ACADEMY boss Joe Roach has called for Cherries to clear their minds of recent setbacks in order to get back on track in the Merit League.

The youth team suffered back-to-back league defeats for the first time since August on Saturday when they suffered a 3-1 reverse at Stevenage.

Having lacked a cutting edge during the first half, Carl Fletcher's charges fell behind to a strike from Robbie Sweeney, a lead the hosts doubled before the interval.

Defender Ben Walker got one back for Cherries when he lost his marker and poked home at the back post early in the second half.

The visitors kicked on and pushed for a leveller but were ultimately undone by Dale Gorman's 25-yard rocket which sealed the victory for Stevenage.

Delivering his post-match verdict, Roach told the club's official website: “We have to learn how to stop conceding goals late on in the game.

“We played against opposition that had a very different playing style to ours. That isn't us being negative towards Stevenage, it’s just another challenge the Merit League poses.

“In truth, I think we have lacked a little bit of confidence lately following a couple of defeats. We haven’t had to deal with this until now but it’s part of the journey.

“Back-to-back defeats were bound to happen – no team has the right to win every single game.”

Cherries have a blank Saturday this weekend before embarking on their final five fixtures and Roach revealed how the club would attempt to use the extra time wisely.

“This week we will get everyone back together again and produce some core strategies that will prevent us from conceding late on,” he added.

“We have not had a full week of training for a couple of weeks now due to development squad fixtures and career seminars. It has been an inconsistent couple of weeks.

“We will have a solid week of training and have a talk with the players about how to improve things.

“It’s not always about the result, it's about the overall team performance. We are just motivated to get the players back on track and regain the level of consistency we demand.”