Bournemouth 4-0 Lincoln: Does Rose’s First Win Bring Selection Headaches?

There was something Bournemouth had been missing in the opening weeks of the Marco Rose era. Not necessarily the football. Not necessarily the chances. Not even, at times, the performances. It was the feeling of actually putting a game to bed.

That changed at Vitality Stadium on Tuesday night.

A 4-0 victory over Lincoln City may have come against Championship opposition in the third round of the Carabao Cup, but for Rose, this was about far more than simply progressing into the next round. This was his first competitive win as Bournemouth manager - and, perhaps more importantly, a performance that finally showed the squad's ability to finish a game strongly.

After the match, it was difficult to imagine Rose asking for much more.

The queues outside the Vitality Stadium might have suggested some supporters had underestimated the importance of a cup tie, but those who made it inside early were rewarded almost immediately.

Just seven minutes had been played when Ben Gannon-Doak produced some excellent work down the left before delivering into the box.

Ryan Christie did the rest.

His cushioned finish was wonderfully controlled, beating Joe Gauci at his near post and giving Bournemouth exactly the start they would have wanted. And perhaps the biggest surprise wasn't the quality of the finish. It was that it came from Christie at all.

The Scotland international had barely featured in the opening weeks of the season and, from the outside, appeared to have slipped down the pecking order.

Suddenly, he had a goal. Then another Then another - a hat-trick from Ryan Christie wasn't necessarily on the bingo card for this one.

But perhaps it should have been, as Christie gives Bournemouth something that is easy to overlook when he's not playing - the ability to connect the midfield and attack, switch play quickly and keep possession moving. There were several examples of that against Lincoln, particularly as Bournemouth began increasing the tempo after half-time.

The scoreline makes this sound like a completely one-sided affair from the opening whistle, but it didn't completely go Bournemouth's way, and Lincoln did have a couple of isolated moments.

Indeed, the Imps started brightly and Cherries had one significant warning when Michele Di Gregorio, making his debut, spilled the ball and presented Ryley Towler with an open goal, however the Lincoln defender blazed over.

It proved to be a crucial moment, as, from there, Bournemouth increasingly took control.

Marco Rose's side were getting into promising positions regularly, although the final ball and finishing weren't always quite there. At half-time, Bournemouth had registered double figures for shots, but the feeling in the stands wasn't necessarily one of relentless domination.

There was still only one goal in it - and we all know that is not a very comfortable place to be - as such, Lincoln were still in the game.

That was perhaps the only slight frustration from an otherwise encouraging first half: Bournemouth were playing some good football but hadn't yet converted their control into the kind of advantage that makes everyone relax.

Yet, despite the slim lead, there was something particularly encouraging about the way the rotated side went about its business.

Eight changes had been made from the side that drew with Newcastle on Saturday, but this didn't look like a collection of fringe players thrown together for a cup game.

James Hill looked comfortable at right-back. Antonio Silva continued to look like a Rolls-Royce of a defender. Bafodé Diakité was confident and composed, while Lewis Cook quietly went about controlling proceedings.

And Gannon-Doak was another one of the positives - his combination with Julio Soler down the left was particularly exciting, with the pair repeatedly overlapping and finding pockets of space.

For a team with so many fixtures coming up, seeing players like that looking capable of stepping into the first team is hugely encouraging.

The second half was where this performance really separated itself from some of Bournemouth's previous displays - the intensity went up, the passing became quicker - and Lincoln simply couldn't cope.

James Hill almost produced a spectacular second when his long-range effort crashed against the top of the crossbar, while Álvaro Rodríguez went close with a header.

Then came the goal that finally settled the nerves. David Brooks delivered the corner and Christie rose to head Bournemouth into a 2-0 lead.

A Ryan Christie header - we really weren't expecting to be writing that sentence.

From that point, Bournemouth looked like a team that knew the game was there for the taking, and rather than sitting back, they went after Lincoln - that was probably the most encouraging part of the evening.

We've seen Bournemouth start games strongly before only to gradually peter out. This time, they did the opposite. They became more dangerous as the game progressed.

Christie completed his hat-trick after Lincoln failed to clear another corner, producing a composed finish that wrapped up a superb individual night.

Then came the fourth - a quick counter-attack in injury time ended with Rayan finding the net after Daniel Jebbison's pass through, and the Braziilan put the gloss on a 4-0 victory.

It wasn't flattering.

If anything, it felt like Bournemouth could have scored more - however the clock decided otherwise.

The biggest consequence of this result might not actually be the Carabao Cup draw - it could be what it does to Marco Rose's team selection.

There are now several players who have given the new manager something to think about.

Christie is the obvious one. After having only limited opportunities so far, a hat-trick is about as emphatic a reminder as a player can give his manager.

Gannon-Doak was lively throughout, Soler looked increasingly dangerous, and Alex Toth came on and brought energy - indeed, the substitutions generally appeared to have the desired effect of increasing the tempo rather than simply seeing out the match.

Michele Di Gregorio also made a composed debut, despite the early fumble. He looked comfortable with the ball and appeared keen to communicate with the defence - with echoes of Artur Boruc with his domination and swagger.

That might sound like a small detail, but with fixture congestion coming, Rose needs options everywhere.

It would be easy to dismiss a 4-0 win over Lincoln as nothing more than Bournemouth doing what a Premier League team should do against Championship opposition.

And, to an extent, that's fair. Lincoln weren't at their best, and their supporters will undoubtedly be hoping that their league campaign produces a much stronger version of the side.

But Bournemouth can only beat what's put in front of them. And they did so emphatically.

More importantly, they did it with a heavily rotated team while still retaining enough experience and quality to control the game.

That's what makes this result interesting. Rose needs to build momentum - and he needs his squad to understand his demands.

And, with Thursday-Sunday-Thursday football coming into view, he needs players outside his strongest XI to be ready to contribute - so this was a pretty good audition.

The most encouraging thing, though, was the way Bournemouth finished - and that's something we haven't seen enough of.

They started strongly, they controlled the game, and instead of allowing the intensity to drop, they grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and finished emphatically.

Four goals. A clean sheet. A hat-trick for Ryan Christie. A first competitive win for Marco Rose. Suddenly, there is a little bit of momentum.

And perhaps, ahead of Brentford and a much more demanding run of fixtures, there are a few more selection headaches for Rose than there were 90 minutes earlier.

For Bournemouth, that's a very good problem to have. Four-nil. Happy days.