was an easy take for Scott Bevan. There was an early setback for United in the 17th minute when Kieran Charnock went down clutching his hamstring after clearing the ball and he had to be replaced by Lee Hodges.
Chris Hargreaves sat out the midweek win at Cheltenham and the rest looked to have done him the power of good as he produced a number of timely challenges in midfield and one particularly notable piece of defending that involved a forty yard tracking run to nullify a dangerous looking Bournemouth breakaway.
The best move of the match in the opening half hour came from the Gulls when Tim Sills controlled and laid off the ball to Wayne Carlisle who bent a super pass over the top of the Bournemouth defence into the path of Elliot Benyon. The United stiker looked up and slipped the ball out to the left wing and the feet of Danny Stevens who cut inside from the wing but shanked his 20 yard shot over Jalal's goal.
After a bright start both sides seemed to be cancelling each other out and clear cut chances were few and far between but there were glimpses of the sharp, incisive passing the United have been trying to play all season and these moves coincided with the home side's better spells in what became a match in which both teams seemed intent on grinding down the other.
To compound the loss of centre half Charnock earlier in the half United then had to readjust for the loss of their captain moments before the break. An earlier tackle had left its mark on Chris Hargreaves and he eventually had to give way to Tyrone Thompson, his replacement in midweek. No goals at the break and at least one of the managers were going to have to tinker a little to open the game up.
Half-Time: United 0 Bournemouth 0
No further changes for United at the break but what turned out to be a vital change was made by Bournemouth with the vastly experienced Steve Fletcher taking to the field of play. There aren't many surprises in Fletcher's play but he is one of the best at his solid style of striking at this level as United were going to learn the hard way.
United were having the better of the early second half exchanges and it was the loss of the ball on the edge of the visitor's penalty box that brought the opening goal. Danny Stevens was trying desperately to get a bouncing ball under control 20 yards out when the ball was toe-poked away from him and Bournemouth sprung a breakaway. Eventually the ball finished at the feet of Feeney out on the left wing and his cross was headed home from eight yards by Pitman to give the visitors the lead.
United 0 Bournemouth 1 (Pitman 49)
This had always seemed like a game where one goal could well be enough but that wasn't an option for the Gulls now and they did their best to respond. United were playing some very tidy football at times but the Bournemouth defence has stood firm for much of the early season and they are a tough nut to crack.
It was going to take something special to bring about an equalizer and such was forthcoming via the technically gifted feet of Danny Stevens. Bournemouth must have thought they had dealt with a United free-kick as they cleared their area but Nicky Wroe slid a neat sideways pass to Stevens who, not for the first time this afternoon, took on his marker and a couple of yards from the byline swung in a superb curling cross at pace that was gleefully met six yards out by Chris Todd who had stayed forward after the set piece.
United 1 (Todd 63) Bournemouth 1
With a quarter of the match remaining the game was in the balance but the momentum was surely with United, all they had to was press home the pressure! Bournemouth thought they had retaken the lead shortly after when in their eyes Scott Bevan had lost control of the ball while trying to claim it on the floor but the referee deemed that Guyett had kicked the ball out of the Gulls' 'keeper's hands and awarded a free-kick.
With fifteen minutes to go United came inches away from taking the lead when a good move down the left finished with a Kevin Nicholson cross being met powerfully by Tim Sills on the edge of the visitor's area but his header beat Jalal and hit the top of the crossbar. It was unlucky on Sills and United as the effort deserved a goal.
After 86 minutes of pretty even football there was a sting in the tale of this particular contest; Feeney once again proved his worth out wide, this time from the right wing, when United seemed to switch off at a Bournemouth throw-in and the midfielder swung in an inviting cross that Fletcher dreams about. The stalwart striker jumped early enough to withstand any challenge from United and headed down and home from eight yards giving Bevan no chance.
United 1 Bournemouth 2 (Fletcher 86)
It was tough on the Gulls but they still forced an opportunity snatch a point when a Nicholson free-kick from the left was met by Chris Robertson but he couldn't fully direct his header and the ball bounced to safety wide of Jalal's left hand post.
The Gulls probably deserved something out of the game, three points may have been a touch greedy on the balance of play but a point would have been a fair reflection on events. There are harsh lessons to be learned in the world of League 2, lessons that United weren't exposed to in the Conference. Three league defeats is far from ideal but performances have hinted at better things to come, Rochdale next weekend would be a nice beginning to a positive run.
Final Score: United 1 AFC Bournemouth 2
United: Bevan; Robertson, Todd, Charnock (Hodges 17), Nicholson, Carlisle, Hargreaves (Thompson 44), Wroe, Stevens, Sills (Rendell 88), Benyon. Subs not used: Brough, Carayol, Joyce, Williams.
Goals: Todd (61)
Yellow Cards: Wroe, Nicholson.
