EDDIE Howe revealed Jason Tindall’s simple but effective brainchild had been behind Cherries’ improved form in front of goal at Vitality Stadium – a return to traditional white nets.

 

Cherries have reaped their rewards since shelling out the princely sum of £125, with the new nets having bulged 10 times in four games for the hosts since they were put up.

 

Assistant manager Tindall felt the previous red and black nets were uninspiring and not as easy to make out, his theory backed up by the statistics.

 

Cherries’ 4-0 triumph over Middlesbrough on Saturday was their third win in four games using the new nets with their previous nine home matches yielding 12 goals and just two victories.

 

Joshua King has certainly taken a liking to them, his early opener against Boro bringing his tally to 13 Premier League goals for the season – including five into the new nets.

 

Benik Afobe, Marc Pugh – on his 250th league appearance for the club – and Charlie Daniels were also on the scoresheet as Cherries remained seven points clear of the drop zone.

 

Boss Howe told the Daily Echo: “I can’t take any credit for that, I have to say. The credit goes to Jason who felt the other nets were not inspiring the strikers to score.

 

“Bizarrely, it has worked so credit to Jason for that observation. It just goes to show how small things can sometimes make a difference.

 

“Whether it has played a part or not, we will never know but it seems to be working for us.

 

“From a striker’s perspective, when you get your head down or have a quick look at the goal before you shoot, it is much more striking to see a white net as opposed to the almost see-through nets we had previously.

 

“I know it is the same for both teams but it seems to be working for us at the moment.”

 

Pugh, who also passed Ken Bird’s tally of 249 league games for Cherries to become the club’s 19th highest appearance-maker, bagged a delightful third goal midway through the second half.

 

Asked for his thoughts on the new nets, he joked: “It certainly looks a lot nicer when the ball hits the back of them!”

 

He added: “I think they look a lot better visually. Not that it is hard to see the back of the net, but it wasn’t as easy with the red and black ones. Maybe it is a good omen for us.”

 

Pugh and Daniels created King’s opener after just 96 seconds and Afobe doubled the lead on 16 minutes before Boro’s Gaston Ramirez was sent off four minutes later for picking up two yellow cards in quick succession.

 

Howe added: “We started very well. In a game of this importance, when you score as early as we did, it gives you a massive lift and deflates the opposition as well. It was the perfect start and a real trademark goal for us.

 

“Our aim was to start quickly and create a really high tempo game. The second goal in the game was always going to be massive and it was difficult for Middlesbrough to handle after the sending off.

 

“But our players deserve praise because it can be very difficult against 10 men but we were disciplined and saw out the game comfortably.”