Cherries tuck into a festive feast
A big clash on boxing day between two of the promoted teams with both knowing three points would be an essential part of their Christmas schedules. Bournemouth seemed the better side for most of the game and were well worth their three goal victory.
Yeovil started quickly but after an early effort Bournemouth’s passing controlled the game and were denied by a number of smart saves from Stech. On the break Ishmael Miller struck the post however Yeovil offered little else in the first half. Lewis Grabben had a great chance to break the deadlock when he rounded Stech before failing to get the ball back under control to find the net. Minutes before half time Elliott Ward thought he had given Bournemouth the lead from close range however it was disallowed for a push in the build up.
Bournemouth stepped up their game after the break and a great run and shot from Fraser fell to Ritchie who slotted home from the edge of the area to take the lead. This inspired the Cherries and in almost their next attack Ritchie shot again after a neat square ball from Daniels and his deflected effort sailed into the top corner. Yeovil manager Gary Johnson made a triple substitution in an attempt to save the game, but this was in vain. Eunan O’Kane who had conducted the Bournemouth midfield like a composer picked the ball up around half way and dribbled past several players before whipping into the bottom corner. The game winded to an end with little talking points bar an Ed Upson effort which beat Lee Camp but not the post.
A first home win in six for the Cherries and their first successive wins at this level since 1990 sees them stretch further away from the bottom three and looking up at the top six. Yeovil, on the other hand, travel back to Somerset with little Christmas cheer as they remain three points away from exiting the bottom three.
Bournemouth
| Lee Camp Solid performance, good distribution and bit of luck to get well earned clean sheet. | 7.0 |
| Simon Francis Mr Consistent at it again with a steady game, almost scored a long range screamer. | 7.0 |
| Tommy Elphick Back to his best after run in the side, composed on the ball and tough tackling. | 7.0 |
| Elliott Ward Has returned from injury like he has never been away and added experience to the back four. Scored a goal which was dubiously chalked off in the first half. | 7.0 |
| Charlie Daniels Some great delivery into the box and quality assist for the second goal. | 7.5 |
| Matt Ritchie The stand out player on the pitch once more. Flair and trickery coming off the right flank and a empathic brace to see off Yeovil. | 8.5 |
| Eunan O’Kane The metronome of the midfield spreading the play and keeping everything in tune. Popped up with a great finish after a mazy run from deep. | 9.0 |
| Andrew Surman His run in the side continues to see improvements. Good link up just lacking assured finish in front of goal. | 7.0 |
| Harry Arter Electric from box to box hustling the Yeovil players into errors, however booked and misses the Ipswich clash. | 7.0 |
| Ryan Fraser One of his best performances in a Cherries shirt causing the full back problems and great run in build up to first goal. | 7.5 |
| Lewis Grabben Having a new lease of life as the main man up front, linked up with the midfield and unlucky to not have a goal to show for it. | 8.0 |
Substitutions
| Shaun MacDonald Came on for Arter once booked closed the game off. | 6.0 |
| Tokelo Rantie Straight swap for Grabben little impact as came drew to a close. | 6.0 |
| Marc Pugh Late sub for Fraser. No impact. | 6.0 |
Yeovil
| Marek Stech Made good saves in the first half to keep the scores level but could do little to stop any of the Bournemouth goals in the second half. | 6.5 |
| Joe Edwards Failed to deal with Fraser’s direct running and speed of foot from the off. Withdrawn in effort to retrieve the game. | 5.5 |
| Shane Duffy Troubled by the pace and power of Grabben up top and looked nervous when pressured on the ball. | 5.0 |
| Liam Fontaine Dominated the ariel duels but like Duffy was threatened by Grabben’s pace in behind | 5.5 |
| Jamie McAllister Ritchie was a class above all game and was a torrid day for the full back who spent most of the game running back to his own goal line. Subbed with half an hour to go at two down. | 5.0 |
| Kevin Dawson Attempted to aid Edwards in dealing with Fraser and break on the counter. Signs of quality despite wasteful end product. Booked | 6.5 |
| Ed Upson Was overrun by the midfield three of Bournemouth but offered threat going forward with efforts from range. | 7.0 |
| John Lundstram Appeared fazed by the speed and accuracy of Bournemouth’s passing and suffered a booking as a consequence. Subbed as part of triple switch around the hour mark. | 6.0 |
| Joe Ralls The main creative threat for Yeovil had beating of his man in the first half and put in some teasing crosses that should have been met by a Yeovil head. | 7.5 |
| Ishmael Miller The forward made a promising start imposing himself on the opposition and unlucky not to score from tight angle. Faded as game went on. | 7.0 |
| Joel Grant His pace should signs in bright start that would be a threat but combination of poor service and impatience were his downfall. | 6.5 |
Substitutions
| James Hayter The ex-Bournemouth man got a great ovation and should why elements of his former self with poachers efforts in front of goal. Came close to scoring but Camp was a match for his efforts. | 6.5 |
| Liam Davis Made little impact despite being brought on with half an hour to go. | 6.0 |
| Sam Foley Like the man he replaced Foley failed to keep up with midfield trio of Bournemouth. | 5.5 |
Man of the match
| Eunan O’Kane Playing like a man possessed in recent weeks as his confidence continues to grow. Was the linchpin between defence and attack capping his performance with a wonderful strike. | 9.0 |
