The under-18s fell to a 2-1 Saturday defeat away at Plymouth Argyle, giving themselves too much to do after a "lethargic" first period.

The Cherries were two goals down at half time, conceding from a corner after 15 minutes, the Pilgrims then finding the top corner with a free-kick minutes later.

Michael Dacosta Gonzalez hit the crossbar when well placed with the away side's only real chance of the opening period.

Alan Connell's side responded after the break and were more competitive in one-v-one battles, coming back into the game through Marcus Daws' penalty with 25 minutes to go after Baylin Johnson was fouled.

Ben Winterburn had a sHe said: hot saved from range but Bournemouth were unable to bring themselves level as they slid to defeat.

After the match manager Connell spoke to afcb.co.uk about the performance and where his side can improve.

He said: "I spoke to the players saying the game was a big test for their mentality, waking up at 5.30am and leaving at 6.30am for the long trip.

"We came up against a Plymouth side we've always had challenges and competitive games against, and we got exactly what we expected.

"In the first half we didn't deliver a performance. In the first ten minutes we actually started quite well but once we conceded we were lethargic, were outfought and struggled to get our passing game going.

"We didn't pass forward with any quality and lacked a bit of intensity to our play, moving the ball too slowly. When you're doing that in a team that wants to control possession and play the ball you're always going to struggle.

"The reaction in the second half was better and we got back into the game, though unfortunately couldn't get the winner. I'm more interested in the performance and in the second half it was better, we had more energy, a bit more quality and had more of everything that was missing in the first half.

"I said to the players that we won the second half 1-0 so if we'd started like that we would have come in at half time in a much stronger position, it was a frustrating day for us and lessons have to be learned.

"I've said recently that we're struggling to put back-to-back performances together and that we're too inconsistent for where we need to be. There's a lot of reflecting that needs to be done and an awful lot of work that needs to happen as we move forwards.

"We have a friendly with West Brom on Tuesday which will be a good opportunity for some of the players who haven't played as many minutes as they would have liked. It's a chance for them to say that they should be in the team."