Howe: Bournemouth have to be pleased with their season

Eddie Howe said Bournemouth had to be pleased with their season despite a 5-3 final-day defeat to Crystal Palace that left them 14th in the Premier League table.

The Cherries were three goals down inside 37 minutes at Selhurst Park, where Michy Batshuayi scored twice for Palace before 22-year-old Bournemouth defender Jack Simpson scored an own goal.

Jefferson Lerma's stunning 25-yard strike brought Bournemouth back into the game before Jordon Ibe and Josh King scored either side of Patrick van Aanholt grabbing Palace's fourth.

But Andros Townsend scored 10 minutes from time to make sure Palace held onto 12th spot, while Newcastle United leapfrogged Bournemouth into 13th, leaving Cherries boss Howe to reflect on the impact of injuries on his squad during the second half of the campaign.

"It was not the way we wanted to finish but for the neutral it was great," Howe told Sky Sports. "There were so many chances for both teams and the score could have been a lot higher.

"We were really poor in first half at times but we dominated the game in the second and we're disappointed to lose.

"We knew it was going to be an open attacking game but in the first half we reacted slowly to conceding and we wobbled a bit. That cost us but in the second half you saw the best of us.

"We have to be [pleased with the season]. The competition is so difficult and it's easy to go consecutive games without getting points.

"We're frustrated by the second half of the season but injuries really hit our squad."

May 12, 2019

Howe's opposite number Roy Hodgson expressed his pride at having led the club to their highest Premier League points tally at the end of a 38-game season, but admitted home form had been a problem for his side.

The Eagles took just 20 of their 49 points at Selhurst.

"If we'd gone in at half-time at 3-0 it might well have been [game over]," said the former England boss. "But we were on the end of a wonder strike that gave them a little bit more heart.

"When they get to 3-2 the task was definitely not beyond them and we had to fight to get the two goals we did.

"The goals we scored were very good ones and they were the result of situations before that where we could have scored identical goals.

"We haven't won as many home games as we'd have liked, so it's nice to finish with one."