Cherries Match Report
EASTLEIGH V BOURNEMOUTH
TUESDAY 7th NOVEMBER 2006
FRIENDLY
Eastleigh made a lively start to the match against a Bournemouth side that contained mainly squad players and reserves along with four trialists. For Paul Doswell’s side it was a chance to give his first team players another game before their next Conference South game which is still two weeks away.
Changes from the weekend’s starting line up that were defeated by the solitary goal at Farnborough included Jack Smith replacing Martin Thomas at right back, whilst Ian Oliver returned to the side and Darren Wheeler got a full 90 minutes under his belt following his injury. Youngster Phil Cousins also made the starting eleven. David Hughes, Steve West and the latest Eastleigh casualty Bertie Brayley (who has now signed for Braintree), the players missing out.
From the first whistle Darren Wheeler’s pace looked like causing a problem to Bournemouth as he demonstrated early on putting former Southampton goalkeeper Neil Moss under immense pressure as he was left with an awkward back pass with the tricky forward coming at the Cherries keeper rapidly.
Danny Smith also looked good in the opening stages as he twice created two opportunities for Eastleigh in quick succession. Firstly a splendid through ball over the top saw Moss just beat Wheeler to the ball to clear the danger, and then Smith, playing against his old club, teed up Liam Green who fired over with a weak left foot effort.
The visitors’ first attempt came on 10 minutes when a teasing corner from Lionel Ainsworth saw Spitfires keeper James Pullen come a good distance out of his goal but failing to catch the ball. It was headed back in with Pullen stranded but somehow Bournemouth nodded over from a couple of yards.
Two minutes later, Eastleigh should have taken the lead. A lovely move between the impressive Jack Smith and Phil Cousins saw the ball whipped into the box by skipper Andy Harris putting it on a plate for Andy Forbes at the back post. Eastleigh’s top scorer Forbes missed the kind of chance he usually thrives on as his left foot volley flew high and wide from close range.
Darren Wheeler’s electric speed again nearly caused an upset for Kevin Bond’s Bournemouth. Centre back Greg Crane was caught in possession by the super quick Wheeler and with the goal ahead of him, the former Weymouth player decided to come back on to his left foot and in doing so lost the ball, whereas if he ran straight, he would have been in the clear and one on one with Moss.
With two good opportunities going amiss for Eastleigh, the Cherries capitalised with a 16th minute header. GREG CRANE applied the finish from a right wing corner as Bournemouth picked up a one-goal lead against the run of play.
Before Bournemouth doubled their lead, Andy Forbes had a powerful left foot drive turned round the post by a top diving save from Neil Moss low to his right. From the resulting corner, Moss collected the ball comfortably and in an instant started a counter attack with an excellent throw to Richard Cooke who was in acres of space on the halfway line. A smart ball to the right saw the tricky LIONEL AINSWORTH take on Ian Oliver and even then he had a lot of work to do. Ainsworth let fly with a thunderbolt strike from the right wing, that rocketed into the roof of the net despite James Pullen’s best effort, getting a glove on it.
Having gone two goals down, it would have been very easy for Eastleigh to give in and take a stroll. All credit must go to Eastleigh for playing with good passion, managing to create opportunities whilst knocking the ball around well and competing for every ball.
Andy Forbes was brought down just three yards out of the box on 31 minutes, but Darren Wheeler’s free kick left Moss with an easy save. Moments later Wheeler produced a fine save out of the Bournemouth stopper as he linked up well with Andy Forbes.
At the other end, Lionel Ainsworth (arguably Bournemouth’s best player on show) came close on two occasions and will be disappointed with both finishes as his pace left Eastleigh in all kinds of trouble at the back.
As the half came to a close, it was Eastleigh that had the last opportunity. Phil Cousins played a good ball to Rob Marshall, who was in unfamiliar territory of right midfield, as the centre half picked out Forbes at the back post with a cross that any winger would be proud of. With his back to goal Forbes was muscled off the ball and Bournemouth managed to break away as a result with Brett Pitman forcing a good save from James Pullen on the stroke of half time.
HALF TIME – Eastleigh 0-2 Bournemouth
The Spitfires, on the back of a good 45 minutes of football, were given a reminder of just how dangerous Bournemouth can be. Only a minute had been played when Ainsworth was left kicking his boots for squandering a golden chance. The move started out with tall front man Patrick Dimbala holding off a Chris Collins challenge, flicking on cleverly for James Coutts. The nippy winger worked it nicely for Ainsworth, who had all the time in the world in front of goal but he was too casual about the finish and his chip flew harmlessly wide.
Eastleigh failed to learn from this early warning sign because in the very next minute LIONEL AINSWORTH smashed the ball home for goal number three. A cross came in from the left and a combination of sloppiness and failing to clear their lines saw the Spitfires pay the price as Ainsworth pounced slamming in his second of the game leaving Pullen no chance from just 6 yards out.
