The victory Bournemouth achieved over Watford on Saturday shows even more promise than first meets the eye for the Cherries. The team looked despondent after a run of shocking results, with the majority of their players lacking determination and fight, but there was a new level of conviction among those in a red and black shirt during the 1-0 win.
Bournemouth Show Real Fight in Victory Over Watford
Poor Performances and New Manager Uncertainty
Until the start of February, Bournemouth were in horrendous form, especially for a team who have one of, if not the, best squads in the league.
Following a 1-0 victory over 10-man, bottom of the table Wycombe Wanderers in mid-December that put them top of the league, the Cherries won just one of their subsequent eight Championship fixtures.
These results, which greatly damaged the South Coast side’s promotion hopes, caused the sacking of club legend Jason Tindall. New first-team coach Jonathan Woodgate was then appointed as caretaker manager while the board carried out a search for a new boss, one which seemed to be thorough considering the length of time it took.
Under Woodgate’s temporary charge, the Cherries won twice, drawing one match and also losing one. They also got a victory against Premier League opposition Burnley in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Although these results were not great considering Bournemouth’s aspirations of bouncing straight back to the top flight next season, they were certainly a large improvement on what had come before.
This prompted the board to appoint Woodgate as permanent manager at Dean Court. Such a decision, however, has caused much displeasure among the fanbase. Supporters had hoped for an experienced manager to help them gun for promotion, not someone whose only managerial experience came last season with Middlesborough. The 41-year-old was sacked by The Boro before the end of the season, only just exceeding one point per game.
Watford Game Showed Real Promise
The Cherries have played two matches since Woodgate’s permanent appointment was confirmed–a loss followed by a victory.
Bournemouth were defeated by Cardiff on Wednesday evening, with the players showing a sheer lack of determination in a performance that made fans question whether promotion playoffs would even be a possibility this season.
After this, however, the players bounced back superbly with a magnificent 1-0 victory over promotion rivals Watford. The Hornets were in a run of good form before the game, and sat very near the automatic promotion positions. This was a key game for Woodgate’s men as a defeat would have put them even further down the table.
The players rose to the challenge, however, with a great finish from Artnaut Danjuma being enough to separate the two sides. They showed great fight to emerge victorious, even literally at the end when both a Watford and Bournemouth player had to be shown a red card.
This performance gave fans hope, and made them believe that it could still be possible to close the 11 point gap between themselves and second place Brentford.
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