HARRY Arter thanked his Cherries team-mates for saving his bacon – even though he felt he had been unfortunate to see red during Saturday’s 2-1 win over QPR.

Arter was shown a straight red card by referee Jon Moss following a robust tackle on Rangers winger Junior Hoilett 20 minutes from time and will now serve a three-match ban.

He told the Daily Echo: “It was one of those tackles in the heat of the battle. The ball went loose, it was a 50-50 and maybe I went a little bit over the top.

“I was surprised because I thought it would be a yellow card at the most. But some referees have different opinions on tackles. It was disappointing. I am a player who plays on the front foot and tries to play with aggression and maybe it got the better of me.”

Arter added: “It was a fantastic result, albeit we finished with 10 men. When it was 11 versus 11, I thought we were by far the better team and, bar the first 20 minutes, we controlled the game.

“When it went to 10 versus 11, we showed a different side. We were gritty and resolute. I was thankful to the rest of the team that they carried on and didn’t concede because I would have felt even guiltier about what happened if we hadn’t won.”