Christian Saydee at the double, as young Cherries are held by West Ham at Canford Arena.

A Christian Saydee double earned AFC Bournemouth Under-17s a 2-2 draw at home to West Ham United Under-17s on Tuesday afternoon.

The Hammers took the lead early on, but Bournemouth equalised ten minutes before half-time, Saydee latching onto a rebound from James Oliver’s shot.

Saydee got his brace in the second half with a strike from the edge of the box to put Alan Connell’s side in front.

Bournemouth almost made it three with a shot hitting the underside of the bar, but the ball bounced back out and West Ham’s counter-attack gave them an equaliser in the game’s dying embers.

Manager Alan Connell gave his verdict on the friendly, telling afcb.co.uk: “We started the game a little bit slow. Conceding early was disappointing, but we grew into the game the longer it went on and started to create chances.

“In the first half we didn’t press the ball well enough high up the pitch and West Ham had too much possession for our liking. I felt in the second half that we were more aggressive and had more of the ball.

“We kept pushing the players because we wanted certain physical outcomes as a lot of them hadn’t played a full 90 minutes all season, so we made sure we pushed them to the very end. The late goal was a shame but I was pleased with the performance.

“It was good to see the first-year scholars play against their own age and we had a few under-16s with us as well. We look forward to welcoming West Ham in two weeks for the return fixture.

“In the absence of Jake Scrimshaw after his loan to Poole Town, we’re pushing Christian to be the focal point for us and get him stretching the game as well as coming to feet. We know he can score goals, we’re just trying to get him to score more striker’s goals in and around the six-yard box, so it was pleasing to see him score a rebound.

“His second goal played to his strengths as he held someone off, shifted the ball and struck it well in the bottom corner. Him and Nathan Moriah-Welsh, who played just off him, linked really well and set the tone for the positive performance both in possession and the way they pressed the ball out of possession.”