AFC Bournemouth were defeated on the road yet again in the Premier League, after the Cherries fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Brentford in London.
Ivan Toney scored a first-half penalty to put Brentford in front, with Mathias Jensen sealing the win for the Bees with 15 minutes left to play, after firing into the top corner past Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto.
The defeat means Bournemouth remain just one point above the relegation zone and are in danger of dropping into the bottom three with Southampton picking up form at the bottom.
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"We're in a difficult spell"
Bournemouth boss Gary O'Neil spoke to the media after the game, and was left deflated by the decision of referee Jarred Gillett to give a penalty to Brentford:
"I thought the boys worked hard, wasn't much in the game, created some chances, especially second half had some good spells, get caught with a goal against the run of play at that moment, which finishes the game off really"
"The boys gave everything, a lot of the performance was nearer to where it needs to be, and for me, the game changes on a terrible refereeing decision"
A penalty was awarded after Bournemouth central defender Marcos Senesi was deemed to have brought down Ivan Toney, which the Brentford striker dispatched with ease just before half-time
Despite his frustration, O'Neil focused on the positives for the Cherries from the game.
One of those was the return of former Barcelona goalkeeper Neto, who has been out injured since the end of October.
The Brazilian replaced Mark Travers in the Cherries net, and O'Neil was delighted to have his number one back fit:
"He's big for us, he's worked really hard to get back as quickly as he has ahead of schedule, pleased to have him back, not much he could've done with either goal"
"We had some moments, but obviously we're disappointed with the result. We need to pick up points but there are positives in there."
O'Neil stated that his side still has several injury problems. Lewis Cook came off injured in the first half for Bournemouth, and with Ryan Fredericks, Marcus Tavernier, Junior Stanislas and David Brooks still not in the squad, it adds to the ever growing injury list for O'Neil to deal with:
"We're very short with injuries, we're in a little bit of a difficult spell, but the boys are still fully committed, it's exactly what's expected. We need to go again on Saturday"
"As I say, it turns on a scandalous refereeing decision"
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Lloyd Kelly - "Difficult to accept"
Bournemouth captain Lloyd Kelly also spoke to the media after the game, expressing similar disappointment to his manager for the penalty decision:
"Everyone can say in that first half it was fairly equal, we defended well. We knew they were going to be big on set pieces and dead ball situations and I think we dealt with that right up until the decision in the first half, which I think watching it back is difficult to accept."
"We showed glimpses of good things, when you get hit with the second goal, it's just easy things to avoid"
"Everyone can accept that we need to see those moments out and need to do better, that's it"
"It's a hard one, but that's how it is. We have to do better"
"We've got to stick together in this moment, especially the players, that's what we have to do from now until the end of the season"
Bournemouth face Nottingham Forest in their next game on January 21, in a 15:00 GMT Kick-Off at the Vitality Stadium, as the Cherries look to respond to their poor form of late.
