Cherries recorded their first ever away victory over Southampton at the 16th attempt to move up to third in the Premier League
Saturday 21 September 2019 00:09, UK
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe believes there is more to come from his side after their 'historic' win over Southampton on Friday Night Football.
The Cherries recorded a first away win over their south coast rivals as goals from Nathan Ake, Harry Wilson and Callum Wilson earned a 3-1 success at St Mary's.
The result moves them up to third in the table, and Howe believes the psychology of his players has now shifted away from merely surviving in the top flight.
He told Sky Sports: "It was an historic game for us tonight. I don't think we were at our very best and we were loose at times, but what we did show was real heart, fight, determination and desire.
"We defended heroically at times, our goalkeeper played very well. It wasn't the perfect performance but we're delighted with the win.
"I think we now certainly don't have an inferiority complex which we did when we first came into the Premier League.
"I think we are getting more and more confident with each other and this season the group will get stronger - we have big players missing. We know there is more to come.
"You want to win trophies and win leagues, that is your mindset every season. Are we going to do that? It's incredibly difficult so then you have to look at how you do things. We pride ourselves on our philosophy and our style of play.
"That becomes the barometer of where we are. We are trying to get back to our very best footballing levels."
Ake headed home the 10th-minute opener from a Diego Rico corner, before winger Wilson swept in to double the Cherries' lead 10 minutes before the break.
James Ward-Prowse's penalty early in the second period gave Saints hope of a fightback but England striker Wilson seized on a defensive mistake to kill off the game in stoppage time and end the visitors' 15-game winless streak at their near neighbours.
"It was a difficult game and in the second half, we were terrible on the ball," Callum Wilson admitted to Sky Sports. "We couldn't get out of our half. In the end, the third goal was a gift so thankfully we got the win.
"In the last game, we knew that Everton zonal marked, and it was similar today. So we just repeated what we did in the last game. We got success with it, and we got more today.
"We've never won here as a football club, so as you can see the fans are still hanging around. It's a big win."
Their margin of success would have been greater had Joshua King not had a 25th-minute strike ruled out for offside by VAR.
The Norway forward emphatically slotted in at the end of a counter-attacking move, only for VAR to rule he had strayed marginally offside from Dominic Solanke's through pass.
King said: "I had a feeling it would be offside to be honest as I thought I would get the ball a split second before I did.
"I think it affected my game a bit towards the end of the game as well as I've never had a goal disallowed by VAR. But I'll learn from that and keep going in the next game."
Southampton enjoyed 65 per cent possession and had 25 attempts on goal compared to Bournemouth's six, but still fell to a third defeat of the Premier League season.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl rued his side's display in the opening 45 minutes.
The Austrian told Sky Sports: "We lost the game in the first half. We weren't good for the first 20 minutes or so and had to change the shape twice. We've moved to 4-3-3 and it was a lot better.
"In the second half, we had every second ball and were very sharp. We have 25 shots on goal to six from Bournemouth, but in the end the most important stat is the goals.
"We weren't aggressive enough, and the opponent was very clinical. That was the big difference today. We had a lot of blocked shots, a good performance in the second half but without the result.
"We showed a good reaction in the second half, and had 65 per cent possession. Nathan [Redmond] had a big chance to equalise but today we didn't deserve to take anything because the first half wasn't good enough."
