GOALSCORER Marcus Tavernier could not hide his disappointment after his stellar display at Elland Road went unrewarded, insisting: “We can’t let this keep happening.” Tavernier scored his first Cherries goal and also provided two assists as Cherries went 3-1 up against Leeds United on Saturday. But the hosts battled back, eventually completing the turnaround in the 84th minute to win 4-3 and leave Gary O’Neil’s men facing up to a fourth straight loss. It was also the second week in succession Cherries had squandered a two-goal cushion to lose, having also done the same against Tottenham Hotspur.
Marcus Tavernier said: “I’m just devastated. We can’t let this keep happening where we feel like we’re in control of the game, we’ve got a two-goal cushion. It’s happened back-to-back weeks now where we’ve been in that lead and we’ve let ourselves down. We have to really focus on defensive work this week and keeping the ball out the back of the net.”
Asked there was a similar feeling on the pitch at Leeds as in the closing stages against Spurs,
Marcus Tavernier added: “You don’t feel it on the pitch. I still felt like we were in control of the game. I feel like we conceded sloppy goals and I can only say we weren’t good enough. That’s all I can say right now. I’m sure the staff will pinpoint the areas that we need to work on and we really do need to fix up on this area of our game, because it’s happened. Although we’ve played well, it doesn’t mean anything when you don’t get any points on the board.”
Cherries impressed for the first hour of the contest, scoring three goals and also creating further chances to add to their tally.
Marcus Tavernier said: “I can’t pin this all on our defensive side of the game. We had some other chances which we could’ve scored and us attackers, we have to put the ball in the back of the net. That’s our job. I feel like we had a couple of chances where we could’ve done that. It’s a team one to take and we can all look at ourselves in the mirror and really have a look at ourselves and see where we need to improve.”
Having failed to record a goal or assist prior to the game against Tottenham, Tavernier now has three assists to his name as well as a goal in the past two fixtures.
Marcus Tavernier said: “Obviously it’s a bittersweet moment scoring my first goal in the league. At the end of the day, we haven’t got any points on the board and I can’t be happy right now. All I can do is focus on next week, because we do really need to change the way we’re going into games and our performances on the pitch. We need to be putting points on the board because we can’t afford to be letting teams get back in the game. Because at this magnitude and in this league, it’s just unacceptable.”
Cherries now face two matches against Everton before the six-week World Cup break. The Toffees head to Vitality Stadium tomorrow in the Carabao Cup, before returning in the Premier League on Saturday.
Marcus Tavernier said: “We need to put as many points on the board before that break comes. That’s what we’re working to do. I’m just disappointed, so, so gutted that we couldn’t do that (on Saturday) when we were so comfortable in the game, then it just slips out of our fingers. I don’t know what to really say. The beauty of it is we have a game with a quick turnaround. We have to go into that showing a different side to our game. We really need to prove to everyone that we can stay in this league and it’s a great opposition to do it against as they’re another Premier League team, so we need to be fighting and ready to go for that game.”
