COACH Stephen Purches cited the pace his charges injected into their second-half performance as the catalyst behind Cherries’ Hampshire Senior Cup fightback at Horndean.
Captain Harry Cornick, who played a central striker’s role, bagged two goals in as many minutes early in the second half and teed up substitute Josh O’Hanlon’s late third as Cherries won 3-1 at Five Heads Park.
Purches told the Daily Echo: “We dominated possession for pretty much the whole game but in the first half we probably did not move the ball quickly enough.
“Their goal came from a long ball which was disappointing because they hit us with a few of those and overall we stood up to it quite well.
“We changed things round at half-time to try and make sure we played with more speed and to be fair to the players, they stuck with it and believed in what they were doing on a difficult pitch.
"In the end it was a comfortable win.
“This competition throws up all sorts and the longer you play in these games the better because the players have to adjust to different styles no matter what league they play in.”
Cherries will be in the semi-final draw alongside Conference South duo Gosport Borough and Farnborough and Southern League side Sholing with Purches having no preferred opponent in the last four.
“There are some good clubs left and whoever comes out will give us a good test,” he added. “The lads are enjoying the competition so we will look forward to it whoever we get.”
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