A Jake Scrimshaw hat-trick, alongside strikes from Christian Saydee and Ryan Glover, ensured that AFC Bournemouth progressed to the quarter-finals of the EFL Youth Alliance Cup.

The Cherries got going from the off, with Saydee opening the scoring just two minutes in with a smart chest control and volley into the bottom right corner.

And the hosts started as they intended to go on and showed no signs of slowing down as Scrimshaw raced through on goal only to be brought down for a penalty by U’s goalkeeper Max Harris. The striker converted from the spot to make it 2-0 with only five minutes played.

Oxford found the back of the net with their first real chance of the game when Ryan Crooks got himself in space on the edge of the area, before sending a left-footed shot into the bottom corner to offer a sight back into the game for his side.

But, Alan Connell’s side responded superbly, netting a third just two minutes later. Tom Dinsmore’s lofted free-kick found the head of Glover, the latter’s effort crashing against the crossbar before Scrimshaw was on hand to convert the rebound to regain the two-goal lead.

After a lively opening 15 minutes, the rest of the first half was void of many clear-cut chances, aside from Owen James dragging a shot narrowly wide for Oxford and Slavi Spasov forcing a good low save from Cherries ‘keeper Tom Parker-Trott.

The second half saw more opportunities for the Cherries, Glover getting things going with a calmly placed left-footed finish while one-on-one, having made the most of a defensive error from the away side.

On the hour mark, it was Scrimshaw who popped up again to grab another hat-trick after scoring four against Portsmouth on Saturday. Played through by Luke Nippard, he shimmied inside his man and found the far corner with his left-foot to continue his fine goalscoring form.

The hosts saw off the final half an hour comfortably to come away with a 5-1 win.

Manager reacts 

Speaking to afcb.co.uk, manager Alan Connell was pleased with what he saw: “We had an excellent start. Straight from kick-off we kept the ball really well, scoring an excellent team goal without letting the opposition touch the ball. That signalled our intent early on.

“We backed it up quickly with Scrimshaw’s penalty. He practices those all the time, so I’m really pleased for him. Oxford came into the game after that, so our boys showed great character to go straight up the other end and get our third goal.”

“It was a crazy opening to be 3-1 up in the first 12 minutes. We want good, fast starts all the time. Oxford caused us problems especially in wide areas which is something we had to address at half-time, but I was pleased with the players’ resilience to stand up and be counted in difficult moments.

“In the second half, Oxford had a bit more of the ball but our shape was good and our quality on the ball helped us find gaps. They were really well taken goals from Ryan Glover and Jake Scrimshaw, really nice team goals that I’m delighted with.

“The control we had at the end and how we kept the ball was so pleasing. It was an excellent display that obviously I’m really happy with.”

Bounce back ability 

“At the start of the season we had a few dodgy moments in games where we weren’t finishing teams off. We lacked a cutting edge and didn’t quite have that ruthless streak about us, but in the last two games I couldn’t have asked for anymore from the players.

“Their effort, attitude, and application to everything in general has been good. How they are away from the pitch and in a training environment is really important as well. They’re getting their rewards at the moment and we’ve had a good little spell, but the games come thick and fast and there’s still lots we can improve on.” 

Scrimshaw's form 

“You wouldn’t want to play against Jake because of his clever movement. He’s a goalscorer and he’s getting better technically which is really pleasing. He’s always a threat so I’m delighted with him and he wants more.

In 2018, he has scored a lot of goals so I’m delighted with his progress and, knowing the kind of player he is, he won’t be happy with what he’s doing because he’ll still want more from himself.” 

Next up 

“We’ve got Swindon away in the league on Saturday and they’re always tough games for us. They were last season. We look forward to playing them as we’re in a good vein of form but it’s important now that we recover properly from having two games in four days.

“We’ve got to be ready because it’s not just about winning games in ones and twos. We’ve got to play well and put a good run of them together from a performance point of view, then hopefully results will follow.” 

The AFC Bournemouth Under-18s side are sponsored by Strategic Solutions.