Ritchie impressed with Bournemouth strength

Matthew Stead
Matt Ritchie: Happy with the strength in depth of Bournemouth's squad

Matt Ritchie:

Matt Ritchie believes Bournemouth’s victory over Sunderland is evidence of the quality of the squad that Eddie Howe has built at the club.

The Cherries bounced back from a 3-1 defeat to fellow newly-promoted side Norwich with a 2-0 victory over Sunderland at the weekend, with manager Howe making five changes to the side.

Ritchie and Callum Wilson were among the goals as Bournemouth cruised into a 2-0 lead within 10 minutes, and they rarely looked in danger as they sealed their first ever home win in the Premier League.

“It shows how strong our squad is,” he said. “We had a couple of injuries which obviously played a part, but we got a reaction from last week that we needed.”

Describing his stunning strike to BBC Radio Solent, Ritchie added: “I got a good first touch, luckily I hit it sweet and it nestled in the top corner. I’m very pleased to score the goal today, but I think the three points and the performance was most important.”