The young Cherries dominated possession in the opening half and were rewarded for their positive start on the half hour.

Charlie Seaman engineered half-a-yard of space on the edge of the area before calmly side-footing into the bottom corner.

After the interval the home side responded and were on level terms on 63 minutes when Harry Darling nodded home from point blank range.

And late in the piece Darling would prove to be the match-winner, again finding space before heading home in front of 406 supporters at the Cambs Glass Stadium.

In stoppage time Bournemouth rallied for an equaliser, but were unable to find a way past an inspired Cambridge goalkeeper.

“It’s very disappointing because we did really well in the first half,” youth team manager Carl Fletcher told afcb.co.uk. “We scored a really good goal, moved the ball through the thirds well and were in control of the game.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t step up to the challenge that Cambridge put in front of us in the second half. There were certain aspects of our play that we stopped doing and we were punished. Instead of being on the front-foot we found ourselves taking a step back.

“We’ll learn a lot from the performance and the lads will learn a lot about themselves and how to deal with things menatally when things go against them. That can often be the difference between winning and seeing games out.

“It’s important we now get back out there and see a group of players who want to push forward and learn from that experience. We’ve got to harness that experience and try and develop as a team going forward.”

AFC Bournemouth’s under-18s are next in action against Swindon Town at Canford Arena this weekend, kick off 11am.

afcb.co.uk’s coverage of the under-18s is sponsored by Strategic Solutions.