AFC Bournemouth and Newcastle United played host to one of the most forgettable games of football I have seen in a very long time on Sunday – making this one of the harder ‘five things we learned’ posts I’ve had to do. Nonetheless, we always learn when watching Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth; here are five things I picked up on:

1. Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth curse continues

As Bournemouth fans, we often bemoan having to play Brentford, given our dreadful record against them in recent years. In fairness, pretty much everyone has a bogey team – and it might be that Bournemouth are Newcastle’s. Eddie Howe has failed to beat The Cherries in seven league games against his former side – continuing his legendary AFCB legacy. Five of those now have been draws, but he’ll be looking to go one better next time.

2. AFCB should be flattered by how Newcastle set up

Following on from the first point, Eddie Howe clearly set Newcastle up in a very different way than usual, knowing that Andoni Iraola has gotten the better of him in every previous encounter (performance wise, if not always the final result). I may well do an extended article on this, but I feel Iraola should almost feel flattered by Howe feeling the need to set up in a 3-5-2 shape that was much more negative than usual. Granted, the Magpies might have felt a need to make drastic changes due to playing in the Champions League on Thursday, but with their set-up, it certainly felt they were playing to frustrate AFCB, and never looked much of a threat going forward.

3. AFCB still need to figure out how to break down a low-block

Again, this leads on from the last point; credit where credit is due, Newcastle’s low block was extremely hard for AFCB to break down. This was a stark contrast from when AFCB suffocated Newcastle in the 4-1 win at St James’ Park with such a high press – but Howe’s set up on Sunday never allowed AFCB to play to their strengths. The worry is, like last season, that other managers might look at this as the ideal way to play against Iraola’s style of play. Had David Brooks’ very tight offside been on, it may have been a different game, given it was so early. But throughout the afternoon, it was ever perplexing to see AFCB lofting balls onto the head of Dan Burn, Sven Botman and Malick Thiaw in defence. Marcos Senesi attempted 25 (TWENTY FIVE!!!!) long balls, with Newcastle very happy to let him attempt them. Just nine of those were successful – I’m sure the plan was to win second balls, but more often than not it was Newcastle quicker to those ground duels. In total, only 28% (17) of AFCB’s long balls were successful, and it felt like they should have tried something different to attempt to break down the low block. It’s important to try and figure ways to do so, as it won’t be the last low block the side face this season.

4. AFCB’s defence looks VERY solid

In Bafode Diakite’s last three league appearances, the club have kept three clean sheets. It might have been harsh to drop Veljko Milosavljevic after his monumental display last week, but Diakite was chosen ahead of him, and showed his class. His partnership with Marcos Senesi looks very good – the duo won a combined 7/12 headed duels, up against the imposing figure of Nick Woltemade. They made 19 defensive contributions between them, and dealt with everything superbly. Alongside them, Alex Jimenez had a good debut before being hooked at halftime due to a yellow card, his replacement James Hill made a vital challenge in the second half, and Adrien Truffert had another excellent game – a contender for MOTM. Djordje Petrovic didn’t have much to do, but was commanding when needed and made a good save at his near post in the first half.

5. AFCB need to better figure out how to use Evanilson

Evanilson had the least touches (24) of any outfield player to play 90 minutes in the game. He had just three touches in the opposition area, plus just one shot. The Brazilian makes constant tireless runs off the ball, but not many of them get found, which must frustrate him immensely. When the ball did get around the area yesterday, there was a real lack of any quality service for him. A hard game for ‘Eva’ to get into, with there not being too much more he could’ve done himself. There has always been a feeling that the side don’t use Evanilson to the best of his potential, especially in terms of creating chances for him, and I’m sure Andoni Iraola will be figuring out ways to give him more opportunities in front of goal, given all he provides for the team.

It was a very frustrating game to watch, especially in the second half, but another point on the board, another point, and sitting pretty in 4th. 10 points after five games having played three Champions League teams is a fantastic return, and there is still much more excitement to come with this team – but hopefully not many drab affairs like yesterday.