SAM Surridge struck a second-half double as Cherries’ injury-hit youth team secured triumph over adversity in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Portsmouth.

Following a goalless first half at Furze Lane, Carl Fletcher’s youngsters imposed themselves on proceedings with Surridge opening the scoring before pouncing on a defensive lapse to double the visitors’ lead.

With just 13 fit and available players and having already made two changes, Cherries were forced to play the final few minutes with 10 men when substitute Ben Walker was withdrawn through injury.

That late spell saw Pompey debutant Sam Woodward pull a goal back but third-placed Cherries held out for their fourth win in six league matches.

Academy boss Joe Roach told the Daily Echo: “We came up against a different formation again so we had to work things out, get ourselves on the ball a bit more and make sure we were bright and bubbly in forward areas.

“Having encountered a few injuries in the week, we changed our shape so Carl (Fletcher, team manager) didn’t get a lot of time to bed in certain things.

"It was quite late on Friday when we made a final decision on how to approach it. We probably weren’t as effective as we wanted to be in the first half and gave away the ball.

“We didn’t get up the pitch in the way we normally do. Carl re-emphasised one or two things at half-time, we looked a bit sharper and managed to score two goals.

"It was a good learning curve for the players because it was another situation they hadn’t encountered that often.

“A few teams seem to be playing three at the back since (Manchester United manager, Louis) van Gaal brought it in. Carl will be taking the lads through the videos to see what we can pick up.

“The lads worked really well with 10 men and while they got a goal back during that spell, it was nice to get the result against a local team.

“It’s all about players learning and developing but it’s also important for them to know how to win games in difficult situations. The way they saw it through was very pleasing.”

Cherries continue their league programme with a home match against Cheltenham Town at Canford Arena on Saturday (11am).

Cherries: Stanton, Lee, Jordan, Randall, Harfield, O’Connell (Walker, 70), Worthington, Butcher, Neale, Surridge, Quigley (O’Sullivan, 80).

  • Cherries’ under-16s beat their Portsmouth counterparts 5-0 on Saturday.