Dazza's fairytale finish

Football sometimes produces moments that feel almost too good to be true.

On Saturday Darren Anderton enjoyed one of those ‘Roy of the Rovers’ moments that left him a final reminder of just how dramatic the game can be.

The former England international smashed home a last-gasp winner for Bournemouth in his last professional game before hanging up his boots.

It was the kind of fairytale finish that if suggested for a film would be dismissed as too unrealistic.

The final act of heroism served as a fitting reward for a thoroughly professional player who has given great service to the game throughout his career and, mercifully, to Bournemouth over the last couple of years.

It was Anderton’s moment and he was rightly the focus of attention on Saturday.

But Bournemouth as a team must move on without him now and it must be acknowledged that, Anderton’s rescue act withstanding, it was another very ordinary home performance from the South coast outfit.

We seem to have trouble breaking sides down when they obviously travel to Dean Court with the obvious intention of being solid and playing for a point.

We seem to have no problems scoring goals away from home (indeed, two 3-3 draws in our last two away games suggest conceding goals is our main problem on our travels) as teams come out and attack us and leave space in behind, but we seem unable to prise open organised defences who sit deep when we play on our own turf.

There is simply not enough invention and Anderton’s arrival from the bench only really served to highlight the lack of quality, especially in the final third, from the rest of the squad.

Dazza was a true gent and will be sorely missed by the wider footballing community and I fear the Cherries will feel his absence more than they would like to make out.