The four nominees for the February Michael Matthews Player-of-the-Month award have been revealed – and it’s time to cast your vote!
Four players have been nominated for the second award of 2019, with the shortest month of the year also proving to be a challenging one for the Cherries.
It opened with a disappointing 2-0 defeat by Cardiff in the Welsh capital where Bobby Reid’s double earned the hosts victory.
Goals from Sadio Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum and Mo Salah saw Premier League leaders Liverpool run out 3-0 victors against the Cherries at Anfield before the points were shared in a 1-1 draw with Wolves.
However, Eddie Howe’s team were unable to close the month on a high, going down 5-1 against Champions League-chasing Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
The draw against Wolves at Vitality Stadium saw the first nominee, Dan Gosling, skipper the Cherries for the first time in the top flight and turn in an excellent display in central midfield.
And second nominee Joshua King, who featured in all four games in February, drew first blood against Nuno Espirito Santo’s team after winning and then converting a penalty.
A solid rearguard action, led by third nominee Nathan Ake, helped the Cherries restrict the visitors to few presentable chances until Raul Jimenez restored parity from the spot late on.
The Dutchman was a colossus at the back for the Cherries as goalkeeper Artur Boruc, the fourth and final nominee, was forced to make only one real save of note, tipping a header from Leander Dendoncker over the crossbar eight minutes into the second half.
Boruc, however, was kept busy in the defeats by Cardiff, Liverpool and Arsenal, making a number of good saves as the Cherries struggled for points on their travels.
There will be a new name on the award for this season with previous winners being Ryan Fraser (August and September), David Brooks (October, December and January) and Jefferson Lerma (November).
Supporters can cast their vote on the Michael Matthews Player of the Month for February by heading to the club's Twitter account, @afcbournemouth.
