Adam Smith has had his critics this season, me included. But in my side AFC Bournemouth’s 2-2 draw with Stoke City this weekend he was our shining light.

It was a day where an end of season feeling malaise was thick in the air, and so it proved on the pitch. Despite four goals being scored it was a game that didn’t linger long in the imagination.

But, more importantly – we’re safe! So with that in mind here are the five talking points from a day where we guaranteed that we’d be playing another season in the top flight.

Attacking intensity AWOL

As mentioned above, this weekend’s game was not a particularly fine spectacle. From the opening few minutes it was obvious that we weren’t going to reach our usual high attacking intensity. There was a constant lack of movement up front, and Stoke City were more than happy to slow the game down whenever possible.

It was only when Ryan Fraser was introduced in the second half when we showed some much needed urgency going forward and grabbed the goals we needed to snatch a point.

We had to stand up and be counted

Stoke slowed the game down when they could. They made sure it was a match full of niggly fouls and physical confrontations. Despite Mark Hughes allegedly making Stoke a more pleasant team on the eye, the same spine of the team when Tony Pulis was in charge remains.

That said, we stood up to the challenge well. Lewis Cook was a little outmuscled at times, but overall we certainly weren’t pushed around. Arter’s slightly reckless tackle on Allen was perhaps a little too much, but the way we scrapped out a draw despite not playing well was one of the biggest positives to come from the game.

Safety secured!

Despite the low quality of the game, it shouldn’t be ignored that this point helped us secure safety. Considering the size of my club this is no mean feat. Eddie Howe has only added to his growing reputation this season in my eyes. In February we looked like we were heading only one way – down – so to have us currently in the top half is hugely pleasing.

However this weekend’s game only helped enforce the belief that there’s one aspect of the team that desperately needs strengthening…

READ MORE: Howe defends Arter’s horror tackle on Allen

READ MORE: Bournemouth battle back twice to deny Stoke rare away win

Defence shambolic

Much had been made of Stoke City’s lack of goals away from home this season pre-match. In fact up until this weekend they hadn’t yet scored away from the Bet365 Stadium since mid-January. All Bournemouth fans knew they’d have their chances to break that miserly run against us on Saturday though, and so it proved.

Some of our defending in the game was worrying to say the least. Whether it was due to safety being all but assured pre-game I’m not sure, but we looked vulnerable every time Stoke came forward.

Simon Francis in particular looked highly suspect, and if this game doesn’t show Howe that he needs to improve his back four then nothing will.

Adam Smith the shining light

Adam Smith has often been found wanting this season. He’s put in many performances where he’s struggled to get going as an attacking force. He’s been pegged back too much by the opposition, and not dictated play enough when going forward.

His lack of a consistent partner on the wing throughout this campaign has not helped of course. He really showed how good he can be on Saturday though. He made several incisive runs down the wing, and was instrumental in both our goals.

If he can put in displays of that quality every week then we’ll have no reason to go shopping for a new right back this summer.