Francis thanks the Cherries faithful

Gaston Ramirez’s exceptional solo goal helped Middlesbrough down Bournemouth 2-0 at the Riverside, but Cherries captain Simon Francis thinks their travelling fans were the real stars of the show.

Uruguayan Ramirez finished off a superb break, which began inside his own half, by side-footing past Victor Valdes before Stewart Downing made the result sure ten minutes into the second half.

And despite losing out, Francis believes that the legion of Cherries fans did themselves proud in the North East.

“The fans were great and I could hear them all game,” the 31-year-old said.

“The fans came a long, long way and turned out in thousands as they do – it’s really disappointing we couldn’t get a result for them.

(Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)

“We didn’t dominate as well as we can do, confidence has been really high so maybe we took our foot off the gas and that’s a credit to Middlesbrough.

“They have good players and a good squad, a real togetherness so I think they’ll stay in this league.

“Its strange, last season we were struggling at home and doing well away and it’s a complete reverse so far. We need to try and find a balance, it’s a bit of a wake up call.”