Roy Hodgson lauded his West Brom players after a much-changed side beat Bournemouth 4-1 in the Carling Cup second round.
Hodgson encouraged with squad depth
West Brom manager Roy Hodgson lauded his players after a much-changed Baggies side breezed past Bournemouth 4-1 in the Carling Cup second round.
Hodgson made 11 changes from the side that lost 2-1 to Chelsea at the weekend, handing debuts to the likes of Marton Fulop, Gareth McAuley and Billy Jones.
It wasn't a vintage performance from the Premier League outfit, but a brace from Marc-Anotine Fortune and strikes from Jerome Thomas and Simon Cox saw them ease through.
Hodgson praised his side after the match and admitted that the Carling Cup was an important tool for him to assess some of his squad players.
"I made 11 changes from Saturday and we also had Peter Odemwingie back at home and Zoltan Gera," he said.
"We had 13 good ones back home but we had a really good performance from those that are not in those first [bunch of players] against a team that looked very good value.
"It would be nice to [emulate the side that reached the quarter-finals last season] but I think it is still very important in this competition that you give players a chance.
"Tonight we saw one or two players take the chance to really impress upon me that maybe I should be considering them for the first team.
"And partly that is what these games are about for us because otherwise you do not get that opportunity.
"You know they are good players are reserve-team level but I need to know they are good players at league level.
"Bournemouth certainly tested them out and they came up with answers to the questions."
Threat
Despite the scoreline, the Cherries performed admirably at Dean Court and looked like they may fight their way back into the match when Steve Lovell pulled one back shortly after half-time.
"I thought Bournemouth played very well and offensively were a threat," Hodgson added.
"They had a lot of talent in there and we had to defend very solidly.
"But I thought as we started to get hold of the ball in the midfield and pass it around we started to create chances ourselves.
"And in the end it was a very good victory for us."
Bournemouth manager Lee Bradbury admitted he was disappointed by the result but believes his side can learn valuable lessons.
"The timing of the second goal knocked some of the stuffing out of us but I thought the lads reacted well," he said.
"At 2-1 I thought we were going to push on and get an equaliser.
"However, we let them back in the game again and we have to learn from it.
"We've got a reasonably young side that are learning week in and week out.
"And it is those sort of things that I have got to take on board.
"You are always learning in football, whether you are 18 years old or 39 in Steven Fletcher's case.
"You are always learning and that is the beauty of the game.
"You always come out of games with something on your mind and something you've learned from it."
