BOSS Eddie Howe believes Cherries answered their critics after showing their resilience during the second half of the 2-1 victory at Stoke.

Cherries deservedly led at the break after forging 2-0 ahead thanks to Andrew Surman’s stunning opener and a penalty from Junior Stanislas.

However, they came under heavy pressure during the second period with Mame Diouf’s 63rd-minute goal handing the Potters a lifeline.

Howe said: “In previous seasons, we have been criticised for our defensive record and that is a question mark around us.

“But, for me, that is always because of how we play, how attacking we are and how front foot we are.

“We will always leak the odd goal here and there but that doesn’t mean we are not resilient.

“It also doesn’t mean the players don’t have character and I thought they showed that in abundance.

“We were 2-1 up with quite a long period of the game to go and playing in front of a partisan home crowd which created a good atmosphere.

“With the start to the season we have had, people were probably wondering how we would react and there were real question marks at that stage so full credit to the players.

“Nice teams often have it thrown at them that they can’t defend for long periods and aren’t resilient in games like this. It was really pleasing to see us come through this test.”