Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has admitted that his side's first-half display against Everton "was tough to watch", but is happy with the response shown in the second half.

The Cherries went into the break three goals behind at Goodison Park after Romelu Lukaku scored the first two of his eventual four either side of a James McCarthy strike.

Bournemouth gave themselves hope of rescuing an unlikely point when Joshua King pulled back two goals with 20 minutes still to play, but Everton doubled their tally with three more goals of their own in the remainder to secure a 6-3 win.

"The first half was tough to watch," Howe told Sky Sports News. "We had quite a bit of the ball but conceded some poor goals. In the second half we had a right go at them and at 3-2 the game is in the balance, but unfortunately for us we lost track of the game at the end.

"I thought we showed a lot of spirit in the second half and a lot of quality. We dominated the ball but they were always a threat on the counter-attack and that showed in the latter stages. But the lads showed a lot of fight and spirit in the second half and that's what we need to take into the next game."

Bournemouth, whose recent run of bad form has seen them drift to within six points of the relegation zone, return to action a week on Monday with a home match against Manchester City.