Written by : Jonathan Lee

Some teams in the league seem to present us with a challenge, season in and season out. Back in the day it used to be Bolton, and now one of those teams is Bournemouth. They may have one of the smallest grounds in the country but they have been punching above their weight in recent seasons, managed as they are by the very likeable Eddie Howe, who has instilled a blend of exciting football down on the south Coast.  Much as we need to be beating the teams in and around us, it must be borne in mind that every away game in the Premier League is a challenge, no matter the opponents – so after taking a hiding at Oxford in the Cup midweek there was a natural worry of how the team would respond and whether heads had gone down.  But it appears that against Bournemouth, we seemingly deserved a share of the spoils.

Sometimes other fans’ comments are more pertinent, as we often have our Claret and Blue glasses on, but a couple of brief soundbites from Cherries fans both said the same thing – a point against a decent West Ham team is not to be sniffed at. It has clearly not gone unnoticed that we have a decent mix of flair, youth (but also experience) in our squad, but should we expect to go and win at places like Bournemouth?

In truth, if Callum Wilson tucks away the one on one with Roberto (let’s support the guy now Fab is out for a period) then there’s a high chance we don’t recover and come away pointless, but we showed character and did something Everton failed to do there recently and grabbed a point. Make no mistake, Bournemouth at home are a very slick side and many teams will come away from there with nothing this season – so our draw has to be seen as a very hard earned and valuable point.

That is now four away games completed this season and no defeats (an undefeated record shared only with Liverpool and, surprisingly, Sheffield United) – almost unheard of in the early part of a West Ham season! Even in that incredible 1985-86 season we lost away early doors (Birmingham City if memory serves).  The only real question mark is whether the draws at Bournemouth, Villa and Brighton could have been turned into wins – but on reflection, all three games were probably the right result, not withstanding that either team in those encounters could have nicked it with a bit more luck and better finishing.  But as long as our home form continues, grabbing these odd points away from home will ultimately add up, and make no mistake getting a point down at the Vitality Stadium has to be seen as one point gained, and two lost from a home team perspective.

The next away day is Everton, after the (deathly dull!) International break – another tough challenge where the team will need to dig deep to bring anything away.  But for now, let’s enjoy fifth place and our continued undefeated run on the road.