Barnsley 0 Bournemouth 1: It’s a cruel games, rues Wilson

Cook scored from close in at the second attempt after seeing his initial effort blocked following a corner.

The Cherries had chances before the goal with Andrew Surman missing the target from a good position and the woodwork coming to the home’s rescue late on to deny Matt Ritchie. Barnsley goalkeeper Luke Steele also made some good saves.

The Tykes’ best chances fell to Martin Woods and Marcus Pedersen, with the former failing to hit the target with the goal at his mercy.

Howe said: “I felt we deserved to win, overall.

“Barnsley started the game well and had a couple of chances themselves in the game, but overall I thought we were the dominant team and had more chances.

“Barnsley are fighting for their lives and I feel for them because it was a cruel one but I’m really pleased for my team and my supporters.”

Tykes boss Danny Wilson said: “It’s a very cruel game at times.

“When you find yourself in the position that we’re in, you just want to have a stroke of luck at times and it went against us.

“Thankfully, we’re still in the fight and still in the mix. If we can show the commitment and desire that we showed today for the rest of the games, we’ll have a chance.”