BOSS Eddie Howe admitted he had been “surprised” to see referee Roger East award Wolves a late penalty in the 1-1 draw with Cherries at Vitality Stadium.

In a clash featuring a mountain of penalty-area flashpoints, Joshua King put Cherries in front from 12 yards after East ruled he had been brought down by Joao Moutinho.

Chris Mepham then survived vociferous handball appeals and seven minutes from time, Raul Jimenez levelled from the spot after Adam Smith had been penalised for a challenge on Matt Doherty.

Ryan Fraser was then felled by substitute Ivan Cavaleiro – a fraction outside the box – but East awarded a penalty, which King missed.

Howe, who confirmed he had not seen replays of the incidents, said: “I thought Ryan’s was outside the box, in all honesty. I thought on the first one, I saw something, a tangle of legs.

“The one I have the biggest opinion on is their penalty. It’s just that you rarely see them given.

“Adam was committed to his challenge. Doherty got his shot away. I really wasn’t expecting a penalty to be given.

“Arguably, if it’s outside the box, I have seen fouls given for those things but, inside the box, rarely is a foul given for that.

“I was surprised to see that one.”

Howe felt East had made the right call on the Mepham incident, which saw the Welsh international inadvertently head the ball on to his arm.

“Some referees would have given that,” said Howe. “Some, like Roger, wouldn’t have done.

“My personal opinion having been a defender myself would be no, not a penalty. But I think it depends on what team you support.”

Steve Cook missed the fixture due to a groin injury and Howe said he had “no idea” if the defender would be fit to figure at Arsenal on Wednesday.

Howe said: “He has had a long-standing groin problem and has been playing through it manfully for the team. This week, it just got too much for him.

“I don’t think he’s had a major injury as such, it’s just an aggravation, something which has been there for a long time and has got to a level where he couldn’t continue.

“We’ll see how he settles down in the next few days.”