AFC Bournemouth
Cherries’ scorers in the under-18s’ 5-2 away defeat to Stevenage in Merit League One were certainly no regulars on the scoresheet for the age category.
Both 14-year-old Ethan Sills and 15-year-old Jonny Day regularly occupy spots in the club’s under-15s but managed to leave an impact in Dan Carroll’s team.
Playing up an age category were also under-16s Sonny Parkes, Malachi Ogunleye, Ryan Carroll and Jay Williams.
Speaking with afcb.co.uk on the experience for the youngsters involved, Carroll said: “Ethan’s 14 years old still and Jonny turned 15 in September but they’re still very young.
“Stevenage had three second years playing, so they were playing three years up against three of them.
“It was excellent experience for them, but it’s a difficult experience for them, too, because it was a tough day today.
“For those boys, it’s an invaluable part of their learning and it’s important that they get that exposure.”
Going on to discuss Sills’ goal, which came in the form of a superb second-half free-kick, the lead coach discussed how he could be a record breaker for the under-18s.
Carroll added: “As I understand it, he’s the only 14-year-old that’s scored for our under-18s, although Joe Roach may put me straight!
“I think he’s probably the youngest scorer, but certainly in the last ten years he is. It was an excellent free-kick, too.
“I’ve known Ethan since he was eight years old, so I’ve seen him score a lot of free-kicks over the years.
“Ball striking is a real strength of his, so as soon as we won it in that area, I encouraged him to take it.
“I thought he’d have half a chance and he put it right in the top corner!”
For under-18s featuring in the defeat though, Carroll was clear that the comfortable victory for Stevenage should be learned from.
Despite a confident start from his side, the Boro quickly got themselves on top and never looked back, which gave the coach plenty to reflect on.
“We hope it will end up being a really good learning experience for them because they played against a team who showed more intensity and work rate today,” he explained.
“That’s really disappointing for us because that’s what this club is all about.
“This club got to where it is at first-team level through real hard work, intensity and a never-say-die attitude over the years.
“In the academy, that’s the philosophy as well, and unfortunately, too many of us dropped off those levels today.”
Carroll added: “The video will be difficult to watch but it will be important that everybody watches their clips back and makes really honest observations on what they did well, why it was good, and in the moments where it wasn’t so good, what did they need to do better.”
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