Defender reflects on an important three points at the Stadium of Light
AFC Bournemouth hopped over the 40-point mark in the Premier League as they earned a narrow 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light.
Joshua King pounced to win the game in the 88th minute on Wearside, the game’s only goal sealing Sunderland’s relegation to the Championship in the process.
For defender Steve Cook the result was down to the personality and endurance of the Cherries’ squad.
"It’s huge,” Cook told afcb.co.uk. “It took a while but we have great characters and we kept on going. It wasn’t a fantastic performance but we came away winners and it gets us over the 40-point mark and we’re delighted.
“When you’re not playing as well as you can you have to keep believing. Sunderland were always going to make it difficult, it was a huge game for them so I don’t think you can underestimate this win.
“It wasn’t going to be easy and now we’re looking to kick on.”
The kick now is for the club to guarantee their league position for 2017/18 and eclipse the 42-point mark set down in the club’s debut Premier League season.
The foundation of Saturday’s result was the clean sheet – a second in succession – with the back four assisted by goalkeeper Artur Boruc in keeping the Black Cats at bay.
“It was always going to be a tough game for us defenders,” explained Cook. “We kept our concentration well and when they did get in Artur made some great saves.
“We had a period where we were conceding too many goals and making individual mistakes, we’ve eradicated those and when you’re not conceding it gives you more chance to win games.
“That’s credit to the coaches and the way we’ve stuck by our philosophies, now everyone’s really pleased.”
After keeping their end of the bargain with a win on Saturday, the Cherries’ Premier League survival could be secured on Sunday if Swansea City lose at Old Trafford to Manchester United.
Cook admitted that he would have an eye out for the game: “I’ll be watching, it would be nice if they could finish the job off for us.
"We’ve put ourselves in a great spot and now we can enjoy that game tomorrow, hopefully with a United win.”
