AFC Bournemouth
Alan Connell felt that a late equaliser in the 3-3 draw with Oxford United on Saturday was key for maintaining momentum amongst his under-18s squad.
Across league and cup competitions, the Cherries have now amassed an unbeaten run which spans nine matches.
The latest unbeaten fixture saw Remy Rees-Dottin rescue a point in the 91st minute with Oxford looking set to claim a home victory.
Speaking on the unbeaten run following the game, Connell told afcb.co.uk: “If you’re winning games and not losing, there’s obviously something that you’re doing right.
“It’s been a really challenging run and today was a difficult game, so to get a draw at the end was nice.
“We still have mixed emotions because we had that two-goal lead, but we also keep a good run going.
“Momentum, as we found in today’s game, is so important, so from a confidence point of view, it keeps us heading in the right direction.”
Having secured a two-goal lead through a Lewis Brown brace in the first half, the Yellows had completed a turnaround to put themselves 3-2 ahead.
Strikes from Harrison Bradney twice and Enrique Tiamuna undid the Cherries’ impressive work in the opening period, leaving Connell with learning points for his players.
“It was a game of two halves,” he explained. “In the first half, I thought we were excellent, we controlled the game and caused Oxford a lot of problems.
“At half-time, the challenge was to repeat that but knowing that Oxford are always physically very capable, they’ve always got a spirit and determination about them.
“We struggled technically and with our decision making in the second half, it wasn’t as good and we didn’t create chances as a result.
“We changed a couple of things around to try and influence the game and the boys showed tremendous character, like they always do.
“There are mixed emotions overall because the first half was very good and the second half had lots of lessons that we can learn from and we have to do better with.”
Connell went on to share his belief in the players to take on those learning points with ten days before the squad is back in action again.
“There was lots of determination and lots of spirit,” he said. “As individuals and as a group they are desperate to do well.
“We had quite a few missing with the development squad in preparation for Monday’s game, so it gave others opportunities.
“We had more game time for players that are coming back from injury, too, meaning it was a really good development day all round.”
Connell added: “It was a highly challenging game that we can learn from.”
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