BECOME EDDIE’S POCKET ROCKET

at Fraser from the stand holding Cardiff supporters, and the Football Association are likely to investigate. The 24-year-old continued to be a thorn in Cardiff’s side and in second-half stoppage time Bournemouth scored their second through Wilson. This summer, Bournemouth broke their club-record transfer fee to bring in Colombia international Jefferson Lerma for £25million, but Howe was wary of unsettling the squad. ‘Lerma hasn’t trained at all during the summer with the World Cup and his situation being not clear. We’re going to have to build him up, fitness-wise.’ This was Cardiff’s first taste of top-flight football in four years and they have been written off before a ball was kicked, the bookmakers’ favourites for relegation. They spent £28.5m this summer, compared to the £102m by Fulham and £69.8m by Wolves, and they struggled to threaten Bournemouth’s goal. Cardiff face Newcastle next and goalkeeper Etheridge, who became the first player from the Philippines to appear in the Premier League, said: ‘Home games are going to crucial for us. ‘From this game we have a lot to learn. We weren’t favourites to go up last year either and we proved people wrong. That’s the mentality we have in the dressing room. We’ll stick together.’ That order comes directly from Neil Warnock, who like him or loathe him is an old-school manager who takes pride in proving his critics wrong. It was considered a miracle when Warnock got Cardiff back into the Premier League. He is now relishing repeating the trick to keep them there.

BOURNEMOUTH (4-4-2): Begovic 6.5; Smith 6.5 (Defoe 90), S Cook 7, Ake 7, Daniels 7; Brooks 7.5 (Francis 67), Gosling 7, Surman 7, FRASER 8; Wilson 7.5 (Mousset 90), King 7. Subs not used: Boruc, Ibe, Cook, Mings. Scorers: Fraser 24, Wilson 90. Booked: Daniels. Manager: Eddie Howe 6. CARDIFF (4-1-4-1): Etheridge 6.5; Peltier 6, Morrison 6, Ecuele Manga 5.5, Bennett 5.5; Bamba 5.5; Mendez-Laing 5.5 (Murphy 63, 6), Paterson 5.5 (Ward 63, 6), Ralls 6, Hoilett 6; Reid 5.5 (Madine 88). Subs not used: Smithies, Richards, Cunningham, Camarasa. Booked: Peltier. Manager: Neil Warnock 5.5. Referee: Kevin Friend 5.5. Attendance: 10,353.