It almost seemed that Eastleigh were spurred into action as a result of conceding early on and again they went in search of a goal. Andy Forbes tried his best as he ran at first half goalscorer Greg Crane, wrong-footing the defender allowing him to shoot at goal but in the end it was another easy stop for Moss.
Fit again Darren Wheeler reminded Eastleigh fans just how talented he can be on his day as he ran from the right back position taking on one player at a time. With a number of team mates screaming for the ball ‘Wheels’ continued his run and let rip with a 40-yard effort that had tremendous dip and swerve on it. Moss did well to scramble across and flick the ball wide to deny what would have been a sensational goal at any standard.
A little over five minutes into the second half, Karim Hraiba replaced Liam Green and immediately his left footed in-swinging corner caused panic in the Bournemouth goal area with Danny Smith meeting the delicious delivery with a firm header. It was well stopped on the line and eventually cleared ahead of Rob Marshall who looked to scramble it in.
Another substitute, Peter Castle who came on for Chris Collins, very nearly scored with his first touch. Andy Harris knocked a good ball in that fell kindly for former Reading defender Castle who had plenty of time. As he went to strike it, a fantastic intervention by a Bournemouth centre back thwarted yet another Eastleigh effort.
Hraiba continued to put the Cherries under threat with several good corners, Moss having to punch over the bar just after the hour mark direct from the Frenchman’s delivery.
Finally Eastleigh got the goal that they so thoroughly deserved. Zach Glasspool deserves credit for winning the free kick out of nothing in the first place. The young striker who had come on for Andy Forbes, had very little space to work with but still managed to nick the ball around his marker before being unfairly impeded. DARREN WHEELER swung in a free kick of immense quality that evaded everyone in the box, KARIM HRAIBA looked to have got a head on it to divert the ball into the bottom corner but Wheeler will claim it went in directly. All the same it was an Eastleigh goal and one that looked like it was coming for a while.
Glasspool almost grabbed a goal for himself with time running out. A glancing header from Zach flashed inches over the bar from yet another dangerous Hraiba corner.
James Pullen had made way for Luke Douglas in the 75th minute, and the reserves stopper who has previously been with Southampton, pulled off a save right out of the top drawer to deny Lionel Ainsworth a hattrick.
FULL TIME – Eastleigh 1-3 Bournemouth
JAMIE MONTIGUE
TUESDAY 7th NOVEMBER 2006
FRIENDLY
Eastleigh made a lively start to the match against a Bournemouth side that contained mainly squad players and reserves along with four trialists. For Paul Doswell’s side it was a chance to give his first team players another game before their next Conference South game which is still two weeks away.
Changes from the weekend’s starting line up that were defeated by the solitary goal at Farnborough included Jack Smith replacing Martin Thomas at right back, whilst Ian Oliver returned to the side and Darren Wheeler got a full 90 minutes under his belt following his injury. Youngster Phil Cousins also made the starting eleven. David Hughes, Steve West and the latest Eastleigh casualty Bertie Brayley (who has now signed for Braintree), the players missing out.
From the first whistle Darren Wheeler’s pace looked like causing a problem to Bournemouth as he demonstrated early on putting former Southampton goalkeeper Neil Moss under immense pressure as he was left with an awkward back pass with the tricky forward coming at the Cherries keeper rapidly.
Danny Smith also looked good in the opening stages as he twice created two opportunities for Eastleigh in quick succession. Firstly a splendid through ball over the top saw Moss just beat Wheeler to the ball to clear the danger, and then Smith, playing against his old club, teed up Liam Green who fired over with a weak left foot effort.
The visitors’ first attempt came on 10 minutes when a teasing corner from Lionel Ainsworth saw Spitfires keeper James Pullen come a good distance out of his goal but failing to catch the ball. It was headed back in with Pullen stranded but somehow Bournemouth nodded over from a couple of yards.
Two minutes later, Eastleigh should have taken the lead. A lovely move between the impressive Jack Smith and Phil Cousins saw the ball whipped into the box by skipper Andy Harris putting it on a plate for Andy Forbes at the back post. Eastleigh’s top scorer Forbes missed the kind of chance he usually thrives on as his left foot volley flew high and wide from close range.
Darren Wheeler’s electric speed again nearly caused an upset for Kevin Bond’s Bournemouth. Centre back Greg Crane was caught in possession by the super quick Wheeler and with the goal ahead of him, the former Weymouth player decided to come back on to his left foot and in doing so lost the ball, whereas if he ran straight, he would have been in the clear and one on one with Moss.
With two good opportunities going amiss for Eastleigh, the Cherries capitalised with a 16th minute header. GREG CRANE applied the finish from a right wing corner as Bournemouth picked up a one-goal lead against the run of play.
