AFC Bournemouth development squad coach Shaun Cooper praised Ben Greenwood for his reliability following his side’s 3-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.
Three goals in the space of eight second-half minutes saw the Cherries development side claim victory in their Premier League Cup opener.
Josh Popoola, Daniel Adu-Adjei and Christian Saydee were all on the scoresheet in the first fixture of group B, which also houses QPR and Derby County.
As part of a backline which shut out the Seagulls effectively, Greenwood donned the captain’s armband and impressed Cooper in East Sussex.
He told afcb.co.uk: “Ben is incredibly reliable and he’s a very good player, obviously, but I thought he marshalled the back five for us really well.
“He communicated across the line, and I thought Owen Bevan was physically outstanding next to him, while Brooklyn Genesini was clever and good with the ball.
“I could name everyone, but I thought Ben led us really well today.
“Even at half-time, when we’re delivering messages, to have your captain on board with what we’re saying and then ensuring the lads go out and apply themselves and lift the group; I was really pleased with him in that aspect.”
Another player the coach saved a word for was Saydee, who assisted Adu-Adjei before netting a goal himself six minutes later.
“I thought Christian was very unselfish in rolling the ball across to Daniel and that just highlights his mindset to want to win first by sacrificing his own, individual achievements,” he explained.
“That was really pleasing and then I was also really pleased that he was rewarded with his goal.
“There was a moment where it looked like he was struggling a little bit, but he came back from the dead and I thought as the game went on, he was a real handful for them.
“We built a lot of our fast attacks around him with his strength and ability to hold up the ball, allowing runners to make runs off him.”
With all of the Cherries’ three goals coming in the second half, Cooper felt that it was a change in mindset which was the difference.
Not only did he find it important at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre, but also for the remainder of the Premier League Cup campaign.
“One thing that we spoke about at the end of the game was that in the first half, I’m not sure how much our lads really believed they could win the game,” he said.
“As soon as we forced a couple of mistakes in the second half and got the goal, you could see their belief go through the roof.
“The confidence that flowed throughout the team from the first goal onwards was there.”
Cooper added: “They need to believe in themselves because they’re good players and a good team that can come and get good results against other good teams.”
Picture courtesy of Paul Hazlewood/BHAFC.
