JORDAN Rose netted twice as Cherries resumed their Puma Youth Alliance campaign with a hard-fought win over Cheltenham at a wind-swept Chapel Gate on Saturday.

Joe Roach's charges were in fine fettle following their festive break, with an excellent all-round display capped by two second-half goals from utility man Rose.

Roach said: "I was concerned about one or two cobwebs because the lads hadn't played for more than a month but they responded really well in difficult conditions.

"They tried to play it out from the back against the wind in the first half and we had worked on being aggressive on the ball. I thought it worked really well.

"We also defended very well as Cheltenham set their stall out and tried to get quite physical in some respects. But we kept our shape and cool and did well over the 90 minutes. I was pleased with the attitude of the players and it was a step in the right direction for everyone."

Ryan Pryce's top-drawer save saw Cherries reach the break on level terms before Rose finished smartly following Joe Partington's quickly-taken 48th-minute free kick.

And although an injury to Richie Whittingham saw Cherries play the closing stages with 10 men, Rose added his second with a 35-yard cross-cum-shot two minutes from time.

Cherries: Pryce, Queree, Rose, Franks, Finlay, Whittingham, Partington (Reeve, 65), Webb, Cooper (Newton, 78), McQuoid (Wilson, 78), Davidson.