TOWN twice levelled, but this still felt very much like two points dropped rather than one gained.

There are still 102 to play for in League I, in Town's case, starting with Saturday's derby at in-form Bradford City.

But if Peter Jackson can't find a way of shoring up his defence, they are going to prove hard to come by.

Town, who at least climbed a place to 17th, have gone behind in nine out of their 12 league games.

That they have avoided defeat on five of those occasions shows they have battling qualities.

But wouldn't it be easier if they could simply put up the shutters in the first place?

Jackson was forced the swap things on Saturday, with David Mirfin's thigh strain meaning Nathan Clarke came back in alongside Martin McIntosh.

Clarke, who took the captain's armband, certainly isn't showing the kind of consistency he did last season, but it would be unfair to single him out for criticism.

Good defending involves all 11 players on the pitch, and for long spells of Saturday's showdown, Town simply gave Bournemouth too much room, enabling them to put together some fluent passing moves.

One of them brought the ninth-minute free-kick which led to their opener.

Steve Foley played the set-piece ball in from the Town left, and when Luke Beckett, back to help out in defence, could only block Shaun Cooper's shot, James Hayter needed no second invitation to shoot home.

Less than a minute later, Leon Best played Cooper through, and keeper Matt Glennon had to slide out to smother.

Beckett was unable to get good connection to a Gary Taylor-Fletcher nod down, headed wide from a Michael Collins corner and then had a decent effort blocked on the line by Josh Gowling as Town started to get back into the game.

Collins shot over from a good position, and Beckett was denied by Karl Broadhurst's excellent tackle before Taylor-Fletcher finally eased the home fans' frustration.

The wideman's fourth goal in three games and eighth of the season arrived on 27 minutes - and it was a real beauty.

Matty Young, making his full home debut, Andy Holdsworth and Mark Hudson were all involved in the build up before Taylor-Fletcher played a neat one-two with Pawel Abbott and advanced into the area to score with a left-foot shot.

Abbott had two chances to extend the lead in the next eight minutes, but was unable to get a good connection to a McIntosh nod down before heading over from the central defender's penetrating long pass.

McIntosh's 39th-minute free-kick was blocked by Neil Young before Abbott headed wide.

But Bournemouth were still a threat, and on-loan Southampton striker Best brought a fine save from Glennon in stoppage time before taking advantage of a messy defensive mix-up to put his side back in front after 48 minutes.

It was frustrating that the goal came from a breakaway after keeper Gareth Stewart saved from Beckett, but at least Town gained some revenge by doing the same thing to their visitors on 69 minutes.

Clarke's misdirected clearance meant Best only had Glennon to beat, but the keeper saved well from close range and after the ball was punted upfield, Beckett held off Broadhurst and wrongfooted Stewart before rolling the ball in.

The only genuine chance thereafter fell to Bournemouth, but luckily for Town, Cooper's angled shot across the face of goal was narrowly wide.

Man of the Match:

Matt Glennon's 69th-minute close-range save from Leon Best (pictured). The on-loan Southampton striker looked set to score his second, but the keeper did his job, and rather than being 3-1 down, his big kick paved the way for Luke Beckett to leave Glennon's opposite number Gareth Stewart stranded and make it 2-2.

How They Rated:

Matt Glennon It's so hard to keep clean sheets behind a set of players who seem to be finding it so hard to defend. Rating: 6/10

Andy Holdsworth Solid without being spectacular. Made some good tackles, but also struggled to deliver good-quality crosses. Rating: 5/10

Danny Adams Stood his ground as strongly as ever, but like Holdsworth, couldn't supply the kind of delivery needed. Rating: 5/10

Martin McIntosh Made a slip in the build-up to Bournemouth's second, but otherwise impressive. Rating: 6/10

Nathan Clarke The vice-captain looked flustered too many times. Struggling to reach his high standard of last season. Rating: 5/10

Gary T-Fletcher Another cool and accurate finish from a player who is posing plenty of problems for opponents. Rating: 6/10

Michael Collins Nothing wrong with his workrate, but his passing was strangely below par, with too many going astray. Rating: 5/10

Mark Hudson Effort and enthusiasm good, but still dipped after impressive displays at Swansea and Tranmere. Rating: 5/10

Matty Young No surprise he cramped up late on, because Town's full home debutant worked his socks off. Rating: 6/10

Luke Beckett Engineered a number of decent chances and slotted in his fourth goal of the season with aplomb. Rating: 6/10

Pawel Abbott Had little joy in his first start in three matches and never looked like adding to his three-goal tally. Rating: 5/10

Spotlight on the Ref

White-rose whistler Paul Robinson produced an okay display, but nothing more. Playing the advantage rule well was his biggest plus. Dodgy offsides were down to his assistants, but he was a touch inconsistent and let Leon Best away with just a yellow card for what looked to be a clear case of leading with his arm against Nathan Clarke.

BOURNEMOUTH

Stewart, Young, Purches, Broadhurst, Cooper, Best, Foley (Fletcher, 72), Hayter, Gowling, Anderton (Browning, 61), Cummings. Subs not used: Moss, Hollands, Hart.

Cautioned:Young, Best, Hayter, Fletcher.