Bournemouth Boss Eddie Howe Reveals 'Big Moment' Which Swung Result in Liverpool's Favour

Eddie Howe was left cursing Bournemouth's bad luck against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon, after the Cherries boss claimed that Steve Cook's early injury was the 'big moment' that doomed his side in their 2-1 defeat at Anfield. 

The struggling visitors had taken a shock lead inside ten minutes, but they were forced into a defensive reshuffle when Cook limped off on 20 minutes. Liverpool then turned the game on its head inside 15 minutes, and it proved to be enough to earn all three points. 

Speaking after the match, Howe looked back at that tactical switch as the 'big moment' which decided the result, describing Cook's departure as a 'hammer blow' to the sinking Cherries, as reported by ​The Mirror. 

“The big moment for us is Steve Cook’s injury, that was a hammer blow for us at that point of the game as we had started so well,” Howe claimed. 

"As our captain, it was a tough one to take.

“The reshuffle to our back line wasn’t helpful to us, it’s very difficult for players to get adjusted to the speed of the game and probably Jack [Simpson] has felt it for the first 10 minutes.”

Howe's thought process is well-justified, too. It was substitute Simpson who lost possession in his own half on 25 minutes, and his untimely error led directly to ​Liverpool's vital equalising goal. Mané gave the hosts the lead eight minutes later, and Bournemouth failed to find a way back into the game from that point on. 

The Cherries' boss was proud of his side's display at Anfield however, and stated he 'can't be too critical', given the challenge that faced his team before kick-off. 

“I thought we performed really well," Howe admitted. 

"And I can’t be critical too much with what we delivered.

“In terms of our gameplan, we knew we would have limited possession and it was a case of how well we defended, and when they had the ball I thought our defensive shape was good.

“What cost us the game is that in two moments we turned the ball over in our half.

“Liverpool work hard and press well, and we weren’t surprised by that. We have to be able to handle that. We made honest mistakes, players were doing their best and ultimately got it wrong in that moment."

The defeat leaves ​Bournemouth in the relegation zone, level on points with West Ham and Watford.