Rob Davies
Russell Martin bemoaned some of the refereeing decisions that saw Bournemouth come back from 3-0 down to take a point from the Swansea.com Stadium.
The Swans looked to be cruising thanks to goals from Joel Piroe and Cyrus Christie but the Bournemouth comeback was on when Kieffer Moore found the net from a corner after Ben Cabango was forced off with injury – something Martin says was pivotal.
He also believed that Moore should have been sent off for his elbow on Flynn Downes and the third goal should have been ruled out for a foul on the same player.
He told Wales Online: “I’m really proud of the players. For 50 or 55 minutes, I thought they were brilliant. So brave, they caused all sorts of problems for Bournemouth in the first-half in particular.
“They [Bournemouth] had moments in the first half, but you expect that with the squad they have.
“I have nothing but praise for the players for how they were. We get the third goal, they make changes.
“Ben Cabango coming off is a massive moment for us. We had probably the smallest back three playing against the biggest front three players. They take our most dominant player out aerially, and then it’s some key moments really.
“[First goal]The ball should get played back to Fish [Andy Fisher], we don’t, we dally on it and they score. The penalty is a tough one to take. Kieffer Moore should get sent off in the 73rd minute. I don’t like moaning about refereeing decisions, but he’s elbowed Flynn [Downes].
“Bournemouth threw everything at it, they just risked it all. When we did have the chance to play, the detail wasn’t quite there.
“The third goal, it’s a push on Flynn. These are just clear decisions. We should win the game at 3-0 up. But it’s a different feeling to Reading, it’s not a mentality problem, we’re playing a team who are where they are in the league, fighting for everything.”
