Young Cherries side well beaten by Fulham.

AFC Bournemouth Under-18s were beaten 5-1 by Fulham Under-18s in a friendly match on Wednesday.

Despite what the score-line suggests, the Cherries played well against Category One opposition, as Connor Kurran-Browne added another goal to his name.

Bournemouth conceded a penalty which allowed the visitors to take the lead, before the Cherries missed a spot-kick themselves.

Fulham became more and more clinical as the game went on, scoring three goals from long range before adding the fifth.

Speaking to afcb.co.uk after the match, under-18s manager Alan Connell had this to say on the following topics…

THE PERFORMANCE

“We started the game really well and caused Fulham problems. We created some decent openings that we didn’t take. Fulham had some really good players technically who were very capable, as you would expect.

“We had to admire their quality in front of goal – that was the only big difference between the two sides. We had a few trialists and under-16s playing so it was a really good workout for us and I was pleased with a lot of what I saw.

“I told the players at full-time, obviously we don’t want to lose games by that kind of score-line, but from a development point of view it was great. We’re trying to get our philosophy into those new players early so they understand exactly what we want.

“We were really competitive, the lads worked ever so hard, and it was a good day that leaves us in a good place moving into the final few weeks of the season.”

ANOTHER GOAL FOR KURRAN-BROWNE

“We’ve had to be patient with him this season. There’s no doubting his quality and we’re starting to see him have more of an impact on games now. It just goes to show that if you give players time then hopefully the work they put in will reflect in their performances.

“Connor is an example of that at the moment. He probably doesn’t want the season to end because he’s scoring goals and creating goals. He’s proving to be a real handful for every team he plays against, so it’s important for him now that he finishes the season strongly.

“I’ll be looking at him to really take next season by the scruff of the neck.”

UP NEXT

“We’re playing Portsmouth Under-18s at home on Saturday 27th March, which should be a really good game for us because they’ll be decent and it’s a local derby. If any supporters are around and want to have a watch, I would recommend coming along.”

The AFC Bournemouth Under-18s side are sponsored by Strategic Solutions.