Before Bournemouth doubled their lead, Andy Forbes had a powerful left foot drive turned round the post by a top diving save from Neil Moss low to his right. From the resulting corner, Moss collected the ball comfortably and in an instant started a counter attack with an excellent throw to Richard Cooke who was in acres of space on the halfway line. A smart ball to the right saw the tricky LIONEL AINSWORTH take on Ian Oliver and even then he had a lot of work to do. Ainsworth let fly with a thunderbolt strike from the right wing, that rocketed into the roof of the net despite James Pullen’s best effort, getting a glove on it.
Having gone two goals down, it would have been very easy for Eastleigh to give in and take a stroll. All credit must go to Eastleigh for playing with good passion, managing to create opportunities whilst knocking the ball around well and competing for every ball.
Andy Forbes was brought down just three yards out of the box on 31 minutes, but Darren Wheeler’s free kick left Moss with an easy save. Moments later Wheeler produced a fine save out of the Bournemouth stopper as he linked up well with Andy Forbes.
At the other end, Lionel Ainsworth (arguably Bournemouth’s best player on show) came close on two occasions and will be disappointed with both finishes as his pace left Eastleigh in all kinds of trouble at the back.
As the half came to a close, it was Eastleigh that had the last opportunity. Phil Cousins played a good ball to Rob Marshall, who was in unfamiliar territory of right midfield, as the centre half picked out Forbes at the back post with a cross that any winger would be proud of. With his back to goal Forbes was muscled off the ball and Bournemouth managed to break away as a result with Brett Pitman forcing a good save from James Pullen on the stroke of half time.
HALF TIME – Eastleigh 0-2 Bournemouth
The Spitfires, on the back of a good 45 minutes of football, were given a reminder of just how dangerous Bournemouth can be. Only a minute had been played when Ainsworth was left kicking his boots for squandering a golden chance. The move started out with tall front man Patrick Dimbala holding off a Chris Collins challenge, flicking on cleverly for James Coutts. The nippy winger worked it nicely for Ainsworth, who had all the time in the world in front of goal but he was too casual about the finish and his chip flew harmlessly wide.
Eastleigh failed to learn from this early warning sign because in the very next minute LIONEL AINSWORTH smashed the ball home for goal number three. A cross came in from the left and a combination of sloppiness and failing to clear their lines saw the Spitfires pay the price as Ainsworth pounced slamming in his second of the game leaving Pullen no chance from just 6 yards out.
It almost seemed that Eastleigh were spurred into action as a result of conceding early on and again they went in search of a goal. Andy Forbes tried his best as he ran at first half goalscorer Greg Crane, wrong-footing the defender allowing him to shoot at goal but in the end it was another easy stop for Moss.
Fit again Darren Wheeler reminded Eastleigh fans just how talented he can be on his day as he ran from the right back position taking on one player at a time. With a number of team mates screaming for the ball ‘Wheels’ continued his run and let rip with a 40-yard effort that had tremendous dip and swerve on it. Moss did well to scramble across and flick the ball wide to deny what would have been a sensational goal at any standard.
A little over five minutes into the second half, Karim Hraiba replaced Liam Green and immediately his left footed in-swinging corner caused panic in the Bournemouth goal area with Danny Smith meeting the delicious delivery with a firm header. It was well stopped on the line and eventually cleared ahead of Rob Marshall who looked to scramble it in.
Another substitute, Peter Castle who came on for Chris Collins, very nearly scored with his first touch. Andy Harris knocked a good ball in that fell kindly for former Reading defender Castle who had plenty of time. As he went to strike it, a fantastic intervention by a Bournemouth centre back thwarted yet another Eastleigh effort.
Hraiba continued to put the Cherries under threat with several good corners, Moss having to punch over the bar just after the hour mark direct from the Frenchman’s delivery.
Finally Eastleigh got the goal that they so thoroughly deserved. Zach Glasspool deserves credit for winning the free kick out of nothing in the first place. The young striker who had come on for Andy Forbes, had very little space to work with but still managed to nick the ball around his marker before being unfairly impeded. DARREN WHEELER swung in a free kick of immense quality that evaded everyone in the box, KARIM HRAIBA looked to have got a head on it to divert the ball into the bottom corner but Wheeler will claim it went in directly. All the same it was an Eastleigh goal and one that looked like it was coming for a while.
Glasspool almost grabbed a goal for himself with time running out. A glancing header from Zach flashed inches over the bar from yet another dangerous Hraiba corner.
James Pullen had made way for Luke Douglas in the 75th minute, and the reserves stopper who has previously been with Southampton, pulled off a save right out of the top drawer to deny Lionel Ainsworth a hattrick.
FULL TIME – Eastleigh 1-3 Bournemouth
JAMIE MONTIGUE
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