Cherries: A sense of what might have been

In summing up this latest result and performance, frustration proved a popular description.

Lee Bradbury uttered it and Wes Thomas repeated it. Their feelings came as little surprise.

Not for the first time, Cherries found themselves with a sense of what might have been.

While recent efforts have been a step in the right direction, that big statement is still evading them.

In previous campaigns, such moments have proved crucial.

En route to the Greatest Escape, it was Mark Molesley’s last-gasp winner at Dagenham. In the promotion season, the odds-defying win at Rotherham was the success that provided renewed belief. And last term, the home win over Brighton raised hopes of Championship football.

This time round, Cherries require that type of victory to dispel fears that will linger as long as their lowly League One status fails to improve.

During this transitional campaign, the magic moment is still missing. Heading into the closing stages at stadiummk on Saturday, it finally looked like arriving.

Having worked hard to negate the Dons’ pretty passing game and held on under pressure, Cherries put themselves in a position to swing their season.

Much has been said of the players that headed out of the Seward Stadium during a summer of upheaval. But it was two that came in the other direction that almost turned the tide.

Wes Thomas offered a glimpse of the firepower that Cherries will need if they are to emerge from danger. With a glance of his head and a thumping swing of his right boot, the impressive frontman turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead in double-quick time.

At the other end, Darryl Flahavan was also doing his reputation no harm whatsoever. While some questioned his selection ahead of Shwan Jalal, the doubters would have been silenced when the ex-Southend stopper took centre stage with two excellent second-half saves.

But just when those heroics looked set to yield the richest reward of what has so far been a difficult season, Clinton Morrison struck.

The late equaliser left Cherries with a fine draw, especially given the Dons’ record this term and the ongoing Seward Stadium rebuilding project.

But despite the performance, the relegation zone remains all too close for Cherries.

Given the upheaval of the summer, such a start was to be expected. Saturday summed up the difficulties facing Bradbury and his men.

Coming up against a club which appears to have far superior financial clout would have been hard enough last season. But add that to the well-publicised squad overhaul and you immediately realised this was going to be no easy task.

The bookies agreed. The respective fates of last season’s losing play-off semi-finalists were reflected by odds of 4-1 against a Cherries win.

During a tight opening half, those judgements looked sound.

While Cherries were not carved open too often, they were made to cover every blade of grass as the hosts played possession football. Set up in a fluid 4-2-3-1 for mation, Karl Robinson’s team had a touch of continental patience about them as they probed and stretched Cherries.

In a largely uneventful start, it was Adam Barrett who came closest, his delightful curling effort bringing an acrobatic save from Dons keeper David Martin.

Dons moved the ball well as Stephen Gleeson and Darren Potter orchestrated proceedings from deep. Cherries, helped by a five-man midfield, restricted the hosts, whose best early offering came from Stephen Gleeson, his drive well handled by Flahavan.

With Cherries offering little in attack, the Dons were rewarded for monopolising possession when lively Angelo Balanta fired them in front from Dean Lewington’s cross.

Cherries could have been further adrift either side of the interval – but for awful finishing and fine goalkeeping Balanta shot wide before Flahavan was equal to Chadwick’s drive.

The Cherries keeper then produced an outstanding block to deny Dean Bowditch from point-blank range at the start of the second half, before the same player headed over an even better chance moments later.

Grateful for their good fortune, Cherries made the most of it.

Following Michael Symes’s introduction as a second striker at the break, Cherries improved and Thomas flourished.

He made no mistake to head home a free-kick from birthday boy Warren Cummings as Cherries grabbed an unlikely equaliser.

But better was to come. After Gary MacKenzie’s badly mis-placed pass, Thomas needed no second invitation to pounce, side-step the final defender and lash past Martin at his near post with venomous accuracy.

Flahavan again excelled himself by brilliantly keeping out Daniel Powell’s close-range effort as the expected Dons surge came.

Having seen counterpart Robinson throw on another forward in the shape of Charlie MacDonald, Bradbury opted to respond by withdrawing Thomas, with Joe Partington tasked with bolstering Cherries’ midfield.

But the switch failed to pay off as MacKenzie headed a high ball into the danger area for Morrison to bundle home, denying Cherries what could have been the win to kickstart their campaign.

While Robinson rued a combination of missed chances and defensive errors, Bradbury was left with mixed emotions.

He said: “We are just starting to come together. It takes a bit of time, as everyone knows, for a new team to gel, and I feel we are making positive steps.”

His optimism is not without grounds. But for all their promise, Cherries still find themselves in 20th position, with only goal difference keeping them out of the bottom four.

After 13 games and with key men to return from injury, there is little need to panic. But the sooner that big turning point arrives, the better.