Bournemouth

Cherries sign Keene in loan deal
Bournemouth boss Sean O'Driscoll has signed Portsmouth striker James Keene on a one-month loan deal. Keene, 19, has made two Premiership appearances for Pompey, and had a loan spell at Kidderminster last season. "With Steve Fletcher set to miss a few games, we had to look at bringing someone in to bolster our attack," O'Driscoll told the club website. "James is a player we have watched and identified - he has a good eye for goal and is improving all the time." The Cherries chief also paid tribute to the fan-run Playershare scheme that has helped fund his loan signings for the past three years. "I don't know how many times I've said this over the past few seasons, but we are again indebted to the hard work and fundraising of Playershare," he said. Keene added: "I am looking forward to playing for Bournemouth - hopefully I can do well here. "Bournemouth are well known for bringing players on - Jermain Defoe, Rio Ferdinand and John O'Shea all started out here on loan, so hopefully it will work out well."

Bournemouth 0-1 Swansea
Lee Trundle kept Swansea on top of the league with his ninth goal this season. The striker was in the right place on the half hour mark to fire home after Bournemouth goalkeeper Gareth Stewart had palmed away Izzy Iriekpen's shot. Swansea wasted a host of chances to double their lead and they needed a fine Willy Gueret save to deny James Keene's effort before the break. Adebayo Akinfenwa then hit the bar for the visitors before Gueret tipped James Hayter's header round the post. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bournemouth: Stewart, Hart, Gowling, Young, O'Connor, Foley, Stock, Browning, Surman, Hayter, Keene. Subs Not Used: Rodrigues, Pitman, Cooper, Cooke, Coutts. Swansea: Gueret, Tate, Iriekpen, Austin, Ricketts, Britton, Bean, Martinez, McLeod, Akinfenwa (Robinson 84), Trundle. Subs Not Used: Murphy, O'Leary, Monk, Goodfellow. Booked: Bean. Goals: Trundle 30. Att: 5,750 Ref: G Hegley (Hertfordshire).

Purches is stepping up comeback
Bournemouth assistant manager Richard O'Kelly is pleased with the progress utility man Stephen Purches has made in his comeback from injury. Purches, 25, has not played since injuring his knee in a friendly against Southampton in July, but has come through his first two days of training. "Stephen has taken part in contact sessions without any problems," O'Kelly told the Cherries' website. "He may not quite be 100%, but he is well along the road. We're pleased." Purches has made nearly 200 league and cup appearances for Bournemouth since joining from West Ham in 2000.

Yeovil v Bournemouth
Yeovil boss Steve Thompson is hoping on-loan defender Liam Fontaine will be fit to face Bournemouth at Huish Park. Fontaine went off with a groin strain with six minutes remaining of Saturday's 2-1 win over Barnsley, but Darren Way (leg) is still sidelined. Bournemouth boss Sean O'Driscoll could name an unchanged side for their relatively short trip to Somerset. Midfielder Stephen Cooke (knee) is still out, but defender Neil Young should be fit despite carrying a knock.

O'Connor injury rocks Cherries
Bournemouth defender James O'Connor is facing six weeks on the sidelines with a hand injury. The 21-year-old has severed several tendons in his right hand after falling on a glass at home. Bournemouth boss Sean O'Driscoll told the Echo: "It is a freak accident and you have no control over these things. "It is a blow to lose him because he has been playing really well, but it is one of the few areas where we actually have a bit of cover."

Cherries sign Crewe's Rix on loan
Bournemouth have signed Crewe Alexandra midfielder Ben Rix on a month's loan. Rix, 22, has made 84 appearances for the Alex since making his debut as a 17-year-old, and also had a short loan spell at Scarborough in October. "I've enjoyed training with the lads, and Bournemouth seems to have a good set-up," he told the Cherries' website. "They play the game the right way down here, and I'm excited about the prospect of being part of it. I'm delighted to join up for the month." Crewe boss Dario Gradi also feels the move could help Rix. He told his club's website: "He knows he has to get his career going again. "When Ben went to Scarborough, he didn't get a touch of the ball because of the way they play, and then the manager changed. "Bournemouth will be different because they play football - the ball won't be whizzing over his head."

Cherries borrow Reading defender
Bournemouth have signed Reading defender Aaron Brown on loan. The 22-year-old joined the Royals for a fee in the region of £100,000 from Tamworth earlier this season, but has not yet appeared for their first team. The move comes after Bournemouth's injury-hit defence suffered another blow on Tuesday when Shaun Cooper limped off with an Achilles problem. One of Brown's last games for Tamworth before his move was the Lambs' 2-1 win at Bournemouth in the FA Cup. He had only joined Tamworth from Midland Alliance League side Studley at the start of the 2004/05 season.

O'Driscoll philosophical at draw
Bournemouth boss Sean O'Driscoll felt their 1-1 draw with Blackpool was a pretty fair reflection of the game. "Things didn't go our way, but everybody put in a shift and we kept plugging away," O'Driscoll said. "In some senses, the penalty (which James Hayter missed) was harsh, as the ball was hit straight at him - if they hadn't given it I wouldn't have minded. "So we could have won 2-1, but we could have lost 3-1. Hopefully next week we might have one or two players back." Defender Josh Gowling, 20, has signed a new two-year contract which will keep him at Dean Court until the summer of 2008. The former West Brom trainee is not expected to play again this season because of a knee ligament injury.

