Ajani Burchall and his Bournemouth Under-18 teammates performed strongly but were sucker-punched as they lost 3-1 away at title rivals Oxford United.
Bournemouth had chances early in the game, Matt Burgess seeing a one on one tipped over by the ‘keeper before Abdi Mohamed fired just wide from a well-worked set-piece.
However, despite large spells of possession for the away side, hosts United took the lead by winning and scoring a penalty after the ball had struck the arm of defender Owen Palmer.
The U’s had a second when the visitors were unable to clear a set-piece and the ball fell to an attacker who curled into the far corner with a good finish.
Bournemouth created chances after the restart, forcing some good saves and having sustained pressure high up the pitch.
Jake Adams missed the chance to halve the deficit from the spot for the Cherries with 20 minutes remaining, Oxford then scoring a third five minutes before the end.
Captain Jack Wadham did convert with a late penalty for the visitors, cutting the arrears in added time.
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