Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2009 18:10:12 GMT
Over a thousand Cherries fans help produce a good atmosphere at Plainmoor and contribute to us surpassing the magical 'break even figure'.
I've had to miss a few games & so this was my first chance to see Kieran Charnock in a Gulls shirt. The initial signs are very pleasing...he's wearing black boots!
After studying the game closely for many years I've concluded that a good rule of thumb is that the side with the most outfield players wearing white boots generally loses.
As the sides line up for kick off the portents don't look good, the Cherries have Cherry Blossomed their boots where as we have only Charnock & Benyon wearing black & the other eight opting for white.
There's also no cherry red shirts for the Cherries,but instead a rather drab black, surely they didn't have to change because Bevan has opted for a red shirt this season ?
Boscombe kick off, one touch & it's whacked straight out of play, instantly reminding me of what I was reading earlier in the week. Matt Le Tissier recalled attempting the same thing when spread betting first came in. He stood to make a packet if the first throw in was timed at around the 4 second mark. Unfortunately for him a team mate miraculously kept the ball in play despite Matt's attempt to over hit his 'pass' out to the wing.
Le Tiss says the ball didn't go out for 70 seconds & in that time he had never run so much, as he tried to get the ball in order to boot it into touch.
A fairly non descript opening to the game, which seemed to be refereed by the Pop side. If we howled for a free kick we invariably got one.
Benyon has mastered the art of backing into the defender yet still ending up winning the free kick when they both fall over.
After quarter of an hour another bad sign, a hamstring injury results in Charnock (black boots) being replaced by Hodges (white boots).
Half an hour on the clock & Bournemouth fans cheer as though they've scored. A direct free kick has been given in their favour & in a dangerous position. Danny Stevens takes his place in the wall, I've no idea why we let him do that unless we actually want to encourage the opposition to shoot. A decent shot on target but Bevan gets right behind it.
A minute before half time & Hargreaves (white boots) is replaced by Thompson (yellow boots).
Hargreaves had given his all, broken up a few attacks but succumbed to a painful knee. Benyon's industry up front has to be commended although he'd not had through balls of sufficient quality to make anything of his hard work. Our defence had been largely untroubled by the ineffectual Connell, Feeny's forays down the right wing being our only cause for concern. And so the first half petered out all square.
H.T 0-0
Bring on the forksmen & a squeaky voiced blonde with a microphone. As the Pop side started up a chorus of "Aussie,Aussie show us yer fork" the blonde wittered on about how much we must all be enjoying the match etc so most people tuned her out by either going to Boots & Laces for a pint or inserting their earphones to catch up with the half times.
Certainly the winner of the 50/50 wasn't listening to her as no one came forward to collect the cash.
Then they wheeled on the Chairman to say a few words as he departs that post, followed by a member of our disabled supporters who was wheeled on in the more literal sense as it was announced what the half time collection would be in aid of.
Thompson came out early, as he only had a minutes play under his belt & was using the half time break for a kick around to loosen his muscles.
Then we were treated to a majestic peice of skill !
Who would have guessed that after a fairly lack lustre first half the best piece of skill on the pitch would be seen during the half time break ? Thompson misconnected, & the wayward football shot off in the direction of the perimeter only to be intercepted by Forksman Aussie! With lightening footwork reminiscent of Michael Jackson's 'Moonwalk', Aussie glided backwards across the turf,fork still in hand, & treated the crowd to a nifty back heel as he brought the stray football under control.
Calls of 'Buckle sign him up' were audible in most parts of the ground.
With the teams ready to come out for the second half Aussie & his fellow forkers departed with the cheers of the crowd ringing in their ears. Whether this was in appreciation of the great ball skills we had witnessed or the fact that Exeter one nil down at Gillingham was being announced over the P.A we may never know.
Second half and it was soon evident why 90% of the Bournemouth fans chants were paying hommage to their talented young Manager Eddie Howe. He'd clearly learned the lessons from the first half, made the changes necessary and was then able to watch his team reap the rewards. On came big, & I mean big, Steve Fletcher to spearhead their attack, replacing Alan Connell. Five minutes into the second half and it's one nil to Bournemouth. The first half tactic of knocking the ball up to Connell & Pitman was ditched, in the second half the midfielders carried the ball to them running at us with the ball & now there was no Hargreaves to stop them. The impressive Sammy Igoe played a delightfully angled and weighted ball which Feeney ( who had been told to swap wings at half time & attack Robertson instead of Nicholson) took full advantage of to deliver an accurate cross headed home by Pitman. The last person I wanted to see score after his particularly nasty, & in my view deliberate foul on Todd just a few minutes earlier.
All credit to the Gulls for the character they showed in trying to fight their way back into the game. By the way the Family Stand were jumping around it seems that we had a more than justifiable claim for a penalty as Danny Stevens blockbuster appeared to be charged down by an opposition arm. Nothing given,but a few minutes later Toddy timed his run into the box perfectly & powered his header into the net for the equaliser.
