Emotional and mental strength shown by Cherries

Reflecting on Saturday, Eddie Howe was most pleased about how the Cherries dealt with recovering from being two goals up and suddenly finding within 10 minutes of the second half the game was all square. It was another lesson that when you are in cruise control and well ahead in the game there is no guarantee that a side can just ride out a game at this level. While the game may have seemed won and the home crowd were despondent. it only needed a flicker of hope for the Hammers to suddenly find their feet and go on the attack looking for more goals.

Big grounds hold no fear for the Cherries now.

The mental side of the game is one that is so difficult to get right so Eddie Howe will have been encouraged by his side's desire to go on and win the game. A few seasons ago these were the games that would often fall apart for AFCB, but the winning runs of the last couple of years were something that the players can now draw on when they are pegged back. The team is used to winning and having scored first in a game in the Premier League it certainly pushed the team on to believe that they could get all three points at Upton Park.

At 4-2 the game again seemed safe and you could say that the Cherries had weathered the storm at that point. The team was probably at least two goals better than West Ham with the amount of chances they created and the busy day that Darren Randolph had compared to Artur Boruc, but the third West Ham game really made for a grandstand finish and it added further questions about the Cherries' concentration.

The last few minutes also tested the seasiders with a corner that could have robbed AFCB of two points if West Ham could have managed to scramble the ball over the line. It would have been another mental blow after the first two games, but pleasingly the team kept the attempt out and the three points will be massive for the club. The emotions of the players will have been up and down all game but this week it's all about building on the positives and working out why they failed to keep a clean sheet at the Boleyn ground.