AFCB VS Blackpool

The Cherries suffered their first home defeat of the season at the hands of table topping Blackpool.

The visitors run out 2-1 winners in an incident packed match to remain top of the table and unbeaten in the Championship.

AFC Bournemouth made only one change to the team that beat Doncaster, Eunan O’ Kane replaced the injured Harry Arter.

The Cherries started brightly and had a chance to be ahead in the first minute but Lewis Grabben couldn’t direct his header on target after Brett Pitman found him with a superbly weighted pass.

Blackpool made us pay straight away and took the lead after seven minutes when Ricardo Fuller headed in unmarked from a dangerous cross.

The Cherries hit back almost instantly when a Steve Cook long throw was flicked on and superbly slotted away by Grabben.

AFCB spurred on by the equaliser had their best spell of pressure in the first half playing some nice football.

Blackpool got back into the game ten minutes before the break, managers son and former Liverpool youth player Tom Ince saw more of the ball and almost restored the lead when he went past Charlie Daniels into the box but his shot came back off of the post.

The Cherries started the second half slowly and where punished almost instantly when Neal Bishops glancing near post header from a Tom Ince corner restored Blackpool’s lead.

The game was turned on its head when on loan Liverpool defender Jack Robinson was shown a second yellow card and Blackpool where reduced to ten men, for a foul on flying winger Ryan Fraser.

The Cherries had a lot of possession and dominated the play without really creating a lot of clear cut opportunities.

The games second bit of controversy came when substitute Nathan Delfouneso missed an opportunity when through one on one with Ryan Allsop, Blackpool manager Paul Ince in frustration threw a bottle to the ground which bounced into the crowd and hit a steward on the foot.

Ince was sent to the stands by referee Oliver Langford, the decision delighted the North Stand and prompted them to chant “Where’s your daddy gone” at Tom Ince.

The Cherries best chances fell to substitute Wes Thomas; the striker headed over from a Simon Francis cross and then was unlucky to see his shot from inside the box deflected agonisingly over the bar.

Both teams rightly had goals ruled out for offside and Blackpool held on to claim victory.

The Cherries where certainly not at their best on Saturday but I felt we deserved a draw, I was impressed with Tom Ince and he certainly looks like a player with a bright future.

From our perspective I think it is a good thing that we have Barnsley at home on Tuesday night hopefully we can bounce straight back from that defeat.

I am looking forward to the day when we can have all our key players fit, just think we have 

Coulibaly, Arter, Rantie and Ritchie to come back in the side.

AFCB 1-2 Blackpool

Attendance 9,446

Cherries star man: Steve Cook