Iraola praises Bournemouth’s resilience after last-second comeback at Villa

BIRMINGHAM, England: Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola admitted his players were far from their best against Aston Villa on Saturday but praised their defensive resilience and character as they scored a last-second equalizer in a 1-1 away draw in the Premier League.

“I’m very happy. Very difficult place, very difficult game. We didn’t play very well today, they played better than us,” said Iraola after Evanilson’s header earned a point for a team in excellent form both in the domestic league and and in the national league. and Europe.

“I think we played a lot better against Arsenal,” he said of Bournemouth’s 2-0 win over the Londoners last weekend.

“Today we competed well, but we didn’t play very well… You need to show character in games like this. It’s very difficult to come here and get a point.”

Along with substitute Evanilson, whose diving header was the final action of the game, goalkeeper Mark Travers shared honors for Bournemouth after making a string of stunning saves in place of the injured Kepa Arrizabalaga.

“He made very good saves and kept us in the game when we were suffering. The defenders too. Everyone stepped up and we finished much better,” Iraola said.

“The substitutions gave us even more energy and in the end we got a draw… (I’m) happy when you get one point at the end in the last minute, after struggle and pressure.

“We score a lot of games in the last 15-20 minutes. We need that energy at the end… We compete well and show character. It’s a valuable moment.”

Bournemouth are in 10th place with 12 points and Villa are third with 18 points.