BEAMING boss Eddie Howe spoke of his double delight as Cherries exorcised two ghosts in today’s emphatic 4-0 victory at Huddersfield.

Having taken an immediate stranglehold through Marc Pugh’s composed finish after just 26 seconds, debutant Callum Wilson’s double sandwiched Yann Kermorgant’s close-range follow-up as clinical Cherries swept aside their Yorkshire hosts with consummate ease.

Not only did the result banish the memory of last season’s 5-1 reverse at the John Smith’s Stadium, it also saw Howe’s men ruthlessly expose Huddersfield’s 3-5-2 system, a formation the manager admitted had proved problematic in the past.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “Whichever system a team plays, you look at it. Each has its strengths and its weaknesses that people will look to exploit and we’re no different to anyone in that respect.

“Three at the back has become very fashionable and they (Huddersfield) have done well with it, particularly last season. I think that was the first time we’ve beaten a team playing 3-5-2 for quite a while so we were pleased to finally do that.

“We couldn’t have wished for a better start and I thought Pughy did so well to take his chance. The game had just kicked off and sometimes they can come too early but he stuck it away really well and we never looked back from that moment.”

And despite watching his side dish out the ultimate retribution for last season’s chastening defeat, Howe remained keen for Cherries to uphold their standards while remaining grounded.

The Cherries boss added: “From our perspective we learned some hard lessons. We lost heavily at Watford and Huddersfield and wanted to use those experiences as a learning tool to come back stronger and better and we did that last season.

“Now we need to look back and reflect on that. We have to make sure we don’t let our foot off the gas and let it become a negative, we have to try and push on. It’s a difficult league and I’m sure we’ll have highs and lows throughout.”