FRUSTRATED Adam Smith admits Cherries must start cutting out “silly mistakes” if they are to pull away from relegation trouble.

Leading 1-0 at Anfield on Saturday thanks to an early Callum Wilson strike, Cherries went close to doubling their tally when Nathan Ake’s header was tipped onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Adrian.

And the visitors found themselves 2-1 down by half-time as runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool turned the tables.

The equaliser came when Jack Simpson was caught in possession trying to bring the ball out of defence, allowing Sadio Mane to tee up Mohamed Salah, who found the bottom corner.

Mane then netted himself after Virgil van Dijk intercepted a loose Lewis Cook pass and slipped the ball through for the Senegalese winger to convert when faced one-on-one with goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Cherries rallied in the second half and came close to netting through Ryan Fraser and Wilson, but the game stayed 2-1 to leave Eddie Howe’s men in the bottom three with just nine games to play.

“It was overall a good performance,” full-back Smith told the Daily Echo.

“(It was) down to ourselves that we lost really in making mistakes and not being clinical enough in the final third.

“We were still in the game (at 2-1). The game wasn’t over. Even in the second half we had chances to equalise, so we knew the game wasn’t done. It’s killing ourselves really.

“I think we could’ve gone 2-0 up maybe in the first half, but mistakes killed us and not being clinical enough.

“We have to stop the silly mistakes. It’s all good playing well, but you need to be more clinical in both boxes.”

He added: “They (Liverpool) are the best team in the world aren’t they? We kind of went toe-to-toe with them.

“If we didn’t make the mistakes, the first one especially, then I think we could’ve won.

“Yes, we’ve got to take positives from it, but at the moment it’s a sore one to take.”

Smith is currently enjoying his longest run of appearances of the season after being hampered by injury earlier in the campaign.

The former Tottenham Hotspur ace has missed 10 Premier League matches this season due to hamstring and ankle problems, as well as one because of illness.

But he has since returned to play every minute of the past eight matches, including a recent spell at left-back following the return to fitness of Jack Stacey on the opposite flank.

Asked how much of a difference it makes to his game to play on the left rather than his preferred slot at right-back, Smith admitted: “I wouldn’t choose to play there, but the gaffer has asked me to play there, so I play there.”

Discussing his frustrations of missing games earlier this season, the 28-year-old added: “We get a lot of injuries at this club so we’re kind of used to players missing games and getting injured.

“It’s just part of football really. Frustrating that I’ve been injured a few times, but it is what it is.”