Cherries leave Boro looking right plums

Gaston Ramirez lays on the floor following an injury prior to recieving a red card at Bournemouth. Below, Benik Afobe kisses a black armband in memory of Ugo Ehiogu as he celebrates scoring his side’s second goal MIDDLESBROUGH head coach Steve Agnew criticised his side’s “naïvety” as they were hit for four by Bournemouth – a result that leaves their Premier League position even more precarious.

A lacklustre Boro were torn to shreds as Bournemouth cruised into a twogoal lead inside 16 minutes, and that was quickly followed by Gaston Ramirez’s sending off after the Uruguayan picked up quick-fire yellow cards.

And the afternoon slid towards an embarrassment as the Cherries turned on the style in the second half – cruising to a 4-0 victory that all but guarantees their place in the top-flight next season.

As for Boro, wins for Hull and Swansea leave them nine points adrift with just five games remaining – and extended the club’s winless league run to 16 matches.

“It’s difficult to take. It was disappointing from the start and in many ways we lost the game in the first 10 minutes,” Agnew said.

“It’s hard to put a finger on it because that’s not like us. It was really poor defending and obviously playing short passes at the edge of our own penalty area is another reason we concede.

“It was just naïve defending. That’s what disappoints me. I’ve said to the players that that’s not like us. We made mistakes and were punished and made it a very difficult afternoon.

“I wouldn’t say (we folded), we just gave ourselves a very difficult afternoon by conceding two early goals and obviously going down to 10 men.

“Playing with 10 men in the Premier League against a very good team at home who score lots of goals, it gave us a very testing afternoon.

“After games it’s very emotional, there’s lots of angry players and disappointed players, as there is staff. We’ll all be in tomorrow morning to address the situation.”

Asked about Boro’s worsening situation at the foot of the Premier League, Agnew added: “We have to be realistic in situations like this, it’s a huge challenge for us but all we can do is dust ourselves down and get ready for the Sunderland game.

“We have to be upbeat, because we’re in a position now where every game is one we have to win. We need a win, we need three points and we remain as positive we can be after a defeat like today, and we look to the Sunderland game.”

Agnew made two changes to the Boro side who were beaten by Arsenal on Monday, opting to deploy three at the back with Antonio Barragan and George Friend as wing-backs.

But the Boro boss felt formations become irrelevant when the team defend like they did during the first it half at the Vitality Stadium.

“It’s not about shapes or systems, it’s about defending and defending in areas where we need to be better,” Agnew added.

And the 51-year-old also lamented the dismissal of Ramirez in the first half.

“When Gaston gets the yellow card, he has to be careful then, but the way he went in towards an opponent, you’re always risking a second yellow card,” he said.

“That put us in a very difficult position for the rest of the game.

Agnew also took the opportunity to hail Boro’s travelling supporters who made the trip to the South Coast – and commented on the touching tributes to the late Ugo Ehiogu both before and during the match.

“The fans were fantastic and kept going until the very end,” Agnew said.

“They’ve had a tough season and we haven’t won a game since December, so it’s been tough for them and difficult. But they continue to support the team and it’s something all the players are very proud of.

“It was a very sad day (on Friday) and our condolences go to Ugo’s family.”