Bournemouth 2-1 Crawley Town: Jack Wilshere goal helps Cherries into fifth round
- Published
Jack Wilshere says he "forgot how to celebrate" after scoring in Bournemouth's FA Cup fourth-round victory over Crawley.
Wilshere, starting for the first time in his second spell at the club, curled in the opener from 20 yards after collecting Joshua King's backheel.
But the midfielder's celebration was muted despite it being his first goal since 27 August 2019.
"I was a bit shocked. I probably should have had a couple more," Wilshere said.
"Last time I was here, I didn't score and it didn't sit well with me. I forgot how to celebrate."
League Two Crawley, who caused a shock by beating Leeds in the third round, were briefly level via Tom Nichols' close-range finish but King's placed effort was enough to see the hosts through.
The Cherries now travel to Burnley in the fifth round on Wednesday, 10 February.
While Championship side Bournemouth's margin of victory may have been narrow, in truth they were far superior to their opponents.
The visitors had arrived on the south coast with limited preparation and manager John Yems leading fitness sessions over Zoom after a coronavirus outbreak at the club.
And against a Bournemouth side initially inspired by Wilshere, they always looked unlikely to repeat their heroics from the third round.
The quality of Wilshere, Arnaut Danjuma and King saw Bournemouth have 29 efforts on goal but their errant finishing contributed to a sense of nervousness about the outcome until the final whistle.
'A step forward' for Wilshere - what they said
Bournemouth manager Jason Tindall: "I felt we thoroughly deserved the result and created a number of really good opportunities. It was disappointing that we didn't take more of the chances.
"Jack took his goal extremely well. It was a really good performance. As we know with Jack, he is a quality player, he always wants the ball and I was very pleased with his performance. The minutes will do him good and it was a step forward for him."
Crawley manager John Yems: "We came up against a very good side. We did our division proud tonight. I thought our goalkeeper was man of the match, so that might tell you something.
"Monday was our only preparation. We have had training on Zoom, which I am useless at. It is a compliment to the lads that they stuck at it."
All the goals, highlights and drama from Sunday's fourth-round ties are streaming now on BBC iPlayer