DAVID CONNOLLY
Our guest columnist analyses Bristol City and Bournemouth
IWATCHED Bournemouth move back into the top six in midweek with victory over Bristol City thanks to a lastgasp Cameron Carter-Vickers winner that he didn’t know much about but was certainly thrilled with. Before the game, Cherries manager Jonathan Woodgate spoke of the need to put together successive victories to gather momentum for a proper tilt at promotion and these were a huge three points - although the performance was below what Woodgate would have ideally wanted.
A bright start gave way to some really sloppy play in possession and Bournemouth only got back into the game after a Daniel Bentley error. The keeper spilled a simple cross into his own net just before half-time.
This knocked the stuffing out of the Robins and Bournemouth were much better in the second half. One noticeable difference from their last away game was that they didn’t risk playing out from inside their own box, which cost them a goal against QPR.
Woodgate has realised that pragmatism might be best at the sacrifice of an ideal way of playing. They played the percentage longer forward ball a lot more, which limited the chances of conceding needlessly by playing out.
I thought their set-pieces were so good and obviously a lot of thought and time had gone in on the training ground. No doubt the new backroom staff of Gary O’Neil and Joe Jordan have had an impact here. They nearly caught out Bristol City a few times so it was no surprise their winner eventually came from one.
One look at the bench told you all you needed to know with Bournemouth able to bring on Shane Long, Philip Billing and Diego Rico, whilst City had another youthful bench, as they did versus Swansea, with an average age of under 20. It was Billing who got the first contact from a corner that then hit Carter-Vickers and went in.
No doubt the strength and depth available to Woodgate will give the Cherries an advantage over others in the run-in.
Concern
One concern will be what I saw in their central striker Dominic Solanke. Talked up before the game by Woodgate as one of the best strikers in the division, he failed to impress with his hold-up play disappointing, his runs in behind often poorly timed and he never looked a threat until the introduction of Long. This moved Solanke behind Long into a number 10 position and suddenly he looked far more comfortable away from the physical contact, able to receive in space and utilise his trickery and speed to carry the ball upfield. This backed up my feeling that he isn’t the answer to the Cherries’ need for a number 9.
I am not a fan of statistics as they can be misleading but when I glanced at his output, one stat did stand out and that is his goal conversion rate. It’s so low at 17 per cent, no one has lower in the top 15 scorers list.
It appears Woodgate was trying to fill Solanke with confidence knowing their options may be limited. Whether they have enough firepower compared to their rivals will be critical in the run-in, so they need Solanke to swiftly recapture his early season form.