Bournemouth made a winning start to the Marco Rose era with a 4-1 pre-season victory over German side FC St. Pauli in Austria. Ben Gannon-Doak and Harold William overturned an early deficit before second-half goals from Bafodé Diakité and Daniel Jebbison sealed an encouraging opening performance.
AFC Bournemouth began life under Marco Rose with a 4-1 pre-season victory over FC St. Pauli at the Saalfelden Arena today in a hard-fought win against a physical outfit.
With a large number of supporters watching from the sidelines, the multi-sports venue is one of the more picturesque venues that Cherries have played at. Just 40 miles outside Salzburg, the venue is set against the stunning backdrop of Austria's Steinernes Meer mountain range.
With many enjoying the blazing sunshine with a pint in hand, the fixture provided the first opportunity to see Rose's Bournemouth side in action, including a first glimpse of summer signing Alvaro Rodriguez following his arrival from Elche.
St. Pauli had won their previous four pre-season fixtures after relegation from the Bundesliga top-tier last season, and they offered a stern early test for AFCB - but despite an early setback, the quality of the Premier League shone through with four top finishes which saw the Cherries roll out as easy winners.
First Half Eleven
Rose's starting XI featured a blend of established first-team players and academy talent. Djordje Petrovic started in goal behind a defence of Adam Smith, Harold William, James Hill and left-back Adrien Truffert. Ryan Christie and Alex Scott lined up in midfield (with the latter visibly more advanced). Marcus Tavernier and Remy-Dottin were on the flanks. Ahead of them - Evanilson (who seemed to be positioned remarkably deep), and Enes Unal.
As the teams emerged to the stirring sounds of Music by John Miles - a track fondly remembered by long-time Radio Solent listeners as the theme to Grant Coleman's Radio Sportstime - St. Pauli made the brighter start.
A Slow Start from Bournemouth
The German side asked several early questions of Bournemouth's defence. Tomoya Ando forced Djordje Petrovic into action from an early corner before Mathias Rasmussen struck from distance, with the Serbian goalkeeper producing another smart low save to his right.
Bournemouth initially struggled to establish any rhythm and appeared to be operating in what resembled a 4-1-4-1 formation at times, and as St. Pauli continued to apply pressure, they deservedly took the lead. A relatively quickly-taken free-kick caught the Cherries off guard before a clever piece of close control on the left created space for a perfectly weighted through ball, allowing Martin Kaars to race clear and drive his finish in at the near post.
Just before the opening goal, Remy Rees-Dottin had been forced off through injury, prompting the introduction of Gannon-Doak, and the Scottish winger quickly made his mark...
Bournemouth Take Control
Following a mix-up in the St. Pauli midfield after another quickly-taken free-kick, Marcus Tavernier pounced to win possession on the left wing. Driving forward with purpose, he squared the ball for Ben Gannon-Doak, who cut inside onto his left foot before curling an excellent finish across the goalkeeper and into the far corner to bring Bournemouth level.
The equaliser transformed the contest. Rose's side began to enjoy greater control of possession and looked far more threatening in the final third.
Daniel Jebbison was introduced in place of Enes Unal shortly before Bournemouth earned a free-kick on the edge of the area after Evanilson was brought down. Tavernier struck the resulting kick powerfully towards goal, forcing St. Pauli goalkeeper Ben Voll into an excellent save.
Voll was called upon again on 37 minutes when Alex Scott delivered an inviting free-kick onto the head of Ryan Christie, whose effort was parried by the German keeper. However, he could only push the ball into the path of Harold William, who reacted quickest to turn home from close range and give the Cherries a 2-1 lead before the break.
Second Half Dominance
Bournemouth's second-half saw Will Dennis in goal, a central defensive partnership of Lewis Cook and Bafode Diakite, with Julian Araujo and Julio Soler as full-backs. Charlie Stevens seemed to sit just ahead of them, with a midfield four of Amine Adli and Ben Gannon-Doak out wide, and Justin Kluivert and Alex Toth in the middle, leaving Daniel Jebbison up top.
Cherries looked much sharper in the opening moments of the second 45, and it wasn't long before some excellent quick one-touch football saw Alex Toth put Daniel Jebbison through on goal, who slotted nicely from the angle to put Bournemouth 3-1 up.
With Marco Rose's charges now fully in control, a corner was won on the near side, which was taken by Amine Adli - and with an excellent right-footed delivery, it found the head of Bafode Diakite, who found space to expertly nod home from close range to make it four.
With Bournemouth's energy and press increasingly relentless, St Pauli rarely managed to get out of their own half, with the ever measured Lewis Cook pulling the strings at the back, and development star Charlie Stevens doing a sterling job in midfield, spreading the play left and right with precision.
The second half hydration break saw further changes - with the introduction of Max Aarons and Alvaro Rodrigues, coming on for Julian Araujo and Daniel Jebbison respectively.
Not long after, Malcolm Dacosta Gonzalez took to the pitch, deputising for Justin Kluivert, with his first touch seeing him sky the ball over the crossbar after an Alvaro Rodriguez cut back - Bournemouth's best chance of the final "quarter".
With St Pauli barely testing Will Dennis in the Bournemouth goal, Cherries finished by introducing Zac Christie, who replaced Charlie Stevens - and the sixteen year old, son on Malcolm, got a few useful touches for Marco Rose's side, as they comfortably saw out the game to run out 4-1 winners.
