Practice makes perfect for Junior Stanislas, says Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe praised Junior Stanislas' work on the training ground after the forward scored a wonderful last-minute free-kick to beat West Brom on Saturday.

With the two teams locked together at 1-1 and the match at the Vitality entering its last minute, Stanislas stepped up to curl a 25-yard free-kick over the wall and into the back of the net.

However, after the match, Howe revealed the 28-year-old had been practising tirelessly on his set plays, with the player rewarded with his fourth goal in his last seven Premier League games, as many as he managed in his previous 19.

"The second goal was a huge contrast because Junior's finish was just sublime for the goal," said Howe. "He has been practising, practising, practising.

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"We have not had a recognised free-kick tacker since Yann Kermorgant left the football club, so we are aware we have not had huge success.

"So we took Junior away and said, 'Right, let's work on your technique so you can try and become a specialist' and he is on his way to doing it with that goal."

The win, Bournemouth's first in five games, moved the south coast club onto 36 points, eight clear of 18th-placed Southampton, and within touching distance of safety.

"This league is so tough that like we have always said, we are not safe until we are safe, but it is a huge step in the right direction especially given the amount of games we have got to come," said Howe.

"And hopefully that just gives the players a bit of confidence, we had not won in a few weeks and I think we needed that today."

However, the Cherries may have to do without both captain Simon Francis and fellow defender Adam Smith for the closing weeks of the season after both players were forced off with injury.

"Simon's was a hamstring, which is a huge blow for us sand we do not know how long he is going to be out for," said Howe. "And Adam's was a knee problem from a tackle.

"That certainly did not help the flow of the team and we were really disappointed to lose them and thankfully we got there in the end."

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