Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Roach preaches passing game
JOE Roach insists his focus will remain on footballing principles as he continues to mould Cherries’ future stars.
Delivering his verdict on the under-18s’ start to the season, Cherries head of youth Roach revealed that he has been impressed by the club’s latest crop of prospects.
The team have recorded two victories out of three league matches, scoring nine goals in the process.
Despite the positive start and a desire to win as many matches as possible, Roach says that quality of performances and approaching the game in the correct manner are the important factors at this stage.
He told the Echo: “We’re trying to get them to play the right way, but you come up against sides who want to win games.
“We all want to win games but we work all week on trying to play a certain way.
“We’ve got to compete but we want the lads to pass the ball, make decisions and progress up the pitch.
“The lads will get frustrated at times at not getting the three points or victories, but I don’t see any point in training all week and then changing the mentality on a Saturday.
“We have to accommodate the opposition but we’ve got to try hard to get the ball down and play. We’ll never be a team at Bournemouth to launch the ball and chase it – that’s not what we’re here for.”
Cherries’ youth team host Cheltenham Town in the Youth Alliance Cup at Brockenhurst College tomorrow morning (11am).
Meanwhile, Cherries fans are being urged to show their support for Brett Pitman by voting for his goal against Yeovil to win the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy’s first round Ultimate Finish award. To vote and for further details, visit www.johnstonespainttrophy.com
