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AFCB v Newcastle – Highlights & Reaction

Photo of DJ DJ | 11:12 12/02/23
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This fixture was always going to be a strange one for the Dean Court faithful.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe’s association with AFC Bournemouth is of course well documented. If you want to relive that story, click here – The highs and highs of Howe at Bournemouth.

That fairytale didn’t of course have the happy ending it deserved, not the relegation aspect, but the fact that due to the global pandemic, the Cherries were relegated in an empty stadium. The fans robbed of the opportunity to show our appreciation to the man that made our wildest dreams a reality. Within days he had left and he entered a year-long sabbatical before he took the role at Newcastle United.

Howe is now showing the world what we already knew on the south coast, just how good a manager, leader and human he is. He’s taken Newcastle United from the brink of relegation last season, to a domestic cup final and in the race for European competition this season.

All sentiment was paused inside the ground until the final whistle, a game in which AFC Bournemouth impressed, a fit again Dominic Solanke with new signings O.Dango and Traore gave the Cherries fresh impetus up front. Jaidon Anthony, fresh off the news of signing a new contract also added enthusiasm and energy down the left wing.

The centre of midfield was dominated by Jefferson Lerma and Philip Billing, whilst the back was marshalled by newly appointed captain Neto in goal, Adam Smith and Jordan Zemura as full-backs and Marcos Senesi partnered with Jack Stephens.

On another day the Cherries could have taken the points and the performance might be enough for under-pressure AFC Bournemouth head coach Gary O’Neil to enjoy a bit of breathing space for a week.

After the match, O’Neil told Sky Sports…

“Newcastle haven’t lost a game in 17 and are fourth in the league so it was always going to be tough to win the game. I felt we deserved to. We had the better chances. The longer the game wore on, we looked to win it.

“A bit disappointed we didn’t take all three points but the positives are that we improved again and the performance was better than last week. We have some key players back and look a threat. They are a together group that are willing to work as hard as you ask them to. We have some quality to cause teams problems.

“People tend to get carried away when you lose or when the performances are better. I am always level on it. We need to win football matches. Performance wise we picked up some momentum. Momentum is pushing in the right direction. We need to keep it that way and put more points on the board.”

Man of the match against Newcastle

Senesi

Senesi

O. Dango

O. Dango

Lerma

Lerma

Solanke

Solanke

Someone else

Someone else

Written by thegazzyb

So much happier with how we finished this game, not settling for a point but continuing to play.
Has Gary O’Neil finally learned his lesson?
It may not always work but probably more often than 11 behind the ball.
Well done lads, great effort and credit to GO for getting it right.
Only a couple of cm from winning 2-1 against a side flying high.
Great noise from the fans in the ground too :clap:
I enjoyed the last ten minutes as much as the first.
That’s got to be an improvement, surely ?

Mdl said…

Would’ve ripped your hand off for a point before the game, but come away from this feeling almost disappointed.

Much improved performance, gives me some hope!

NWCherries98 said…

Should’ve won in the end but a much better performance all the way through the game. Botman should’ve been sent off for a second booking. Might’ve spiced it up a bit more. Solanke committed to a flick when he actually had time to wallop it in. Not his best game but just back from an injury.

One of our better performances this season for sure. A little reassuring but also a shame that we couldn’t have attacked more games like that in the second half against worse opposition.

AFCB_Liam added…

I thought generally we were excellent today.

Yes, we probably could have played out to half-time instead of letting them go forward but that’s slightly 20-20 hindsight.

We created chances, looked solid against set pieces and carried so much more threat with pace in attack. Traore is the real deal and with a bit better passing will be immense for us.

Great to have genuine options off the bench and we didn’t sit back for a point which I feared we might towards the end.

Yes, it was a slightly missed opportunity to get 3 points, and a match fit / sharp Solanke probably wins that for us, but a huge number of positives to take from today.

We will learn a lot about our progress next week at Wolves, which is a must-win game given our fixtures after that.

Great backing from the crowd today. The Eddie ovation at the end was a beautiful moment we and he will cherish forever. Gutted I couldn’t be there today. – To join the conversation, click here.

fritter wrote…

I thoroughly enjoyed the game. Plenty of action and excitement.

I wasn’t sure if Eddie would walk around, if he hadn’t that would have been fine.
I’m glad that nothing happened pre-match or during.
The end was how it should have been.
Perfect.

Eddie alone on the pitch as he was at Everton all that time ago. But this time there was a crowd. Singing and clapping as we’d done so many times before.
But this was different.
A chance to say thank you after all this time.

The appreciation and love was palpable.
Thanks Eddie.
Now go on and win the cup.
Then the league. – To join the conversation, click here.

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Up The Cherries!

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