ONE diehard Cherries' fan made the last-minute decision to jet back more than 10,600-miles for AFCB's historic crunch home game against Bolton tonight.

Alistair Pavey, who emigrated to Australia in 2007, paid around £1,000 for an airline ticket and boarded a Sydney to London Heathrow flight last night, after his brother in Bournemouth said there was a ticket going spare for the match.

Speaking to the Daily Echo from Heathrow this morning, following a gruelling 24-hour flight, Alistair said: "I'm not quite feeling the same adrenaline rush I had when I was getting on the plane, but I cannot wait for the game."

The married, 35-year-old father-of-two, was an avid AFCB supporter before moving to Australia.

"I watched Bournemouth from 1989 through until when I emigrated in 2007," he explained. "I went to home and away games and everything else that went along with it, but since I emigrated I've only been able to get to a couple of games."

His last Cherries outing was a Macclesfield home game, which Bournemouth lost 1-0. The goal was in the first three minutes and he didn't even get to the ground in time to see it, he recalled.

"I was going to come back for the Charlton game at the weekend, as I really thought it would go down to the last day of the season. But I spoke to my brother yesterday morning and he said there might be a spare ticket for Bolton. This now seems like the key game, what with the goal difference situation.

"So it was a last-minute decision - I booked a flight yesterday and came straight away.

"I've got two young kids and the wife was, let’s say, not overly impressed. But she had to let it go, I don't think she wanted to be hearing about it for the next 35 years,” he joked.

However, if Bournemouth fail to dispatch Bolton tonight, Alistair might be even more in the doghouse.

"I was hoping to go home on Thursday," he explained: "But the problem I have is if we don't win I'm going to have to stay until the weekend for the Charlton game. This will get me in even more trouble at home, and after the trip I'm haemorrhaging cash. Let's hope it is all going to be worth it."

His prediction: "A nervy 1-0 win for Bournemouth."