Cherries: Fletch hails Jalal's wonder save

04 January 2011 07:00
CHERRIES club captain Steve Fletcher hailed star stopper Shwan Jalal's second-half wonder save as the best I've seen at Dean Court.[LNB] Jalal was in sparkling form as Cherries completed a quickfire festive double thanks to a 3-1 win over League One rivals Brentford yesterday.[LNB] The 27-year-old pulled off a miraculous stop to keep out a header from Charlie MacDonald and also thwarted the Bees striker with a penalty save.[LNB] Jalal clawed away MacDonald's effort from point-blank range, his stupendous 64th-minute feat earning him a standing ovation from Cherries supporters.[LNB] And he went on to further distinguish himself when he dived full length to his right to claim MacDonald's 71st-minute spot kick.[LNB] Victory, which came courtesy of goals from Liam Feeney, Marvin Bartley and Fletcher, helped Cherries climb into third place.[LNB] Fletcher joked: I told Jal it was the save of the decade but we're only three days into it![LNB] He added: It was the best I had seen at Dean Court in my 17 years here. As soon as the lad headed it, I thought it was a goal.[LNB] Jal's body weight was going one way and he managed to adjust. Not only did he save it, but he palmed it around the post as well. It was unbelievable.[LNB] The penalty save was great but I'm sure the first one would have given him more satisfaction because it was top class. Any Premier League goalkeeper would have been proud of it.[LNB] Jalal's second-half heroics helped Cherries preserve a 1-0 lead and then a 2-1 advantage after Feeney had opened the scoring in the 11th minute.[LNB] His first save came just seconds before a Lee Bradbury own goal had made it 1-1, while his stop from MacDonald's spot kick came after Bartley had netted to restore Cherries' lead.[LNB] Jalal said: I managed to keep my footing and reacted at the last minute to parry it around the post. I was happy with the save.[LNB] Feeney, who was on Brentford's books as a youngster, also provided assists for Bartley and Fletcher to score in the second half.[LNB] He said: It was a match-defining save. It was the turning point in the game.[LNB] The only disappointment for Cherries would have been a fairly low attendance of 6,877 for a Bank Holiday fixture. It included 941 travelling supporters and was only around 70 per cent of ground capacity (for three sides), although it was a seasonal best.[LNB]

Source: Bournemouth_Echo