And so a draw was on the cards, but their was to be a sting in the tail and with less than 5 minutes to go Bournemouth claimed their winner. An inviting cross was swung over and Man Mountain Fletcher got up to meet it, twisted the old neck muscles & a bullet header flew past the static Bevan.
Sills again had a mostly anonymous afternoon, briefly showing one nice piece of skill which I predict will impress the Forest Green fans during his loan spell later in the season & he connected with a good header which hit the top of the crossbar.
So in a last throw of the dice Bucks hauls off Sills (white boots) & replaces him with Rendell (white boots). Was there to be even more drama as the final whistle loomed ?.. well almost, Rendell had an excellent chance but connected poorly with his header knocking it down into the ground & wide of the goal. And that seemed to be that, surely the final chance of the match missed.
The ball boy had certainly resigned himself to defeat, stubbornly refusing to leave his seat to retrieve the ball a few feet away from him. Eventually Benyon trotted over to get the ball so that Bournemouth could take the goal kick. Young Elliott was also announced as our 'Man of the Match' no doubt in recognition of his whole hearted display & the fact that he finished the game as the only Torquay player without white footwear.
The whistle blew, the Cherries fans went home happy, & the P.A announced that the number of the winning 50/50 ticket would be publicised on the website as it was still not claimed.
Desperately in need of something to raise my spirits I decide to treat myself to a pair of the new away socks. Managing to fight my way around to the Club shop, brandish my tenner at the counter & yes..you've guessed it...none in stock!
The detour to the Club shop makes me late back to the car..but unfortunately not late enough to miss Mr.Buckle's post match pearls of wisdom on the radio. He explains that the loss of Hargreaves & Charnock meant we lost "two six footers" who might have stopped those headed goals from Bournemouth.
Now if the goals had come from set pieces he might have had a point, but who in our line up could have given big Fletcher a run for his money in an ariel battle ?...that's right..ROBERTSON ! but instead of tussling with Fletcher & nodding away those balls to the heart of our defence that we conceeded from where was Robertson ?...that's right again...he's at bl**dy full back !
And he has to attempt to play there because we will recruit players for any & every position on the field except right back !
Mansell does a decent job there but he still looks like a midfielder playing full back. Just one proper right back on the staff & we could have moved Robbo into the middle of defence & possibly got something out of the game.
Never mind, there's always next week.... but I did hear a couple of fans moaning after the game
I've had to miss a few games & so this was my first chance to see Kieran Charnock in a Gulls shirt. The initial signs are very pleasing...he's wearing black boots!
After studying the game closely for many years I've concluded that a good rule of thumb is that the side with the most outfield players wearing white boots generally loses.
As the sides line up for kick off the portents don't look good, the Cherries have Cherry Blossomed their boots where as we have only Charnock & Benyon wearing black & the other eight opting for white.
There's also no cherry red shirts for the Cherries,but instead a rather drab black, surely they didn't have to change because Bevan has opted for a red shirt this season ?
Boscombe kick off, one touch & it's whacked straight out of play, instantly reminding me of what I was reading earlier in the week. Matt Le Tissier recalled attempting the same thing when spread betting first came in. He stood to make a packet if the first throw in was timed at around the 4 second mark. Unfortunately for him a team mate miraculously kept the ball in play despite Matt's attempt to over hit his 'pass' out to the wing.
Le Tiss says the ball didn't go out for 70 seconds & in that time he had never run so much, as he tried to get the ball in order to boot it into touch.
A fairly non descript opening to the game, which seemed to be refereed by the Pop side. If we howled for a free kick we invariably got one.
Benyon has mastered the art of backing into the defender yet still ending up winning the free kick when they both fall over.
After quarter of an hour another bad sign, a hamstring injury results in Charnock (black boots) being replaced by Hodges (white boots).
Half an hour on the clock & Bournemouth fans cheer as though they've scored. A direct free kick has been given in their favour & in a dangerous position. Danny Stevens takes his place in the wall, I've no idea why we let him do that unless we actually want to encourage the opposition to shoot. A decent shot on target but Bevan gets right behind it.
A minute before half time & Hargreaves (white boots) is replaced by Thompson (yellow boots).
Hargreaves had given his all, broken up a few attacks but succumbed to a painful knee. Benyon's industry up front has to be commended although he'd not had through balls of sufficient quality to make anything of his hard work. Our defence had been largely untroubled by the ineffectual Connell, Feeny's forays down the right wing being our only cause for concern. And so the first half petered out all square.
H.T 0-0
Bring on the forksmen & a squeaky voiced blonde with a microphone. As the Pop side started up a chorus of "Aussie,Aussie show us yer fork" the blonde wittered on about how much we must all be enjoying the match etc so most people tuned her out by either going to Boots & Laces for a pint or inserting their earphones to catch up with the half times.
