Bournemouth had to be “patient”, in Scott Parker’s words, on Wednesday night as they won 2-0 away at Birmingham City, but had to wait until the final 13 minutes for the goals to come courtesy of Dominic Solanke and Jaidon Anthony.
The result lifted them onto seven points and fifth in the table at this early stage, following an opening day draw against West Bromwich Albion and a 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest.
There are certainly early signs of promise on the south coast, and while Arnaut Danjuma’s departure to Villarreal has now been confirmed, new boss Parker still has plenty of talent to play with in his squad and could yet recruit fresh faces before the end of the transfer window.
The Cherries are yet to spend any money this summer, instead bringing in free agents Emiliano Marcondes and Orjan Nyland, and signing Leif Davis on loan from Leeds United.
After hosting Blackpool, Parker’s men travel to Premier League outfit Norwich City in the EFL Cup on Tuesday, before facing another newly-promoted Championship side, Hull City, next weekend.
Blackpool felt hard done by on Tuesday night as they were beaten 1-0 at home by Coventry City, with Neil Critchley claiming Viktor Gyokeres’ first half stoppage time goal was both offside and after the allotted added period.
The Tangerines boss also admitted that there is a big difference in “the quality of the play, the physicality and the speed” between League One and the Championship, as his players have struggled to adjust to the step up so far.
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After rescuing a point away at Bristol City on the opening day, two defeats and no goals have followed for last season’s third tier playoff winners.
However, they have lost just one of their last 11 away matches and had the second-best defence on the road in League One in 2020-21.
This will be the first meeting between the two seaside towns since the 2014-15 season, when Bournemouth won the Championship and Blackpool finished bottom. The Cherries won both games convincingly: 6-1 at Bloomfield Road and 4-0 at the Vitality Stadium
