AFC Bournemouth
Mark Mitchener takes a historical look at Bournemouth’s previous visits to particular away venues. Have they been happy hunting grounds – or fortresses the Cherries have failed to conquer?
LEEDS ROAD & JOHN SMITH’S STADIUM
CHERRIES RECORD AT LEEDS ROAD – Played 13, Won 3, Drawn 7, Lost 3, Goals for 11, Goals against 12.
CHERRIES RECORD AT JOHN SMITH’S STADIUM – Played 13, Won 3, Drawn 4, Lost 6, Goals for 21, Goals against 26.
Huddersfield Town played at Leeds Road since they were formed in 1908, joining the Football League two years later. Famously, today’s visitors won three successive League titles under manager Herbert Chapman in the 1920s.
They remained in the League’s top two tiers until back-to-back relegations meant they dropped into the old Third Division in 1973, which meant a first meeting with AFC Bournemouth (as they had recently become). John Sainty scored in a 1-1 draw in the opening encounter at Leeds Road.
Indeed, the Cherries and Terriers became familiar opponents for the rest of the 1970s as both were relegated to the Fourth Division in 1975. But Bournemouth had to wait a while for their first win at Leeds Road – having drawn on their first four visits, they then lost three in a row.
Victory came at the ninth attempt, in the Cherries’ penultimate away game of 1987/88, their maiden season in the old Second Division. By then, Huddersfield were rock bottom with relegation confirmed, and a 2-1 win lifted Harry Redknapp’s side to within a point of safety themselves.
Two years later, Cherries and Terriers resumed battle in the third tier, and the visitors recorded their first away win of 1990/91 with a 3-1 success at Leeds Road – now a happier hunting ground, with three Bournemouth wins and three draws from their last six visits between 1983 and 1994.
By now, rugby league’s Huddersfield Giants were groundsharing with the Terriers, and in 1994 the two clubs moved to a new venue – then known as the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, but through successive sponsorships became the Galpharm Stadium and now the John Smith’s Stadium.
Bournemouth were an early visitor to the new ground in October 1994, losing 3-1, but the stadium earned praise from several Cherries programme contributors in the next edition.
Huddersfield’s promotion that season meant the clubs did not meet again until the 21st century – and just as at Leeds Road, it took Bournemouth nine visits to record their first win at Town’s new home, although there were several high-scoring draws, including a play-off semi-final in 2011.
Results at the John Smith’s Stadium have see-sawed since then, with Huddersfield winning 5-1 in 2013 and 4-1 in 2018, but Bournemouth triumphed 4-0 on the opening day of their Championship-winning 2014/15 season, and 2-0 when they last met in West Yorkshire in 2019.
A VISITING STAT
While no Bournemouth player scored more than once at Leeds Road, James Hayter is the Cherries’ top scorer at the John Smith’s Stadium – with five goals from four visits there, including two braces in the calendar year 2005. Meanwhile, Marc Pugh scored the quickest goal of the opening weekend of the Football League season there in 2014, netting after 24 seconds.
GETTING SHIRTY
A lack of a clash means Bournemouth have usually worn their home kit at Huddersfield (barring the odd minor change if Town have worn darker socks) – though the all-black third kit was donned for the 4-1 defeat in 2018.
FIRSTS AND LASTS
Callum Wilson scored twice on his Bournemouth debut at Huddersfield in 2014, missing a penalty which would have given him a hat-trick – while Dan Gosling and Junior Stanislas made debuts off the bench in the same game. Amos Foyewa made his Cherries debut there on the opening day of 2001/02, while Leeds Road was the venue for Kevin Allen’s only Bournemouth appearance in 1980.
By contrast, the play-off semi-final in 2011 (see below) was a last Cherries hurrah for Anton Robinson (who joined Huddersfield), Jason Pearce and Danny Hollands, as well as Rhoys Wiggins (who returned for another spell in 2015 but did not make a first-team appearance), while Adam Smith and Donal McDermott ended their loan spells but would later rejoin permanently.
Meawhile, Stuart Morgan (1977), Kieron Baker (1978) and Hughen Riley (1978) also made their Bournemouth farewells at Leeds Road.
CLASSIC MATCH
Wednesday 18 May 2011 – League One play-off semi-final
Huddersfield Town 3-3 Bournemouth (4-2 pens)
After Eddie Howe left Bournemouth for Burnley in January 2011, senior player Lee Bradbury became manager, charged with keeping the momentum going as they battled to stay in promotion contention.
Huddersfield would be their opponents in the play-off semi-finals - and the sides seemed inseparable, having drawn 2-2 in Yorkshire and 1-1 in Dorset during the regular season.
Even the semi-final first leg at Dean Court finished 1-1 after Kevin Kilbane headed Town ahead, and though Ian Bennett saved Danny Ings’ penalty, Donal McDermott equalised for the Cherries as Huddersfield stretched their unbeaten league run to 26 games.
The second leg burst into life after 25 minutes when Gary Roberts’ corner was headed in by Lee Peltier, but Bournemouth equalised when Adam Smith burst forward and was felled by Peter Clarke. Following Ings’ first-leg miss, strike partner Steve Lovell took on penalty duties and smashed in the leveller.
Huddersfield made it 2-1 in the dying seconds of the first half with a fierce Danny Ward shot. But back came Bournemouth, and Lovell scored the goal of the game after the hour mark. Rhoys Wiggins centred for Lovell who beat two defenders, rounded keeper Bennett and rifled home in front of the visiting Cherries supporters.
With away goals not counting double in Football League play-offs, the game went to extra time – and in the 104th minute, Bournemouth went ahead for the first time in either leg when substitute Marc Pugh crossed for Ings to head home. But the sides were deadlocked again when Antony Kay nodded in another Roberts corner to make it 3-3.
Captain Jason Pearce was then sent off for a foul on Kilbane – leading Bradbury to reinforce his defence by sacrificing a potential penalty-taker in Ings for defender Mathieu Baudry, but the 10 men of Bournemouth held firm in the dying minutes.
And so, it was penalties. Michael Symes scored, but Bennett saved from Liam Feeney, while Anton Robinson hit the bar. Shaun Cooper netted Bournemouth’s fourth, but Huddersfield scored a perfect four from four with Lee Novak, Ward, Kilbane and Kay all netting to send them through.
Town would lose to Peterborough at Old Trafford in the final – while Bradbury had to rebuild next season as nine of his starting XI had left the club by early September.
Cherries: Jalal, Smith, Cooper, Pearce, Wiggins, Feeney, Robinson, Hollands, McDermott (Pugh 77), Lovell (Symes 95), Ings (Baudry 113). Subs not used: Cummings, Arter, Fletcher, Thomas.
VERDICT
A fairly even record at Leeds Road – but despite the odd success at the John Smith’s Stadium, a heartbreaking play-off exit probably makes it a ground for complaint.
