It's the hope that kills you sometimes.
It was always going to be a monumental task but when Rob Atkinson leapt highest in the opening few minutes maybe... just maybe, it could have been one of the results that make the Championship the best league in the world.
Unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be like that with the quality in Scott Parker's side coming out on top in an enjoyable, frantic and ultimately deflating five-goal contest.
Home teams who give their supporters clappers to generate an atmosphere when they're second in the league shouldn't be allowed to be promoted - but I don't make the rules.
The fact of the matter is, City came up against a Premier League side with Premier League players and managed to stay into the contest until the final whistle despite arriving into the fixture with a number of important injuries.
They left it all out there until the final whistle, and despite being less than two miles away from the sea, there were no signs that the players are on the beach just yet.
Here's the match verdict as City made the trip back to Bristol with their pride intact but more importantly, without the points.
Parachute payments pay dividends
Bournemouth paid £19million for Dominic Solanke less than three years ago - yes, they were a Premier League side at the time but the fact of the matter is the forward costs more than the entire City squad combined.
The forward showed his quality yesterday afternoon, getting himself on the scoresheet and causing City's defence all sort of problems.
Jefferson Lerma cost them £25m, Philip Billing, £15m - you get the picture.
Research on the parachute payments came out in the week prior to the fixture which emphasises the disparity of money dished out between your so-called 'normal' Championship teams and those who have recently been in the Premier League.
Among all the technicals of the data concluded, it's easy to simplify it to reveal that the Cherries received around £30m last year as they charge their way to promotion. Clubs with payments also received an average of £53m revenue compared to £14.5m without.
They've certainly wasted no time spending it like a rich kid letting loose around Harrods on a Sunday morning. Just in January for example, they added Kieffer Moore, Todd Cantwell, Siriki Dembele, Freddy Woodman and Nat Phillips to their ranks.
On the bench yesterday they had Dembele, Cantwell, Gary Cahill and Ben Pearson. Compare that to City's who had Josh Owers, Sam Bell, Tommy Conway and Ayman Benarous.
Those comparisons are only to highlight the disparity between the two sides at the moment, there's no reason why City's young stars can't go and forge hugely successful careers.
Pearson referenced it after the game saying: "They are a club that have put themselves in a position where people are thinking of them as a Premier League side, they’ve had a good 10-12 years and it’s a good story."
Yes, City were chasing shadows for long periods but the result and performance has to be put into perspective.
Outplayed but not outfought
It was always going to be a game of attack versus defence and some of Bournemouth's movement outside of the area and down the flanks was a different level at times.
City's passing was more for spells, especially in the first half when they struggled to get the ball out of their own half and find that forward pass to relieve the pressure.
What they lacked in quality, they made up for in their attitude and desire which is why the manager was accepting of the defeat after the game.
One too many times this season we have seen City crumble once that first goal goes in against them. Swansea, Barnsley, Reading, Nottingham Forest and Birmingham are just a few games to mention.
You can't shy away from the fact that City conceded three more goals to take their goals against tally up to 72 but the players continued to put up a fight that deserves credit in itself.
The stats paint a picture of Bournemouth's dominance. They had 68% possession, 25 shots and 12 corners in total but City weren't going to go down without a fight.
With the game at 2-1, Chris Martin should have had a penalty. Pearson thought it was, Scott Parker didn't, funny that... but the challenge was clumsy and from behind and spot-kicks have been given for far less than that.
Without stating the obvious, that goes in who knows what would have happened. Moments later the Bournemouth stopper pulls off a brilliant save to deny Martin from close range after a brilliant break sparked by Nahki Wells.
Then came the killer blow when Dembele added the third but on another day, City could have easily been playing the last 20 minutes or so with a point at least within reach.
To encapsulate the performance, City continued huffing and puffing into the final seconds when Weimann offered a glimmer of hope thanks to some excellent work by Tommy Conway.
City may have come up short with their quality on the pitch but their desire and application certainly matched their opponents at the Vitality Stadium.
Peterborough becomes massive
One down and six to go. That was always going to be a bonus game.
Next weekend is a completely different matter. Even though defeat was expected yesterday, it still puts more pressure heading into next weekend's fixture.
Rock-bottom Peterborough are the visitors to Ashton Gate and the expectancy is that City will come off the pitch at 4:50pm with three points in the bag.
Heading into the final seven games during the international break, City almost certainly would have had a look at the fixture list and picked out the winnable matches.
The Posh, Derby and Hull all at home are the standout games and City need at least seven points from their last six games to ensure that this season can't be deemed as a backwards step.
They are currently on 44 points and finished last season on 51. Anything below that latter target and the pressure is likely to be well and truly on the manager heading into the summer.
If the Robins can't pick up three points next weekend, firstly the fans will certainly let the players know their feelings with patience running thin. Nobody can afford to lose at home to a side who have won just six all season.
Secondly, considering City need at least two victories between now and the end of the campaign, it will mean they would need to win twice from their remaining five matches.
A draw or defeat against Peterborough, and it will mean an average of one win every 3.41 matches.
When Pearson was appointed, he mentioned the three-year plan that was in place but to end a season with less of a points tally then the previous campaign will not bode well with the supporters or the board.
A defence to stick with (for now)
The back three have now had four consecutive games together and they've conceded seven goals.
It's not a record to shout from the rooftops at but there have been enough signs to suggest there's certainly a partnership to work with.
Against West Brom before the international break, it was only an offside goal that condemned City to a late draw and two goals conceded.
Yesterday, the trio defended resolutely, showing their discipline and concentration to snuff out Bournemouth's attacks for long periods.
If we're dissecting the goals, the first was a well-worked piece of play, that saw Jay Dasilva caught out on the overlap before the cross fell into the path of Solanke.
The second was very poor, with Cook's strike from distance missing the outstretched leg of Andi Weimann and nestling in at the near post.
The third was a decent piece of play from Dembele who used his fresh legs to skip inside Alex Scott and Klose before finding the corner.
But there was plenty of good stuff on show throughout, including the fact that City appear to have plugged the gap on their defending set-piece records.
Bournemouth had 12 corners yesterday in total and City, on the whole, dealt with them really well. Not only that, Atkinson even managed to turn the tide and score from a City corner in the opening five minutes.
Robbie Cundy was excellent throughout (except the blatant yellow card) which eventually led to his substitution with 10 minutes left to play. He made a terrific tackle inside his own box in the first half in front of the travelling fans which sparked a rendition of a chant from the sold-out support.
He also appears to be growing in confidence and match fitness. On his full debut against Blackburn at the start of March, he was running through treacle at the end but that wasn't so much the case yesterday.
Timm Klose is also showing a good understanding playing in the middle of Cundy and Atkinson with the latter continuing to cement his place in the side with a solid performance. He does have a nervy moment in him but he makes up for his ability in the air.
There's every chance Tomas Kalas could return from injury to be fit to face Peterborough, but none of the trio out on the field yesterday deserve dropping just yet.
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