Exciting week ahead for title-chasing under-18s
AFC Bournemouth
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Coach Alan Connell praised his AFC Bournemouth young guns for their commitment levels and sticking to their beliefs during their 2-1 defeat by Oxford United.
The Cherries surrendered top spot in the South West Division of the EFL Youth Alliance after going down at Oxford’s Bangkok Glass Training Centre on Saturday.
Enrique Tiamuna’s first-half header and a penalty from Gatlin O’Donkor sandwiched Marcus Daws’s finely-taken 70th-minute leveller for Connell’s team.
Despite suffering a first league defeat since November, the Cherries could still be crowned champions if they could take four points from their final two games.
They host third-placed Portsmouth at Dorchester Town's Avenue Stadium on Tuesday (noon) before entertaining Plymouth Argyle at Canford Arena on Saturday 19th February(11.30am).
Connell told afcb.co.uk: “It’s going to be an exciting week and it’s going to be a nice developmental week with regards to preparing the players for what their careers might look like in a first-team environment.
“While getting individual players through to have careers is always the priority, it’s important they understand that wherever they end up playing, they are going to be competing to win.”
Playing against a strong wind in the opening period, the Cherries went close to drawing first blood through Finn Tonks who fired narrowly over the crossbar following a good move.
Cherries goalkeeper Ollie Camis made a smart save to keep out a Will Owens effort before Daniel Adu-Adjei diverted a centre from Daws inches over the crossbar.
Tiamuna broke the deadlock when he headed in from an Owens corner on the stroke of half-time before Daws (pictured above) restored parity with a well-placed effort from the edge of the box in the 70th minute.
O’Donkor sent Camis the wrong way from the spot five minutes from time after Noa Boutin had been penalised for a foul, the Cherries waiting for an offside flag which never came in the lead-up to the winning goal.
Connell added: “Every time we play Oxford, we always know it’s going to be a difficult game and that’s what we got today.
“We were against the wind in the first half but I thought we controlled possession really well. We dealt with their threats and showed a lot of character against a big, powerful side.
“I was really pleased with our performance in the first half. We could have gone 1-0 up on stroke of half-time and then they scored within a minute from a corner.
“We found ourselves 1-0 down at the break which I thought was harsh. If it had been level at half-time, I think that would probably have been about right.
“We had the wind behind us in the second half and I thought it would be a big factor. But I didn’t think we made the most of it.
“We didn’t quite have the sustained pressure for large spells I would have liked higher up the pitch but, in saying that, we created some good opportunities and Marcus scored a really well-taken goal to get us back level.
“It was a difficult pitch and a strong wind but I thought my players deserved credit for some of the quality they showed and their fighting spirit. Unfortunately, they were hit with a sucker-punch late on. They kept going until the end but it just wasn’t to be.
“They conducted themselves really well and, although we weren’t at our best, our commitment levels and the way we stuck to our beliefs were really pleasing. Yes, it is a slight setback but knowing the group I’ve got, I’ve got no doubt that they will be ready for Portsmouth on Tuesday.”
AFC Bournemouth: Camis, Tonks, Boot, Palmer, Boutin, Okoh, Brown, Daws, Johnson, Adu-Adjei, Dacosta Gonzalez. Subs: Williams, Rees-Dottin, Crisp (g/k).