Bournemouth 1-0 Brentford: Player ratings

Brentford visited the Goldsands Stadium with very few people believing they would get anything out of the game. However, Mark Warburton’s men gave a good account of themselves and were highly unlucky not to have come away with at least a point. Some resolute defending saw Bournemouth’s front two of Yann Kermorgant and Callum Wilson frustrated for most of the game, while Brentford’s summer signings Moses Odubajo and Andre Gray forcing Lee Camp into some smart saves, with the latter hitting the crossbar after a well worked free-kick.

Callum Wilson had a half volley cleared off the line before the Cherries finally broke the deadlock. Substitute Ryan Fraser found himself free on the wing before putting in an inch perfect cross to another replacement, Junior Stanislas, who bundled home. Brentford continued to press, but could not find a reward for their hard work and the match finished 1-0. The Cherries continued their 100% record and stay top of the Championship.

Bournemouth

Lee Camp – Quick to react when called upon with a good first half save from Odubajo. Good distribution too. 7.0
Simon Francis – Didn’t have quite the impact going forward as he usually does but strong in defence with a crucial tackle late on. 7.0
Steve Cook – Gray’s pace posed a threat but he managed to cope and adapt to it. Another sound performance. 7.5
Tommy Elphick – Similar to Cook. A strong performance in the air which snuffed out Brentford attacks. 7.5
Charlie Daniels – Although he played well with Pugh and Stanislas, Daniels did expose his defence on a few occasions by not tracking back. 6.5
Matt Ritchie – Struggled to make an impact with him being limited to shots from long-range. Not much to aim at in the middle as Kermorgant was shepherded well. 6.5
Harry Arter – One of his worst games in a Bournemouth shirt for a long time. Risky passes did not pay off and was a liability in defence as well as attack. Expect Gosling to start on Tuesday. 5.0
Eunan O’Kane – A strong midfield performance from the Irishman. Solid defensively while he kept things ticking over in the middle. He also provided eye-catching cross field balls. 7.5
Marc Pugh – Similar to Ritchie. He can slow the play down by wanting to do to much with the ball, which hinders Bournemouth’s counter-attacking style. 6.0
 Yann Kermorgant – Left frustrated by a physical Brentford defence. He did however manage to construct chances with knock down and flick on headers. 6.0
Callum Wilson – A dynamic performance but with no end product. Missed his chance but looked a real threat. 7.0

Substitutions

Ryan Fraser – Made a huge difference when he came on for Ritchie, providing an assist. His pace is a threat to any defence. 7.5
Junior Stanislas – Took his goal well, but aside from that didn’t impact the game. 6.5
Dan Gosling – A late sub with no impact whatsoever. 6.0

Brentford

David Button – Produced a fine save from Kermorgant in the first half and could do nothing about the goal. 6.5
Jake Bidwell – Dealt well with Matt Ritchie but let Fraser find the ball which led to the goal. 6.0
James Tarkowski – Dealt well with the physicality of Kermorgant and pace of Wilson but could not keep a clean sheet. 6.0
Tony Craig – A solid defensive performance but was powerless to stop the goal. 7.0
Alan McCormack – A near faultless performance was marred by the fact he lost his man for the goal 6.5
Marcos Tebar – Struggled to make an impact in the game due to lack of flowing football. Substituted early on in the second half. 5.5
Jonathan Douglas – Pulled the strings well in the middle of the pitch and was solid defensively. 6.5
Alex Pritchard – A bright spark in the final third who caused problems when running at Bournemouth’s defence 7.0
Alan Judge – Not a standout player for Brentford and could not find adequate space to show the skill he is capable of. 6.0
Moses Odubajo – Pace and positioning meant Odubajo was a constant threat for Charlie Daniels. Forced a good save from Camp. 7.5
Andre Gray – A real talent who possesses pace and power. He caused Cook and Elphick more problems than I can remember them having in a long time but ultimately could not find the net when his shot cannoned off the bar. 7.5

Substitutions

Stuart Dallas – Involved in a wave of Brentford pressure but could not find the key to the Bournemouth defence. 6.5
Nick Proschwitz – No impact from a late sub 6.0
Tommy Smith – No impact from a late sub 6.0

Man of the Match

Tommy Elphick The Bournemouth Captain was the pick of the bunch in a game were no player was particularly outstanding. He led the Cherries defence adequately and gave a solid passing performance, as well as dealing with the pace of Gray and Odubajo. He led his side in times where a Brentford goal looked inevitable and kept a third clean sheet in three games. No wonder Eddie Howe describe the defending as ‘heroic’. 7.5

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