Eddie Howe: Loss at Everton 'really harsh' on Bournemouth

Eddie Howe said Bournemouth's 2-0 defeat to Everton was "really harsh" on his side.

The Cherries made the better start and went close to scoring as David Brooks hit the post.

However, second-half goals from Kurt Zouma and Dominic Calvert-Lewin condemned Bournemouth to a ninth defeat in their last 12 Premier League matches.

Everton 2-0 Bournemouth
As it happened

"It was really harsh on us today," Howe told Sky Sports. "I'm really proud of the players' efforts. We competed in a really tough game and we had our moments as well but we didn't take our chances. The scoreline doesn't reflect the performance.

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"We pressed well, we competed well and we nullified Everton's strengths for large parts of the game. The goal was a huge moment that we didn't defend well enough.

"Our goalkeeper hasn't had to make a save in the entire match. It's been a similar theme in recent weeks - we concede out of nowhere and don't take our chances when they come."

Bournemouth also had penalty appeals waved away at 0-0 when Idrissa Gueye challenged Brooks in the box.

"I didn't see it," said Howe. "But I'm told people that have thought it was a penalty.

"I can't focus on that as it's the wrong thing for me to do in a run of results like this. We have to focus on ourselves but those things aren't going our way at the moment."

Asked about a newspaper report that Chelsea could activate a £40m buy-back clause for Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake, Howe said: "I know nothing about that, that's for another day."

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