Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Skipper Pearce desperate to turn the tide
SKIPPER Jason Pearce insists Cherries are proffering no excuses for their recent mini slump and admits they need to be quicker off the mark as they bid to turn the tide.[LNB] Pearce, who will lead Cherries out against Crewe tomorrow (3pm), has presided over back-to-back defeats since replacing Danny Hollands as captain after the blip started with a 2-0 reverse against Northampton earlier this month.[LNB] The unwanted hat-trick has seen their League Two promotion push falter, with Cherries paying a heavy price for conceding early goals in all three games.[LNB] A tardy start again contributed to their downfall when Andy Sandell's 21st-minute free kick paved the way for Cherries' 2-1 defeat at Aldershot on Saturday.[LNB] Pearce and his colleagues shipped goals to Luke Guttridge and Ryan Gilligan inside the opening 16 minutes against the Cobblers and after nine minutes to Stephen Dawson against Bury.[LNB] We have to take our second-half performance at Aldershot into our next game, said Pearce. The lads were excellent and showed great passion to get back into the match.[LNB] Once we had equalised, you thought we were going to go on to win it so, to lose, was a major setback.[LNB] Everybody was so disappointed to come off the pitch with another loss. I'm a winner and so is everybody else.[LNB] We are desperate to get back to winning ways.[LNB] We need to perform from the start like we did in the second half at Aldershot. If we can do that, we will definitely win more games than we will lose.[LNB] Pearce led by example as Cherries were rewarded for a vastly-improved second-half showing when Brett Pitman's penalty cancelled out Sandell's opener.[LNB] But despite the 22-year-old's typically-combative showing, he again finished up on the losing side as Anthony Straker's cheeky late effort condemned Cherries to defeat.[LNB] Defender Pearce added: It is hugely disappointing for everybody to lose three on the trot and I am especially feeling it after losing both games since I became captain.[LNB] I want to do my bit by getting the lads up for it and thought we were going to take all three points at Aldershot after responding well in the second half.[LNB] We're proud of where we are and of how far we've come this season. But we know we're going through a sticky patch and we haven't got any excuses. If we keep giving our all, positive results will come.[LNB] Pearce, booked for a crunching challenge on Marvin Morgan, also played his part as peacemaker when he restrained team-mate Warren Cummings after tempers had flared following a ball-throwing incident.[LNB] He said: It was a highly-charged game and I think it showed just how much both teams wanted to win. I was flying into tackles because I want to win so much and that's the way I play.[LNB] It got heated but we've got to be calm in those situations and play our football. We need to use that passion to our advantage and take it into our next game.[LNB] Cherries: (from) Jalal, Bradbury, Pearce, Garry, Feeney, Hollands, Robinson, Pitman, Fletcher, Goulding, Connell, McQuoid, Bartley, Guyett, Thomas.[LNB] Railwaymen: (from) Phillips, Brayford, O'Donnell, Westwood, Tootle, Schumacher, Grant, Walton, Donaldson, Zola, Shelley, Worley, Martin, Murphy, Moore, Miller, Ada, Jones, Legzdins.[LNB]
