CHERRIES boss Andoni Iraola says that his side not only have to “play well” but “end things well” after a 3-1 defeat at Brighton.

Iraola’s charges looked somewhat comfortable in the first half at the Amex against more fancied opposition, Dominic Solanke’s opener almost sending Cherries into the break 1-0 up before a moment of miscommunication at the back led to Milos Kerkez’s own goal.

Cherries then started the second period in awful fashion, a kick-off routine backfiring so badly Brighton ended up scoring 15 seconds into the half through Kaoru Mitoma.

The Japanese international made sure of the result 14 minutes from time, leaving Cherries scratching their heads to how they failed to take anything from the game.

Defeat in East Sussex now means Cherries are winless in Iraola’s first six Premier League games in charge, despite performances arguably being worth more than the three points earned so far.

Cherries were minutes away from three points at Brentford, only for a late equaliser in the last game before the September international break, before holding Chelsea to a creditable 0-0 draw in the first fixture back.

Asked how he felt about his side playing well without earning results, Iraola replied: “We had the game before as well, at Brentford, we conceded an equaliser in the 93rd minute.

“So after three games, I think we’ve done a lot of good things.

“The result is we have these two points, against difficult opponents.

“It’s a matter not only to play well, to take smart decisions, to compete better, to end things well.

“We have to be better at these things.”

When pointed out to Iraola that Cherries were now winless in their last 10 Premier League fixtures, the Basque replied: “I will take my games.

“I have six games, three draws and three losses.

“I think we’ve been really close in some games.

“We’ve faced very good opponents, but I think we have to compete better.

“Take more from the things we do, offensively and defensively.”