Teemu Pukki’s first-half penalty was enough for relegation embattled Norwich to beat Bournemouth and further deepen the cherries’ relegation fears.
Ondrej Duda thought he had scored with his goal-bound effort heading straight into an empty net before Cook put a fingertip to push the ball onto the goal post and saving the ball. Referee Paul Tierney did not hesitate to show him red as per the law of the game.
“He hasn’t planned it,” Howe told BBC Match of the Day. “He has just stuck his arm out. He is very down and we need to support him.
“When you are in the moment we are in, these things tend to happen. You find a way to hurt yourself and that is exactly what we did.”
Bournemouth would later see red too. Ben Godfrey’s late challenge on Callum Wilson required a pitchside consultation before Paul Tierney could issue a second red card in the game.
“The frustrating thing is that we created chances [to get a result],” added Howe, who also saw Wilson squander a golden opportunity in the second half. “We are not scoring enough and that is damaging our belief that we can win games.
“It puts pressure on the defensive side, which I don’t think we have been bad at.”
After the match both managers spoke to commented;
Norwich manager Daniel Farke, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “It is an important win for us. Three points, clean sheet, good for mood and confidence and the table. A good evening for us.
“We can be naive. We missed a lot of chances. We were the better side but missed chances. There were some spicy moments in the last 10 minutes and anything can happen. It doesn’t take anything away, though. We are happy with the win.
“I watched back the red cards and they were deserved. Ben is a good lad but he was too excited to win the ball back. He will learn.”
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “It was a very tight game. We started quite brightly but then the key moment went against us. A bizarre one. With 10 we battled well and stayed in the game. It would have been a huge result if we had taken one of our chances.
“I was happy with the way we battled and showed heart to try and get a result.
“If I knew there was one thing I could do, I would do it. Can I work harder? I don’t think I can, otherwise I would. It is not happening at the moment. We are here to get wins and achieve our objectives.”
Norwich are bottom of the log with Bournemouth sitting a place above them.
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