Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola lauded his side's 'soul' after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage, extending their Premier League unbeaten streak to 16 matches and strengthening their push for European football.
The match saw both teams reduced to ten men in the first half following red cards for Ryan Christie and Joachim Andersen, which opened up a previously stale contest. Bournemouth capitalised in the 53rd minute when Rayan fired home his fifth goal since joining the club in January, moving the Cherries within two wins of securing Europa League qualification.
Iraola emphasised the importance of character in the second half. 'We spoke at half-time, the second half was about the soul of the team because it was 10 against 10, spaces everywhere, one against one duels,' he said. 'There were tired legs for sure at the end. You need the soul when you are running out of energy. We've shown this. Luckily for us we finished the job.'
The first half took a bizarre turn when Christie was sent off for stamping on Timothy Castagne's ankle, followed shortly after by Andersen's reckless challenge on Adrien Truffert. Despite the numerical parity, Iraola praised his team's defensive solidity. 'Considering we were playing 10 against 10, it's more open, we were quite compact. The big chance they had comes from a long throw. Overall, I think we've been very solid,' he added.
With only two matches remaining before Iraola departs at the end of his contract, the Spaniard hopes to have a near full-strength squad for the visit of Manchester City and the season finale at Nottingham Forest. Justin Kluivert and Lewis Cook are expected to return for what could be an historic climax.
'They are showing they want it a lot. They are pushing a lot. Everyone is fighting to be available,' Iraola said. 'Today, Justin, I wanted to give him some minutes. Lewis Cook is going to be ready for the next one. I think we will have everyone available. I hope we can keep this mentality until the end.'
He acknowledged the challenge ahead: 'When you are pushing for Europe, the teams around you win a lot of games. We've left some opponents behind but we still need more points. We are in a good place, but we play City and we play Forest away. We have to find points from somewhere.'
Iraola was without defender Alex Jimenez after the club announced he would not be selected while investigating messages allegedly sent by him that were shared on social media. When asked about Jimenez's absence, Iraola said: 'You have to separate a little bit the football side from the rest.'
Fulham boss Marco Silva felt the red cards turned the game against his side. 'We played a very good first half 11 against 11. We were the team on the front foot, some very good moments of football. They're a difficult side to play against, they're intense. Until the red cards, the game was completely on our side. The result didn't show that because of moments when we weren't clinical enough,' he reflected.
