ON THIS DAY – APRIL 18 2015

CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe wants his players to use as a motivation the “heartbreaking end” to their incident-packed 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.

Chris Maguire’s last-gasp penalty saw the Owls snatch a share of the spoils at Dean Court and prevented Cherries from returning to the top of the Championship.

Howe’s team had fought back after conceding Kieran Lee’s first-half opener and goals from Yann Kermorgant and Matt Ritchie had looked destined to restore them to the summit.

But having been reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Simon Francis for two yellow cards with the score at 1-1, Cherries were sucker-punched by Maguire’s dramatic late spot-kick.

Howe said: “It really was tough to take and that is the reason we all love the game so much. There was drama and so many twists and turns, even in one game. I thought it was fascinating.

“Hopefully, we can transfer the pain and frustration that we feel into motivation for our next game. Although we have had the most successful season in the club’s history, we have had many moments when we have felt low and down and have had to respond to adversity.

“This is another of those moments where we have to show our strength of character and see the bigger picture. We have two games to go and our objective is very clear.”

He added: “Although we might feel low and down now, we have to use it as our motivation to move forward.We have felt the same way before this season but have always responded and come back a better team.”

Cherries: Boruc, Francis, Elphick, Cook (Jones, 64), Daniels, Pugh (Smith, 57), Surman, Arter, Ritchie, Kermorgant (Ward, 81), Wilson.

Unused subs: Pitman, Fraser, Gosling, Camp (g/k).

Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire).

Attendance: 11,280.