Cherries: Bradders expects physical battle

MANAGER Lee Bradbury has warned Cherries to brace themselves for another physical challenge when League One newcomers Stevenage visit Dorset tonight. Bradbury was delighted with his team's performances in similarly tough tussles against Dagenham and Redbridge and Sheffield Wednesday in the past week. Following an opening-day defeat at Charlton, Cherries bounced back to secure home wins over Daggers and the Owls, scoring seven goals and conceding none in the process. The Cherries boss expects Stevenage, who have drawn their first two matches since earning promotion to the third tier, to pose a familiar type of threat in the first meeting between the clubs. Speaking ahead of the Seward Stadium clash (7.45pm), Bradbury said: We have done our homework on Stevenage and the chief scout has been to watch them a couple of times. They are big, strong, organised, quite bright and very similar to Sheffield Wednesday. It is going to be a big test for us again physically but like I said to the lads on Tuesday and Saturday, I was really pleased with the way they applied themselves to deal with the battle. They earned the right to play and once we did that, I thought we did very well. Cherries will be without Michael Symes this evening after Bradbury reported that the striker would be on the sidelines for four to five weeks with a groin injury. Bradbury also said he expected Steve Lovell (thigh) to miss out. Playmaker Harry Arter is pushing for a return to the starting line-up, with Steven Gregory and former Stevenage man Mark Molesley the other options in central midfield. Cherries: (from) Flahavan, Byrne, Barrett, Cooper, Malone, Feeney, Gregory, Molesley, Pugh, Taylor, Doble, Fletcher, Baudry, Arter, Purches, Cummings, Stockley, Jalal. Stevenage: (from) Julian, Henry, Laird, Ashton, Roberts, Wilson, Long, Shroot, Edwards, Charles, Harrison, Beardsley, Myrie-Williams, May, Reid, Murphy, Day.

Source: Bournemouth_Echo