AFC Bournemouth welcomed Chelsea to Canford Arena at the weekend for a pre-season friendly but were beaten 7-2 by the Category 1 side.

Down 3-1 at half time but with the positive of a first goal for Christian Saydee, returning after a long spell out with injury, the Cherries competed well, scored a good second though first-year Jake Adams after the break but conceded late goals to give Chelsea a gloss to their scoreline.

Manager Alan Connell told afcb.co.uk about the match and the learning curve his side are on as they prepare for the start to their league season against Forest Green Rovers on Saturday 3rd August.

"We conceded very early, which gave a very good team a bit of control early on," he said. "We took a while to get going but in that first half we showed some good spells, we defended well at times but it's an area where we need a lot of work doing.

"That's not just with the goalkeepers and the defenders but the whole team. We have been working on that but it will need a lot more focus and work going forwards.

"We scored a good goal and broke really quickly, Christian Saydee scoring his first goal back after a long time out. I'm delighted for him because he's put a lot of work in with his rehab and getting back fit.

"Some of their quality was really difficult to deal with but at half time we were reasonably pleased. It was difficult because they use the ball so well and we were just a little bit off it at times but we got better with that in the second half and scored a nice second goal by winning the ball high - Jake Adams finishing it off for his first youth team goal.

"Unfortunately as the match wore on we became ragged and conceded a few at the end which made the scoreline less reflective of the game. While Chelsea ran out deserved winners the scoreline was a bit harsh.

"We spoke after the game about what we needed to improve on, and they boys came up with the right answers. It's now a case of putting those answers onto the training pitch and take it forwards into the upcoming games."

Connell's young Cherries next travel to Cardiff City on Tuesday for their latest pre-season challenge.