Confidence..Or False Hope? - Bournemouth 0-2 West Ham
Our final Summer Series game kicked off, and Graham Potter decided to put out a lineup which seemed as if it would be similar to the starting squad we'd have in the Premier League.
The first 20 minutes of the fixture saw the Hammers come under severe pressure. Bournemouth would clash with the post whilst also having two more clear-cut chances elsewhere, and it could've very easily been three down for Potters men, but the scoreline remained 0-0.
Bore-draw? Not for long, Malick Diouf picked up the ball out wide, played a beautiful cross into the box and Jarrod Bowen, with finesse and composure, slotted the ball to Fuller, who made it 1-0 and wheeled away in Brazilian style, celebrating with Lucas Paqueta.
A few more chances closed the half out, Bournemouth hitting the woodwork again but this time the crossbar from a header by Zabarnyi.
The star of the half had to go to Freddie Potts, from Potter's side being on the back foot, Potts cut through the passing lanes and provided opportunities to Bowen, Diouf, Paqueta and others, which ended up with us taking the lead come the whistle, concluding the first half.
Malick Diouf would also be the other standout, as in the second half, he played a wonderful cross into the box, which Bowen converted into the bottom left corner, slicing it past Petrovic, making it 2-0 to the Hammers, and that would end up being the final score come the final whistle.
Potter's side defended well, and perhaps the exclusion of Mavropanos and Guidslow Rodriguez from the starting squad resulted in Potter's side keeping a clean sheet.
Malick Diouf and Freddie Potts both were the standouts from the fixture, Potts seems like a new signing considering the impact he's had upon the squad and Diouf seems that he's intergrated into the squad well with the wand of his boots that provide crosses to a level in which we haven't seen since prime Cresswell.
It's almost as if Potter & Macaulay's targets are talented and thought out rather than just panic buying...