O'Kelly hails Cherries fightback
Assistant boss Richard O'Kelly praised Bournemouth's character after they came from behind to draw 1-1 with Barnsley. The Cherries felt Barnsley's goal should have been disallowed for handball, and O'Kelly said: "All we could see was their players' reaction. "The two nearest the ball just turned away and walked back as if it was a free-kick, but then the ref gave it. "It was a bizarre goal. But after that, we created a lot of chances, the crowd were buoyant and the team responded."

Cherries optimistic over Fletcher
Bournemouth assistant manager Richard O'Kelly is optimistic after striker Steve Fletcher suffered a recurrence of his hamstring problem. Fletcher missed Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Barnsley, but O'Kelly said: "He's been on a fitness and strengthening regime, so we're a bit mystified it came back. "He played half a reserve game last week, played 90 minutes at Bristol City and he's looked sharp in training. "It's been identified early - he could be back within four or five days."

Cherries' chairman sounds warning
Bournemouth chairman Peter Phillips has warned that relegation will spell serious cutbacks. The Cherries have a four-point cushion from the League One drop zone, and Phillips admits they face a dilemma. He told Sir Stanley: "If we're relegated we will have to take an option to cut back on everything. "Having built a stadium for 10,000 fans we'll only fill it if we're a top League One or Championship club, and that's where we feel our future lies."

Bournemouth 0-1 Bradford
Damion Stewart scored his first League goal to ease the pressure on Bradford in a fortunate away victory. Defender Stewart headed home Owen Morrison's 42nd-minute corner after a first-half dominated by Bradford. Only a superb double save by Jamaican goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts prevented the Cherries equalising through James Hayter after the interval. Ricketts then incensed the home fans by collapsing under a challenge from Hayter, halting play for five minutes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bournemouth: Stewart, Purches, Griffiths, Howe, Hart, Cooke (Pitman 69), Browning, Rix (Cooper 45), Foley, Rodrigues (O'Connor 85), Hayter. Subs Not Used: Moss, Tindall. Booked: Griffiths, Browning. Bradford: Ricketts, Holloway, Wetherall, Stewart, Bower, Muirhead (Emanuel 82), Schumacher, Bridge-Wilkinson, Morrison, Claridge, Wilbraham. Subs Not Used: Howarth, Kearney, Cadamarteri, Bentham. Goals: Stewart 42. Att: 5,749 Ref: C Penton (Sussex)

Bournemouth v Yeovil
Bournemouth have defenders Neil Young and Aaron Brown available after they served one-match bans against Bradford. Striker Steve Fletcher returned to training on Thursday after a hamstring problem, but Daryl Fordyce has returned to Portsmouth after his month's loan. Yeovil skipper Terry Skiverton should be fit for the local derby after picking up a hip injury in the draw with Swindon. Defender Kevin Amankwaah could also be back from an ankle problem.

O'Kelly relishes Cherries victory
Assistant boss Richard O'Kelly saluted Bournemouth after their 1-0 derby win over fellow strugglers Yeovil. "It was the proverbial six-pointer, but a very important victory. We created more chances than them, but scored at the time we were on top," he said. "We were resolute in our defending, but probably the best move of the match resulted in Steve Fletcher's goal. "The players' application has been first-class, but they've got their just rewards for their efforts today." The Cherries have signed a new three-year shirt sponsorship deal with locally-based firm Focal Point Fires, which will begin in the summer.

Howe cheered by battling Cherries
Defender Eddie Howe hopes Bournemouth can take heart from their 0-0 draw at Barnsley as they look to move away from the League One relegation zone. "I think we'd have taken a point and a clean sheet before the game, so we're quite pleased," Howe told Sir Stanley. "We lost Marcus Browning just before the kick-off, so we had to reshuffle but the lads adapted well. "We felt we deserved our point - it wasn't the prettiest of games but we dug in and showed our character." Barnsley have the best home record in League One, with 11 wins, eight draws and just one defeat at Oakwell - but the Cherries became only the second visiting side this season to prevent Andy Ritchie's team from scoring. "We knew it would be a difficult place to come as Barnsley have done really well this year," Howe explained. "They've got two good front lads in Paul Hayes and Marc Richards, and their midfield is full of goals and creativity, so to restrict them to about three chances was very good. "Gareth Stewart made two really important saves - the first one was deflected off me and as it was fizzing past me, I thought 'that's a goal', but he did brilliantly to keep that one out, and then made another great reflex stop. "We've looked strong at the back lately, and Adam Griffiths has played a large part in that, too - he's settled in really well." Although Milton Keynes Dons are now five points adrift at the bottom of League One, just seven points separate the 12 teams above them - including Bournemouth, who are 17th, and still have to play all the top four teams at home. BOURNEMOUTH'S RUN-IN 1 April: Southend (h) 8 April: Scunthorpe (a) 11 April: Walsall (a) 15 April: Huddersfield (h) 17 April: Port Vale (a) 22 April: Colchester (h) 29 April: Nottm Forest (a) 6 May: Brentford (h) But with several players back from injury, including club captain Steve Fletcher, Howe hopes the Cherries can build on their back-to-back clean sheets against Yeovil (who were beaten 1-0 at Dean Court last week) and Barnsley. "I think it's a pretty even league - we've got a lot of players back now, and I think we're quite strong," the former England Under-21 international said. "But there's no point in just saying it - we need to pick up the points, and we want to stay unbeaten for as long as we can. "We know what we've got to do - obviously we're going to be interested in the other results, but there's no point in relying on them. "Next week's another big game, home to Southend, but if we can show the same attitude and maybe get a little bit of luck in front of goal, then who knows. "As long as we carry on showing the determination we showed against Barnsley, I think we'll be fine."

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