AFC Bournemouth
The AFC Bournemouth under-18s brought their pre-season to a close with a positive 2-1 win at Southampton on Tuesday.
The win away at Southampton's Staplewood training centre was the final game before the youth team kick off their league fixtures on Saturday against Bristol Rovers.
The win was claimed by strikes from Jake Scrimshaw and Jaidon Anthony - scoring their third and fifth goals of pre-season respectively - before a late penalty for the hosts pulled them to within a goal.
Under-18s manager Alan Connell told afcb.co.uk that the win against a Category One side sets the side up for their league start perfectly.
"In the first half we broke really well," he said. "We did well going forwards and were good from wide areas.
"We were delighted to go in 1-0 up and had showed the defensive solidity, shape and the knowledge of when to press - aspects that we have worked on throughout pre-season.
"In the second half Southampton caused us more problems and our 'keeper was forced into some saves, but we were still able to score a good second goal and looked comfortable.
"Into the final ten minutes we managed the game well but were disappointed to concede and not get the clean sheet in the end. That's down to concentration and the need to have it right to the end of games.
"It didn't take away from a positive day with some good football, though as ever we'll have things to look at and improve upon when watching the videos."
The under-18 squad's EFL Youth Alliance campaign starts on Saturday with an 11am kick off for Connell's men against Bristol Rovers at Canford Arena.
For a complete look at the under-18 side's fixtures in 2017/18, click here.
