Howe praises Bournemouth ´fighters´ after Watford draw

Eddie Howe hailed Bournemouth’s fighting spirit after they twice came from a goal down to draw 2-2 against Watford in the Premier League on Saturday.

Christian Kabasele opened the scoring from a corner in the first half and, although Josh King equalised, Troy Deeney restored the visitors’ lead from another set-piece.

Bournemouth did not give up, though, levelling late on through Benik Afobe, and Howe was pleased with his side’s performance despite conceding two sloppy goals.

“The performance was good, we created a number of chances,” Howe told the BBC. “We weren’t always as positive as I’d like with our passing, but I thought that improved in the second half.

“The frustrating thing is we’ve had to work so hard for our goals, and the ones we’ve given away are two set-pieces. They should be relatively easy to defend.

“But the players are fighters. When things got difficult for us, our true character showed. [Watford goalkeeper Heurelho] Gomes has made a number of good saves.”

Watford manager Walter Mazzarri believes his side would have been deserved winners had they held on for the three points.

“I’m disappointed as we deserved to win, but we made two mistakes and paid the price,” he added. “But overall, I am happy with the performance. 

“We’ve been playing with young players and a lot of them are growing. This is positive and we are slowly getting the team we want now.”