LEE Bradbury tasted defeat for the first time as a manager as Cherries’ promotion charge suffered a setback at St James’ Park.

Bradbury’s 10-match unbeaten run as boss came to an end as Jamie Cureton’s strike early in the first half and Richard Logan’s tap-in on the hour condemned Cherries to a morale-sapping reverse just four days before south coast rivals Southampton visit Dean Court.

In a game dominated by the hosts, Cherries had no answer to the work ethic and endeavour of Paul Tisdale’s side.

Put simply, they were out-grafted, out-muscled and out-played by the Devon outfit.

Bradbury’s cause was not helped by the loss through injury of striker Michael Symes just 39 minutes into the clash.

But despite Symes’s departure and Danny Hollands’s efforts aside, Cherries had very little to show for their trip to the West Country and will need to up their game if they are to boost their promotion hopes with victory over Nigel Adkins’s high-fliers on Saturday.

Boss Bradbury made three changes to the side that saw off Oldham 3-0 at Dean Court on Saturday, with loanee Lauri Dalla Valle, scorer on debut against the Latics, making his first Cherries start.

Frenchman Mathieu Baudry was also handed his first-team bow after Shaun Cooper missed out through illness.

Rhoys Wiggins returned at left-back in place of Warren Cummings.

Liam Feeney was first to try his luck from distance, after the kick-off at St James’ Park had been delayed for 15 minutes due to crowd congestion.

Anton Robinson also blazed over as Cherries asserted themselves early on, while Shwan Jalal easily saved Ryan Harley’s weak effort for the home side moments later.

Jalal, though, had to be on his toes to collect Logan’s bullet header on 13 minutes, after Steve Tully’s cross had caused panic in the Cherries six-yard box.

And the home side deservedly took the lead just minutes later after Logan’s neat lay-off allowed former Cherries loanee Cureton to curl a sublime right-foot shot past Jalal and into the bottom right corner.

Hollands could have perhaps done better when picking up the loose ball outside the box after 26 minutes, but the Cherries midfielder fired his fizzing right-foot shot way over Ben Hamer’s crossbar.

In truth, it was a period of struggle for Bradbury’s charges, with the Grecians able to match the visitors’ famed work rate and close down flair players Marc Pugh and Liam Feeney on the flanks.

A rare Pugh breakaway saw the former Hereford man skew his right-foot curler well wide 10 minutes before half-time as Cherries searched for a breakthrough.

And things got worse for Bradbury’s men before the break when Symes limped off and was replaced by Joe Partington.

Pugh, out of nothing, almost took Cherries into the interval level, but his blistering right-foot drive clipped the bar with Hamer well beaten, while substitute Partington failed to hit the target with a stoppage-time volley.

Cherries started the second half with real purpose and could have been on terms within two minutes, but Feeney couldn’t wrap his foot around the ball to find the target from an acute angle after good work from Pugh.

Bradbury’s side, however, couldn’t keep the pressure level up and soon found themselves under the cosh again.

Matt Taylor’s far post header flew narrowly wide on 54 minutes, before Hollands’s own header from 12 yards at the other end flew wide with the midfielder well placed.

Feeney’s cross cum shot moments later flashed across goal as Cherries countered once more, but Logan struck with a hammer blow just before the hour mark.

The striker latched on to the loose ball and fired home after Cureton had sliced his initial shot – and it really was no more than the hosts deserved.

Harley’s speculative 25-yard drive failed to trouble Jalal as the Grecians continued to press, before the impressive Cureton shook the underside of Jalal’s crossbar with a stunning volley from distance.

Cureton then tried his luck from even further out 13 minutes from time, with Jalal at full stretch to tip his dipping left-foot effort narrowly round the post.

Partington blazed over from just outside the box as Cherries continued to toil in vain, while Hamer was equal to Hollands’s 80th-minute snapshot.

And Hollands again failed to truly test Hamer moments later as another Cherries chance went begging.

But the former Chelsea reserve team captain was the one shining light during an extremely disappointing night for Bradbury’s troops.