It was the hosts who opened the scoring after just 20 minutes, but the young Cherries’ second half pressure ultimately paid.

Three goals in the final six minutes of the contest sealed victory for Carl Fletcher and Joe Roach’s youngsters, with Ash Pope, Charlie Kendall and Curtis Young all on the scoresheet.

“It was a bit of a stop-start game from our point of view,” youth team manager Fletcher told afcb.co.uk. “We picked up a few injuries early doors and had to rejig things.

“Overall, our work rate was good, but our quality in possession wasn’t where it should be.

“We tried some different things and in the end the lads found a way. They kept plugging away and it took us until 80 minutes for us to get some decent periods of play together.

“The pleasing thing is that we adapted to different formations and systems. We know we need to be better in possession of the ball.

“Sometimes that happens and it’s another learning curve for the lads following last week, where we played really well and lost – this week we weren’t as good, but won the game.”

The under-18s are next in action against Bristol Rovers at Canford Arena on Saturday 29 October.

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