AFC Bournemouth
Delighted coach Dan Carroll praised his AFC Bournemouth under-18s for perfectly-executing another kick-off routine which led to a quickfire goal at Canford Park Arena.
Jonny Stuttle put the finishing touches to the move as the Cherries opened the scoring after just 15 seconds against Merit League One rivals Cambridge United on Saturday.
His lightning strike came after Jack Holman’s diagonal pass had picked out Ollie Morgan whose low cross from the left was turned home at the near post by Stuttle.
It was reminiscent of Phil Billing’s opener for the first team at Arsenal a fortnight ago and Dan Adu-Adjei’s goal after 14 seconds in Carroll’s first game at the helm against Plymouth last month.
Stuttle and Ashley Clarke both netted twice as the Cherries registered an emphatic 5-1 win over Cambridge with 15-year-old substitute Jonny Day completing the scoring late on.
Carroll told afcb.co.uk: “I was really pleased with it – but actually missed it!
“I was chatting to our substitutes, telling them to stay focused and stay in the game.
“It was something we worked on in training yesterday and I was delighted it came off. It was brilliant that the lads managed to make it work.
“It’s an opportunity to get forward and start with an attack. A lot of teams just go backwards or aim the ball into an area, whereas, we try to move the opposition and exploit overloads where we can.”
The Cherries started with no fewer than ten first-year scholars and under-16 midfielder Malachi Ogunleye, while the visitors were much-changed following their exploits in the FA Youth Cup which saw them beat Chelsea on their way to exiting at the hands of Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
Discussing the performance, Carroll added: “We had done a fair bit of work in the week on building against their press.
“They play a different formation to anyone we play in the South West division so it was a different challenge for the lads.
“It was one of those days where lots of stuff we tried came off. I thought the spacing and movement were really good, particularly in the first half.
“It was a very different Cambridge team to the one which played Arsenal but you’ve still got to play against what’s in front of you so it was very pleasing from that aspect.
“We also had a different side to the one which won the EFL Youth Alliance. We had one under-16 starting, two under-15s on the bench and the rest of the bench was under-16s. It was a really good experience for these young boys.
“Results are not the primary focus in the Merit League. It’s an opportunity for the boys to experience youth-team football and build relationships with each other.
“The second-year scholars played most of the minutes in the EFL Youth Alliance so it’s a chance for these boys to get out there and show what they can do.
“It’s difficult because we don’t train with the under-16s so they are coming in on a matchday and trying to fit in with what we’re doing but it’s still really good experience for everyone.”
Carroll had words of praise for substitute Day who came off the bench to become one of the club’s youngest youth-team goalscorers in history.
He said: “Jonny has had a great week. He scored twice on Wednesday as the under-15s beat Swansea 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Floodlit Cup, a national competition.
“Swansea have a category two academy so that was a terrific performance from the boys and I enjoyed watching them. It was great to see Jonny get his goal today as well.”
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