GUTTED Steve Cook insisted Cherries had not made an error in the lead-up to Watford’s late leveller and admitted the Craig Cathcart stunner had been “a big kick in the teeth”.

Eddie Howe’s side were 1-0 in front thanks to Harry Arter’s second-half rocket but the equaliser arrived with just seven minutes left.

Visiting skipper Tommy Elphick and central defensive partner Cook both attempted to head clear before substitute Cathcart drove an unstoppable volley beyond debutant keeper Artur Boruc.

The Northern Ireland international’s effort left Cook frustrated at the final whistle, given both the timing of the goal and its spectacular nature.

He told the Daily Echo: “My initial thought was that it was a worldie strike from a centre-back and you don’t get that often. I wouldn’t even say it was an error, it was a great goal.

“It was a big kick in the teeth for us because I felt that we defended really well all game and limited their chances, but it’s an unforgiving league and we’ve been punished again.

“I thought we deserved to win. They scored a great goal and we didn’t quite manage to take the chances we had.

“We seem to be getting punished for the small things at the moment. Sides are being ruthless against us and the most frustrating thing is that we should never have dropped the points that we have.

“Last year I felt we were ruthless in both boxes and at the moment it’s not going quite for us, but it would be a lot worse if we were playing poorly and not getting results.

“It’s a cruel league but, hopefully, we’ll start punishing teams. The performances are there and that was for everyone to see on Saturday. There are a lot of positives and we feel a win is just round the corner.”

Cook added that while there was a feeling of frustration in the camp at missing out on three points, such an attitude was indicative of progress from 13 months ago, when Cherries were thumped 6-1 at Vicarage Road.

He continued: “A point away at Watford should leave everyone positive but we came here to win and I felt we should have.

“It shows you what is expected at the club now. Those are the expectations that the players, manager and staff have, so it shows how far we have come since we lost here last season.”