SKIPPER Tommy Elphick believes Cherries’ victory over Cardiff was a triumph for their diligent work on the training pitch.

No fewer than five different players were on target as Eddie Howe’s men returned to the Championship summit thanks to a 5-3 win over the Bluebirds on Saturday.

And despite conceding three times, Elphick said he had always been confident there would be no repeat of their two previous home games when they had surrendered valuable points.

He told the Daily Echo: “It was different and I never doubted we were going to win. There was a feeling and an aura about the performance where we always looked like we were going to score.

“From a defensive point of view, we leaked too many goals so there is still plenty to work on in terms of set-pieces and crosses. But there were plenty of positives as well, especially going forward.

“Some of the attacks we built up from the back through to the front boys and some of the goals we scored were top class. We need to focus on that rather than dwell on the three goals. But we are always looking to improve and get better.

“I felt the way we responded after they had scored each time was a sign we had learned from what had happened in our two previous home games.

“We didn’t sink deep and didn’t stop playing. We continued to try to get higher up the pitch and moved the ball even quickly than we had when we were 2-0 and 3-1 in front.

“When we conceded the first goal, I felt it was a bit of a blessing in disguise. I know that might sound stupid but it gave us a kick up the backside and we went straight down the other end and scored again.

“Unfortunately, we let them back in another two times but stuck to our principles. We carried on playing and carried on pressing and staying high up the pitch. We want to keep more clean sheets but the positive was that we stuck to our guns after each time we had been breached.

“If you went back a year or 18 months, we possibly would have gone behind in a game like that. So to come out on top and to go top of table is a huge positive. The aim now is to try to extend our stay there and, hopefully, stay there until the end of the season.”