Gary O’Neil
GARY O’Neil admitted his “disappointment” and “frustration” following Cherries’ 0-0 draw with Brentford and said: “There were just too many slight errors.” Despite being solid in defence against Thomas Frank’s Bees, Cherries were unable to fire for the home league game on the spin. Interim boss O’Neil saw his side have two big penalty shouts waved away by referee Thomas Bramall. Jordan Zemura went to ground in the box under a challenge from Kris Ajer in the first half, while the ball appeared to strike the arm of Brentford’s Mathias Jensen inside the area during the dying moments. But for all their endeavour, Cherries were left with one shot on target all afternoon.
Gary O’Neil said: “It’s the first time in my four games that there is a tinge of disappointment and frustration. Probably like the fans. I felt the same as them, I think. The boys gave us endeavour, work-rate, stuck to the game plan, snuffed out big opportunities that they have from set plays. We managed to defend Ivan Toney really well. That side of it I liked and then, I know the boys can be better with the ball than they showed today. We went into the game with a plan that was solid but allowed us to have the ball and cause them problems with it. I felt the structure was there and we didn’t quite manage to show our normal level with the ball. Even at Newcastle and Nottingham Forest as well, we had moments where we showed what we could do with the ball. Today there were just too many slight errors that cost us momentum and the opportunity.”
Cherries remain unbeaten since O’Neil took interim charge of the Dorset outfit, following the sacking of Scott Parker in August. They host Leicester City at Vitality Stadium next Saturday (3pm).
