CHERRIES striker Yann Kermorgant ended his seven-week goal drought and then hailed the 2-0 Championship victory over Wigan as “massive”.

Kermorgant had not found the back of the net since the 4-0 opening-day win at Huddersfield but the experienced frontman broke that run when he headed home Matt Ritchie’s cross on Saturday.

The Frenchman had previously been kept out by a terrific flying save from Scott Carson but he was not to be denied at the second time of asking.

A Simon Francis effort midway through the second period ensured victory for Cherries – their first league win since August 16.

While delighted to find the net once more, Kermorgant was keen to focus on the boost that the win had given his team.

The 32-year-old, who scored nine goals in 16 Cherries appearances last term, told the Daily Echo: “It was a good cross and as soon as I saw the ball coming I thought, ‘you have to score’.

“I was relieved because last season I started scoring almost from the start and after that it felt like I was going to score in every game at home.

“I had a bit more pressure to carry on like that this season and unfortunately it did not happen.

“Recent results have not been good enough and we were very frustrated after the Nottingham Forest game, because we should have won easily, and we were really disappointed with the losses against Blackburn and Leeds.

“If you look at every game this season, we have been the best team on the pitch nearly every time.

“I needed a goal but most of all we needed a win because getting three points was massive.”

Wigan rarely worried loan keeper Artur Boruc during the course of the 90 minutes, while they struggled to live with the hosts’ attacking threat.

And Kermorgant praised his team’s display at both ends of the pitch.

He continued: “It was a great performance because we created some great chances, scored two goals and kept a clean sheet.

“I didn’t think our keeper was really tested although he did make a great save in the last few minutes.

“Apart from that I think we were very strong and compact. Wigan are a good team and they made it difficult, so we had to work hard to win.”