Scott Parker hails ‘heart and craft’ as Bournemouth snatch victory at Blackpool

Bournemouth boss Scott Parker believes his side deserve credit for the way they managed to rally late on in a 2-1 win over Blackpool.

The Cherries were marginally the better side earlier on and should have been ahead after winning a penalty, only for Dominic Solanke’s strike to be easily saved.

And the hosts went ahead with less than 10 minutes to go in the opening half, with Josh Bowler’s cracking 22-yard effort nestling in the back of the net in the 37th minute.

Blackpool narrowly missed out on taking a 2-0 lead when CJ Hamilton’s 20-yard strike hit the bar and rebounded away.

And they were punished as the Cherries equalised in the 86th minute through Jamal Lowe, before Siriki Dembele nabbed a winner for the hosts in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

Bournemouth boosted their chances of winning automatic promotion with the three points, and afterwards Parker was delighted.

He said: “The lads deserve great credit for the way they showed all that heart and craft right until the end.

“We really showed our quality in what was a big game for us. It was an exciting finish of course, but also it’s a relief to get over the line like that.

“Overall, looking back at the whole game, I think we deserved the win. From start to finish the lads were superb.

“In the first half we settled really well and we had control of the game. It was unfortunate to see the penalty missed of course, and then we go and concede a real goal of the month from their lad. That was a great hit.

“That win wasn’t down to luck, though. That came because of the consequences of what we had done earlier. There was quality throughout from the lads, and they showed lots of fighting spirit.

“We caused a threat all game and had plenty of other moments when we could have scored more.”

Meanwhile, Blackpool manager Neil Critchley admitted the last-gasp manner of the defeat was painful after a positive display.

He said: “Football can be a cruel game sometimes. I’m really disappointed because we’ve just taken a top team in the division right to the wire.

“We deserved more I thought, in what were very difficult conditions. I’m so proud of all the players – they didn’t deserve that result.

“We looked confident and overall I thought we were as good as them, but that was a cruel ending to the game.

“We controlled most of the play, relatively well anyway, and we matched them for most of the game. Maybe you need that bit of luck in front of goal sometimes. That was against us at times today.

“It would have been fitting had Josh’s goal won the game, but as I said, football can be cruel. That result wasn’t justified, so we have to be positive about the performance overall.

“We’ve absolutely nothing to be downhearted about after that, other than the scoreline of course.”