AFC Bournemouth 1-1 Northampton Town

AFC BOURNEMOUTH 1-1 NORTHAMPTON TOWN

On a baking hot day on the south coast, the Cobblers recovered from a Darren Anderton strike as Colin Larkin’s first goal for the club gave us a point at The Fitness First Stadium.

The game brilliantly fell on my birthday weekend so I managed to convince some friends of mine from Southampton to come along to the match while some others stayed on the beach, where we spent some of the morning. We arrived at the Fitness First Stadium in good time to have a wander about and a drink in the bar behind the away stand. The Cobblers regulars were all out in force as the sun beamed down on the claret army sat on the side of the pitch.

Stuart Gray didn’t have a great deal of numbers to work with but thankfully Chris Doig and Jason Crowe both made it after injury worries this week. Daniel Jones and Joe Burnell were the latest injury victims though and we switched to a 3-5-2 formation with Andy Holt dropping to left wing back and Crowe on the right.

The home side had the first effort of the game as a slip up from Mark Hughes let in Lee Bradbury but his dinked shot over Mark Bunn was caught just in time by the Town stopper. Just seconds later and we were testing Asmir Begovic at the other end. Alex Russell hit a glorious shot that looked all the way like it was heading into the top corner but Begovic tipped the ball wide for a corner.

Andy Kirk and Ryan Gilligan were both denied by Begovic as the game came to life early on before Bunn made a rare error at the other end. A bobbly backpass caused the Cobblers’ keeper some trouble and he miskicked, allowing Bradbury a chance at goal but Mark Hughes was there to block out any danger.

Bournemouth did have the lead though on 34 minutes as Darren Anderton collected a pass from Bradbury and finished into the bottom corner of the net.

The Cobblers should have levelled just before half time as Brad Johnson found himself with a clear shot at goal but he shot wide with Kirk in a decent position at the far post for a pass.

We showed enough in the first half to make us believe there was a way back into the game but were again lacking a killer touch.

Lee Bradbury tested Bunn again early in the second half as his header was tipped over well. Jo Kuffour was then sent clear and was one on one with Bunn and the pair collided inside the Town penalty area. Home fans and the ASBO stand to our left called for a penalty but referee Mr Mcdermidd said there was no offence.

Darren Anderton came close to adding a second for Bournemouth with 20 minutes to go but his free kick flashed narrowly over the bar.

Poul Hubertz hit the bar at the other end from close range before the Cobblers did equalise. Brad Johnson put in a deep cross from the left that missed everyone until substitute Colin Larkin met the ball with a sweet volley that beat Begovic and flew into the net.

From then on the game could have gone either way. A goalmouth scramble following another good Bunn save ensued in the Cobblers area but then we really could have won it on the break. Andy Kirk found himself one on one with the Cherries’ defender and Jason Crowe overlapped and was totally free on the right hand side. Either Kirk didn’t hear Crowe’s call due to the Claret army’s urges for him to pass the ball or he just didn’t see him but either way Kirk should have made the pass to give Crowe the one on one with Begovic.

But the draw was a fair result and we didn’t look a lot like getting the equaliser as the game wore on so it was a decent result looking at it from that angle. The point was just reward for a fantastic away crowd as the Cobblers’ band of fans outsung the Cherries from start to finish.

Huddersfield visit Sixfields next weekend and it would be nice to carry on the recent unbeaten run and start to move away from the sides at the bottom of the League One table.



MATCH RATINGS…

MARK BUNN: One slip up but made up for it with another string of fine saves. (8)

LIAM DOLMAN: Coped well with the Bournemouth forwards. (7)

MARK HUGHES: Held the back three together well and made some vital late blocks. (7)

CHRIS DOIG: Missed a decent chance at one and but solid as ever at the back. (7)

JASON CROWE: Another strong performance in a more advanced position where he can use his undoubted attacking quality. (8)

ANDY HOLT: Looked more comfortable in a wing back role but needed to get forward a bit more. (6)

BRAD JOHNSON: Improved performance getting up and down the pitch. (7)

RYAN GILLIGAN: Could have had a goal but didn’t impose himself too much on the game. (6)
ALEX RUSSELL: Went close with a good effort early on and delivered needed calm to the midfield as we got back into the game. (7)

ANDY KIRK: Looks a new player now he’s started scoring again but really should have passed to Crowe late on! (7)

POUL HUBERTZ: Hit the bar with a close range header but otherwise a quiet game for the big Dane. (6)

COLIN LARKIN (SUB): Took the goal well and worked hard otherwise late on. (7)

BRETT JOHNSON (SUB): Only used for injury time. (6)