AFC Bournemouth’s three Ability Counts teams travelled to London for the Feltham Bees Tournament.
Looking at it as a pre-season exercise for the players, after a six week break from training for the summer holidays, the day was a great success.
The under-12s started the day with a close game against Feltham Bees Red and came away with a 1-0 win, Alfie Gibbs scoring the only goal.
The result was followed by some great team performances, picking up two wins and a draw in their final group games, consequently topping the table and reaching the final against Hamble Y.
However, the side couldn’t quite go all the way and narrowly lost the final on penalties, after a last-minute goal from Ethan Burney pulled the scores back to 1-1 in normal time.
The senior league team had a mixed day after one win, one draw and three losses in the group stage. As a result, the side finished in joint second place on points alone, but goal difference saw them move down to fourth, despite sitting on eight points.
Thomas Morgan was able to bag two goals for the side, one against a very strong Victory Hants team in the 1-1 draw, with his overall performance much improved.
The senior championship side were also able to play a number of games, where they enjoyed plenty of possession. Following two 0-0 draws, the first win of the day came against Woking Wombats in emphatic style, with Liam Buckingham and each of the Gannaway brothers getting on the score sheet.
Theirs, like the senior league, was a very close table, with St Albans on top followed by four teams separated by just one point. However, after all the sides were split by goal difference, the Cherries dropped to fifth place overall.
Following the day, ability counts co-ordinator Katy Shephard shared her thoughts.
“All the players representing AFC Bournemouth today did brilliantly,” she began.
“It was tough for the under-12s to get to the final and lose on penalties, but they did it with dignity and were able to go away with their heads held high after a great day of football.
“Both the senior sides found it tough after a six-week break but they will be able to take quite a lot from this tournament in terms of developing for this season, so it was a good experience for them for pre-season.”
