Bournemouth 1 Notts. County 0

Last updated : 14 February 2004 By Footymad Previewer

Notts County slumped to their 18th defeat in 31 league matches and will need a minor miracle to avoid dropping into Division Three after a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth.

Bournemouth won with their only on-target shot in the second half while their win was preserved by two outstanding saves, one of them in injury time, from goalkeeper Neil Moss.

Paul Heffernan was a constant source of problems to the Bournemouth defence and after dispossessing Karl Broadhurst in the 56th minute was deprived only by a magnificent block by Moss.

The match hinged on two incidents within 60 second of each other in the 83trd minute.

Paul Heffernan saw his shot rebound to safety after striking the angle of post and bar and as Notts County cursed their luck Bournemouth broke away to score the only goal.

Warren Cummings got away down the left and his centre was played back by sub Derek Holmes for James Hayter to score with a fierce right-foot shot from the edge of the area.

This stung Notts County into action and they dominated the last 10 minutes but nothing went right for them.

Paul Bolland shot into the side netting in the 87th minute and, in injury time, Moss preserved the points for Bournemouth when he blocked a goal bound effort from Shaun Harrad with his legs.

Bournemouth's cause was not helped when leading scorer Warren Feeney limped out of the action after only eight minutes after appearing to injure his ankle in a tackle.

Bournemouth manager Sean O'Driscoll, who this week celebrates 20 years at the club, sent on Hayter to replace him but there was no way through a stubborn Notts County defence.

Outstanding for Notts County were central defenders Nick Fenton and Tony Barras, while Heffernan should have done better twice more, both time getting the better of Karl Broadhurst but being unable to find the finish.