AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth Under-18s host Bristol Rovers Under-18s at Canford Arena on Saturday, with the home side looking to make it eight consecutive competitive games unbeaten.
The Cherries are the highest-scoring side in the division with 23 goals in nine games, while Rovers find themselves 7th in the league following a mixed season so far.
Previewing Saturday’s 11am kick-off, Under-18s manager Alan Connell had this to say:
"We’re very much looking forward to it, after giving the boys a particularly hard week in training. I’ve been pleased with their efforts and hopefully we can build on the recent good work and put in a performance on Saturday.
"In the first couple of weeks of the season, we didn’t take our chances or create as much as we would have liked, but now our new players are integrated, we’ve found our feet and are being quite clinical.
"We’re expansive in the way we play and we take the game to the opposition, so we’ll be looking to play on the front foot and create chances against Bristol.
"We played them in previous seasons and they can be difficult opposition. We’ve had reasonably tight games against them in the past and I expect tomorrow to be no different. Like a lot of teams in our league, their results have been inconsistent, so we’ve got to make sure we’re as good as we can be on the day and perform at our best.
"It will be an interesting game, one we’ve put the work in for, and one we’re really looking forward to.
"With no first team game this weekend, it’s an ideal opportunity for any Bournemouth fan worried about missing out on their Saturday fix of football to come down to watch and see how the young lads are doing.
"For the players who have come through the academy in the past as well, it will be nice for them to have a look at what’s coming through now. It would be nice for our boys to have a bigger crowd than usual watching us, so if anyone wants to come down they’ll be more than welcome at Canford Arena."
The AFC Bournemouth Under-18s side are sponsored by Strategic Solutions.
