Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe was relieved after their 2-1 win at FA Cup opponents Birmingham City.

Howe defended his team selection after the Bournemouth boss made 11 changes for their FA Cup win at Birmingham.

Glenn Murray's late winner sent the Cherries through to the fourth round as they came from behind to win 2-1 at St Andrew's.

Lee Tomlin's penalty cancelled out Michael Morrison's opener while Blues' James Vaughan skied a second-half spot-kick.

"When there's a Premier League game in three days' time we wanted to protect the majority of our squad while still putting out a team who could win the game," he said, as well as confirming the club had reached a deal with Wolves for striker Benik Afobe.

"It's a delicate balance. By no means did we pick a team to do anything other than win but with Tuesday in mind, it was wise to make the changes we did.

"We're very pleased to have got through. It was a tough game, Gary (Rowett) has got Birmingham very well organised. It was no surprise to us we had to work very hard to win."