Howe hails Bournemouth´s ´tremendous character´

Eddie Howe says the character of his Bournemouth players allowed them to overcome a Portsmouth team who “moved the ball well” in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

League Two side Portsmouth took the lead through Gary Roberts two minutes before the break but Bournemouth, who made 10 changes to their previous starting XI, hit back with Josh King’s equaliser in the 71st minute.

Marc Pugh then bundled home the winning goal with seven minutes remaining to ensure the visitors progressed to the next round courtesy of a 2-1 victory in the clash between two south coast clubs at Fratton Park.

And Howe was happy with the response from his Premier League team after they fell behind to Roberts’ well-taken strike.

“Credit to Portsmouth to how they moved the ball, but in the second half we got a grip on the game and came out on top,” Howe told BBC Sport.

“It was a local derby against a team in good form and we knew it would be tough but the players showed tremendous character to see it out.”

Portsmouth manager Paul Cook was proud with the effort of his players after they pushed the Premier League outfit all the way.

“The most important thing was both sets of fans going away saying what a great game it was, it being a south-coast derby,” Cook said.

“People sometimes think you’re not allowed to pass the ball in League Two. 

“We are a passing team, we want our young lads to come through playing the game in a right way, but we are very disappointed to go out.”