Certainly the winner of the 50/50 wasn't listening to her as no one came forward to collect the cash.
Then they wheeled on the Chairman to say a few words as he departs that post, followed by a member of our disabled supporters who was wheeled on in the more literal sense as it was announced what the half time collection would be in aid of.
Thompson came out early, as he only had a minutes play under his belt & was using the half time break for a kick around to loosen his muscles.
Then we were treated to a majestic peice of skill !
Who would have guessed that after a fairly lack lustre first half the best piece of skill on the pitch would be seen during the half time break ? Thompson misconnected, & the wayward football shot off in the direction of the perimeter only to be intercepted by Forksman Aussie! With lightening footwork reminiscent of Michael Jackson's 'Moonwalk', Aussie glided backwards across the turf,fork still in hand, & treated the crowd to a nifty back heel as he brought the stray football under control.
Calls of 'Buckle sign him up' were audible in most parts of the ground.
With the teams ready to come out for the second half Aussie & his fellow forkers departed with the cheers of the crowd ringing in their ears. Whether this was in appreciation of the great ball skills we had witnessed or the fact that Exeter one nil down at Gillingham was being announced over the P.A we may never know.
Second half and it was soon evident why 90% of the Bournemouth fans chants were paying hommage to their talented young Manager Eddie Howe. He'd clearly learned the lessons from the first half, made the changes necessary and was then able to watch his team reap the rewards. On came big, & I mean big, Steve Fletcher to spearhead their attack, replacing Alan Connell. Five minutes into the second half and it's one nil to Bournemouth. The first half tactic of knocking the ball up to Connell & Pitman was ditched, in the second half the midfielders carried the ball to them running at us with the ball & now there was no Hargreaves to stop them. The impressive Sammy Igoe played a delightfully angled and weighted ball which Feeney ( who had been told to swap wings at half time & attack Robertson instead of Nicholson) took full advantage of to deliver an accurate cross headed home by Pitman. The last person I wanted to see score after his particularly nasty, & in my view deliberate foul on Todd just a few minutes earlier.
All credit to the Gulls for the character they showed in trying to fight their way back into the game. By the way the Family Stand were jumping around it seems that we had a more than justifiable claim for a penalty as Danny Stevens blockbuster appeared to be charged down by an opposition arm. Nothing given,but a few minutes later Toddy timed his run into the box perfectly & powered his header into the net for the equaliser.
And so a draw was on the cards, but their was to be a sting in the tail and with less than 5 minutes to go Bournemouth claimed their winner. An inviting cross was swung over and Man Mountain Fletcher got up to meet it, twisted the old neck muscles & a bullet header flew past the static Bevan.
Sills again had a mostly anonymous afternoon, briefly showing one nice piece of skill which I predict will impress the Forest Green fans during his loan spell later in the season & he connected with a good header which hit the top of the crossbar.
So in a last throw of the dice Bucks hauls off Sills (white boots) & replaces him with Rendell (white boots). Was there to be even more drama as the final whistle loomed ?.. well almost, Rendell had an excellent chance but connected poorly with his header knocking it down into the ground & wide of the goal. And that seemed to be that, surely the final chance of the match missed.
The ball boy had certainly resigned himself to defeat, stubbornly refusing to leave his seat to retrieve the ball a few feet away from him. Eventually Benyon trotted over to get the ball so that Bournemouth could take the goal kick. Young Elliott was also announced as our 'Man of the Match' no doubt in recognition of his whole hearted display & the fact that he finished the game as the only Torquay player without white footwear.
The whistle blew, the Cherries fans went home happy, & the P.A announced that the number of the winning 50/50 ticket would be publicised on the website as it was still not claimed.
Desperately in need of something to raise my spirits I decide to treat myself to a pair of the new away socks. Managing to fight my way around to the Club shop, brandish my tenner at the counter & yes..you've guessed it...none in stock!
The detour to the Club shop makes me late back to the car..but unfortunately not late enough to miss Mr.Buckle's post match pearls of wisdom on the radio. He explains that the loss of Hargreaves & Charnock meant we lost "two six footers" who might have stopped those headed goals from Bournemouth.
Now if the goals had come from set pieces he might have had a point, but who in our line up could have given big Fletcher a run for his money in an ariel battle ?...that's right..ROBERTSON ! but instead of tussling with Fletcher & nodding away those balls to the heart of our defence that we conceeded from where was Robertson ?...that's right again...he's at bl**dy full back !
And he has to attempt to play there because we will recruit players for any & every position on the field except right back !
Mansell does a decent job there but he still looks like a midfielder playing full back. Just one proper right back on the staff & we could have moved Robbo into the middle of defence & possibly got something out of the game.
Never mind, there's always next week.... but I did hear a couple of fans moaning after the game
Modern day boots........................now you're rattling my skeleton 
you must have lost weight since you bought the shirt