U18s draw at windy Yeovil
AFC Bournemouth
- Attendance:
- 0
AFC Bournemouth’s U18s were held to a 1-1 draw away at Yeovil Town on a wet and windy Saturday afternoon at Alvington.
Alan Connell’s young Cherries started the game in the best possible fashion and Luke Nippard was alert to rob the Yeovil goalkeeper of possession, before steadying himself and rolling the ball into an empty net.
The hosts responded well to the early setback, but despite enjoying much of the possession were unable to break down a resolute Bournemouth backline.
That was until just moments before half time, when Yeovil’s Archie Sturdy superbly curled home an effort from the edge of the area with the outside of his boot.
The second half saw chances created at both ends, but profligacy took hold as neither side were able to grab what would have been the winner.
Speaking to afcb.co.uk, manager Alan Connell gave his version of events: "We started well, were on the front foot and were winning the ball back high up the pitch - our goal was reward we started.
"We had control and looked comfortable, but we stopped doing what had got us in that position and gave away a goal before half time, conceding from a free-kick we shouldn't have given away.
"At the break we spoke about not switching off and getting back in control and we created moments that we should have scored from. The decision making and execution in the final third was probably the thing that cost us.
"Overall the performance was okay but not quite what we expected to deliver after a good week of training."
The AFC Bournemouth Under-18 side are sponsored by Strategic Solutions.