Eddie Howe Feels Bournemouth Deserved More Claiming 4-0 Wasn't 'on the Cards'
Bournemouth endured a torrid afternoon in Lancashire as they fell victim to a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Premier League strugglers Burnley in one of the surprise results of the day.
Eddie Howe feels rightly aggrieved after watching his side get so much right on the pitch but so much wrong on the scoreline. Bournemouth dominated the game from the off and looked the most likely to score in the opening stages.
They very nearly took a fortuitous lead when a heavy deflection off Ben Mee carried the ball over Joe Hart and crashed against the crossbar. It would have been no less than they deserved and was an early warning sign for Burnley.
Moments later Josh King came within inches on turning in Callum Wilson’s cross after breaking free in the centre of the box but a frustrating afternoon continued. Things got worse when Bournemouth were hit for a quick double before halftime as Burnley put away their only real chances of the half.
Despite this Howe’s side looked good after the break and continued to press for a way back into the game. They looked certain to at least halve the deficit as they created chance after chance that all went begging.
Only really forcing one good save out of Joe Hart all day reflected the key failing for the Cherries in an otherwise fine performance. Sadly, it wasn’t to be the end of the frustration for Bournemouth as substitute Ashley Barnes added a late brace to compound an embarrassing scoreline.
"I don't think it was a 4-0 performance. We were well in the game and had chances, but we didn't take them. We're very disappointed to concede four. That didn't look on the cards early in the game,” Howe told BBC Sport.
"We had them penned in at 2-0 and we were one goal from changing the entire mood of the game but we never got that goal and conceded two on the break.
“We knew coming here that we'd have to defend crosses and set-plays well and we didn't do that. We know how unforgiving the league is, and if you come off your high standards then you get beaten so we need to address that,” he added.