ON THIS DAY: Elphick says victory at Shrewsbury was 'standout performance of the season'

NEWLY-appointed skipper Tommy Elphick hailed Cherries’ demolition of Shrewsbury as the “standout performance of the season”.

Elphick, who has replaced Miles Addison as club captain, led Cherries to a resounding 3-0 victory at Shrews’ Greenhous Meadow.

Brett Pitman netted twice – his 17th and 18th goals of the season – as Eddie Howe’s men registered a club record-equalling seventh league win in succession.

Victory saw Cherries maintain a two-point cushion in the second automatic promotion place and was crucial as rivals Doncaster, Yeovil, Brentford and Sheffield United also won.

Elphick said: “It wasn’t just the stand-out performance of the season due to the clean sheet and the scoreline. The pressure was on and we knew we had to get a positive result.

“We saw out the game really professionally, we kept the ball superbly and it was an excellent all-round display.

“Any successful team is going to match and break records so it just shows the work we have put in and how good the squad is.

"These are really exciting times for the club. With the age of the players and the manager, the club is geared for the next level.”

Cherries: Allsop, Francis, Cook, Elphick, Daniels, Ritchie, O’Kane (MacDonald, 90), Arter, Pugh (McQuoid, 85), Grabban (Hughes, 75), Pitman.

Unused subs: Seaborne, Fogden, Tubbs, Jalal (g/k).

Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire).

Attendance: 6,047 (including 935 visiting supporters).