Eddie Howe Reveals Delight At Two Substitutes During Tight 2-2 Draw With Crystal Palace

Eddie Howe has expressed his delight at the impact both Lys Mousset and Joshua King had coming off the bench during Bournemouth's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.

After a tense first half, Crystal Palace began the second half strongly with Luka Milivojevic curling home a delightful free kick and putting the Eagles ahead just 90 seconds into the second half. The goal forced Howe into making the double substitution, and it only took a matter of minutes for Mousset to get himself on the scoresheet with a lovely curling effort from 20 yards out.

Crystal Palace then got their noses back in front thanks to a moment of brilliance from Wilfried Zaha and it looked as though the away side were to snatch all three points - but that wasn't to be the case. They were left to rue their missed chances when a corner was flicked on by Steve Cook and into the path of King, who was left unmarked at the far post and slotted home.

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Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Howe heaped the praise on the substitutes following their impact on the game, and highlighted his delight at the development of Mousset this season, saying: "I'm really pleased with the two players who came on. 

"Josh King has had a slight hamstring niggle and I didn't really want to bring him on but with the scoreline it was the right thing to do and he did really well.

"Lys [Mousset] is developing all the time and it was a great finish. When he first signed we saw his talent but he needed to get fitter and adapt. But now he's coming off the bench and making a contribution regularly and his future is a really bright one."

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The draw now means Bournemouth drop one place to 11th in the table and are 10 points above the relegation zone with just five games left to play. They have made a habit of scoring late goals this season, and Howe added that despite being proud of his players for showing character to come from behind, he also admitted his side need to stop relying on scoring late goals.

He added: "We can lull ourselves into a false sense of security to think we can go 1-0 down and then start playing. Football is incredibly tough and that's not our preferred method.

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"But it is a great thing to have when you are chasing the game that you have the ability and the players can score late goals. We'll certainly take it while acknowledging we need to improve in other areas."

Despite not picking up all three points, the Cherries can take plenty of positives into their next game when they face Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday as they continue their bid to ensure Premier League survival and look to build for next season.