AFC Bournemouth
Coach Alan Connell reflected on a “pleasing” first half of the season for his AFC Bournemouth under-18s but has told them: “Now is the time to look forward and strive for more.”
The Cherries currently top the South West Division of the EFL Youth Alliance and are in the semi-final of the League Cup and the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup.
They also won the King Power Cup in October, a six-team tournament hosted by Leicester City which included clubs with a category one academy status.
Connell’s young guns will compete in the EFL Merit League during the second half of the season with the top sixes from the South West and South East coming together.
And their cup exploits continue against Cardiff City in the FA Youth Cup at Vitality Stadium on Tuesday 14th January and Cambridge United in the League Cup at Clare College four days later.
Reviewing the season for afcb.co.uk, Connell said: “A lot of the work we did in pre-season was fitness based and, as always with us, there was a lot of ball work.
“We worked on our structure, how we wanted to press and our defending. One of the main focuses at the beginning of the season was getting those basic principles in place.
“Ultimately, the challenge with the youth team is to develop players individually. We want to get them in our first team or for them to have professional careers elsewhere.
“It’s always a balance but we need a team framework for those individuals to shine and produce their best football and I think we have that at the moment.
“My job is to make sure the players develop and the group continues to improve. In that respect, I’m pleased with how the first half of the season has gone but now is the time to look forward and strive for more.
“For me, the most important thing is we look like an AFC Bournemouth team and that means passing the ball, being aggressive with regards to our forward running and having a real desire and willingness to win back the ball.
“I think the group has demonstrated that in abundance. The first half of the season has been pleasing and we now look forward to some exciting games coming up where I am looking forward to seeing how the boys perform.”
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The Cherries have been without the services of skipper Nathan Moriah-Welsh, who was injured in the first game of the season, goalkeeper Cameron Plain, who is on loan at Wimborne, and influential frontman Connor Kurran-Browne, who saw a dead leg develop into a calcification in November.
Allied to those absences, leading marksman Christian Saydee is set for an extended spell on the sidelines during the second half of the campaign having sustained ankle ligament damage in the FA Youth Cup win over Barnet last month.
Connell added: “They are all influential players and have missed games. But that has given opportunities to others so the whole group deserves credit for that. Players have stepped up and shown they can perform.
“Traditionally, the second half of the season is harder. We will have conversations about more players going out on loan and hopefully further opportunities will arise for them to be around the under-21s.
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“Trialists will come into consideration towards the latter part of the season as we look ahead and start to plan for next season so there’s a lot to consider.
“It’s a busy and important time. Our next three games are against Portsmouth, when we could take a big step towards winning the league, and big cup games against Cardiff and Cambridge United.
"They are games for the boys to relish and to show how good they are, individually and as a team.”
The Cherries host Portsmouth at Dorchester Town’s Avenue Stadium on Tuesday (noon kick-off), while Shaun Cooper’s under-21s entertain Plymouth Argyle in the Central League Cup at Canford Arena on the same day (1pm kick-off).
