AFC Bournemouth’s Ability Counts teams recently took part in the FA People’s Cup first round in Portsmouth.

Two under-16 teams and three senior teams entered the competition, with three of the five progressing to the next round of the competition.

Under-16s

The AFC Bournemouth Reds got themselves off to a good start with a 7-0 win in their first game against Portsmouth in the Community, with Josiah Waite scoring a hat-trick and captain Cameron Clark getting four.

The Blacks were also able to work hard to get a win in their first game against Caulkhead Strollers. Goals from Bradley Buckingham and Lewis Mitchell helped the Cherries to a 2-1 win.

It then was a very close affair, with the both the Reds and Blacks winning four and losing two of their six matches alongside Caulkhead Strollers.

Due to head-to-head results and goal differences, AFC Bournemouth Reds progress to the next round as competition winners, whilst the AFC Bournemouth Blacks narrowly missed out and will not progress further in the competition.

Seniors 

In the seniors, the Reds scored a very impressive 26 goals across the three matches of the day and comfortably progressed to the next round of the competition in the Premiership division. 

In the Championship section, the Blacks and Stripes had to play two Caulkhead Strollers teams, as well as a team from Portsmouth in the Community.

The Blacks were able to win all their fixtures, with the last game of the day being the most dramatic. After going 2-0 down to Caulkhead Strollers B, they dug deep to bring it back level thanks to goals from Tobi Adeloye and Andrew White.

Before long, Caulkhead made it 3-2 but the Blacks were not finished there. Two further goals before the final whistle from Tobi Adeloye and Harry Dyke saw them come through to finish with a 4-3 victory.

The Stripes, on the other hand, worked hard during each fixture and were able to secure second place behind the AFC Bournemouth Blacks team. However, they will not progress in the competition.