AFC Bournemouth
Interim development squad coach Bruce Suraci was delighted with his team’s performance in the remarkable win over Newport County on Tuesday.
The Cherries smashed in eight goals at Canford Park Arena with Dominic Sadi standing out with four goals and one assist, despite playing as a winger instead of his usual central midfield role.
Emiliano Marcondes added two goals himself while Noa Boutin and Marcus Daws completed the scoring.
Speaking to afcb.co.uk after the game, Suraci was full of praise for Sadi and his performance.
“I couldn’t speak more highly of Dom,” he said.
“In terms of him as a character, we see someone that works hard, applies themselves, tries to learn, grow and improve every day.
“That attitude, I have no doubt, is why he’s done so well so far.
“For example, when I asked him what he’s learned from training with the first team, he always comes back with good answers and knowledge.
“We challenge the boys every day in training and he always comes through and works hard.
“Dom works as hard as anyone else and improves as much as anyone else; his attitude and character are what have really helped him.”
Suraci was particularly delighted with the attitude of his players, who showed no complacency against a lower-level opponent.
He added: “The challenges were that we were up against an opposition who we knew were going to be younger than us.
“They’re also in a lower league than us, so it’s easy for someone to presume that the game would be less of a challenge.
“When you get caught in that mindset, then the game becomes much more of a challenge.
“One thing that we’ve tried to instil in the players as a culture and a mentality is that it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, it’s about your growth and development.
“That was the challenge today and as ever, the challenge was essentially having four different groups of players - first-teamers, development squad lads, under-18s and trialists.
“There was a variety of different experiences for the boys today but, overall, I couldn’t speak more highly of how they’ve come through it.”
The Cherries squad impressed Suraci with the manner of the performance, with plenty of attacking flair on display.
He summarised: “For us it was about being brave, switching the ball and continuing to press, all of the things that you would associate with AFC Bournemouth teams.
“We’ve steadily grown in that and we saw the lads take risks today.
“I said to them at the end, there were lots of positives but they’ve now got to do it in the Premier League Cup.
“From my perspective, I’ve said a million times that every academy game is one that you learn from and grow from, and that’s the goal.
“Can they now apply that mentality when they have a cup game when we want to get through? I think that’s really important for the lads.
“We’ll have the Hampshire Senior Cup as well, so it’s vital that they continue to add strings to their bow.
“Ultimately, the goal for us is that they go out at the Vitality on a Saturday and they’re playing for Premier League points.”
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