Three former AFC Bournemouth players and managers were among the crowd to see a new chapter in club history written on Saturday.
Harry Redknapp, Sean O’Driscoll and Tony Pulis watched the Cherries under-18s triumph 5-0 against Wigan Athletic at Canford Park Arena.
It was the club’s first game in the Professional Development League and the first since their academy ranks were elevated to category two status.
Redknapp, whose grandson Harry was in the Cherries starting line-up, carved his own name in the club’s record books when he managed them to their first league title.
He was at the helm when a squad including O’Driscoll and Pulis won promotion to the second flight for the first time after being crowned Third Division champions in 1986/87.
Redknapp, who also scored six goals in 116 games as a player between 1972 and 1982, managed the Cherries from 1983 until 1992.
He was replaced by Pulis, a mainstay of the 1986/87 title-winning team who made 104 appearances between 1986 and 1991.
O’Driscoll remains the club’s third highest appearance-maker, the Republic of Ireland international playing 511 games between 1983 and 1994, including 423 in the league.
He replaced Mel Machin as manager in 2000 and was in charge when the Cherries won a fourth promotion in 2002/03, beating Lincoln City in the Division Three play-off final at the Millennium Stadium.
