Bournemouth climbed off the bottom of the League One table with after a much-needed 1-0 victory against Gillingham at Dean Court last weekend. That win was the first home success at the tenth time of asking this term, although the Cherries still remain three points adrift of safety. Brett Pitman was the hero for Kevin Bond's side, capping a fine individual performance with the winning strike – his second goal in the last three games to earn Bournemouth their first maximum points at home in nine months. It was certainly a long-overdue victory for the south coast outfit and, as givemefootball's Mark Shail found out, 19-year-old Channel Islander Pitman is now hoping to establish himself as a first team regular.
Q:YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED WITH YOUR DISPLAY LAST WEEKEND?
A:It was great to get the goal but the most important thing was to get our first home league win of the season. It has been a while coming, but we deserved the win. The effort was there in abundance and I thought everybody played well.
Q:BECAUSE THE FANS HAVEN'T HAD MUCH TO SHOUT ABOUT RECENTLY, HAVE THEY?
A:It's never nice to get booed off but some of our recent home performances have deserved it so it was great to get the win. We also hit the post twice and their keeper made a couple of very good saves.
Q:HAS IT BEEN DIFFICULT TO PLAY AT HOME THIS SEASON?
A:It can be hard for a young player but at least you get a chance at this club. We have taken a bit of stick this season but I don't tend to read the criticism – I know myself if I have or haven't had a good game and I don't need to look at things like that to tell me. A lot of my appearances have been as a substitute and I want to start more games but know I have to earn the right to do that. I don't mind where I play, although my preferred position is up front, so it was nice to be playing up front.
Q:THAT VICTORY MUST HAVE GIVEN THE PLAYERS A HUGE BOOST IN CONFIDENCE GOING INTO THE CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE?
A:Hopefully we can now go on a decent run and get ourselves up the table because we're better than our league position at the moment suggests. I remember it was an important win at Brighton on New Year's Day last season and we followed it up by beating Brentford.
Q:AND IT'S NORTHAMPTON NEXT ON FRIDAY?
A:Yes, now we've got to do the same against Northampton. We are now looking to pick up as many points as we can over the festive period and then we will see where it takes us.
Q:HOW DID A YOUNG LAD FROM JERSEY END UP PLAYING FOR BOURNEMOUTH
A:I played football in Jersey and had a few trials when I was playing for St Saviour's. I was seen by Bournemouth who told me they were interested in me and I liked the set-up and was pleased to join.
