Sunday 25 January 2015 20:31, UK
Eddie Howe felt his side were unfortunate during their FA Cup fourth round defeat at Aston Villa but insisted his Bournemouth side taught a lesson by a ruthless Premier League side.
The Sky Bet Championship leaders failed to capitalise on their bright start to the game and were punished as goals from Carles Gil and Andreas Weimann saw Paul Lambert’s men progress to the last 16.
Callum Wilson’s injury-time strike provided a consolation for the visiting Cherries fans, but Howe was adamant his side deserved more from the game.
"We felt we were well in the game and we created the better opportunities,” Howe said. “We had a good defensive structure and limited their chances and it took a moment of quality to break the deadlock and give Villa a lift.
"We'll use this experience today as a positive. We went toe-to-toe with a Premier League club at their own ground. We did it pretty well but you could see the difference in quality with their goals and that is what we aspire to."
Bournemouth are a point clear at the top and host Watford on Friday and Howe, who made eight changes prior to kick-off, insisted his squad rotation did not have an impact on their fourth round defeat.
"A lot is made of the changes we have made in the cups but there's little difference from the established starting 11 and those who played, with different luck they would be starting,” he added.
“I had no problems bringing them in today. My team was picked a while ago, it was the team which beat Rotherham 5-1 and beat West Brom in the League Cup.”
