Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has admitted that Southampton were the 'sharper' sidein Sunday's 3-1 defeat at the Vitality Stadium.
The Cherries took a sixth minute lead through centre-back Nathan Ake, but Ryan Bertrand quickly equalised, before a superb second half brace from Jay Rodriguez sealed the win for the visitors.
And Howe, while conveying hisdisappointment atthe result, claimed that his players struggled physically after their hectic recent schedule.
"It was a very disappointing day," he told theBournemouth official website. "Southampton were the better team today, we weren't at our best physically and they looked sharper than us.
"We struggled to put pressure on the ball which is a surprise, especially with us being at home.
"Technically it was difficult as we needed to keep the ball and save our legs, but we turned it over and that had a knock on effect.
"It's our third game of the week and physically we didn't look right, as it's our third game in eight days and that's something I have to reflect on."
Howe reserved praise for goalscorer Ake after the 21-year-old found the net for the third time in six games.
"I thought Nathan was excellent," he added. "If you take away his goal he defended really well, he used the ball well and he got into some good positions, it's a positive from today."
Defeat left Bournemouth in tenth place in the Premier League standings, and was only their third home loss of the season.