BOSS Mick Wearden told his Bournemouth Poppies youngsters to hold their heads high despite Wednesday’s abrupt FA Youth Cup exit to Exeter City.

Plucky Poppies succumbed to a 6-1 reverse at Victoria Park following an avalanche of goals late in the first half on Wednesday.

Wearden’s boys held firm for half an hour but once Ben Seymour had slotted home a penalty, the floodgates opened with Mustafa Rehemi, Frank Rosenwald and Seymour again on target before the interval.

Will Richards made it five before Harry Bunce got one back for Poppies. Exeter’s Max Smallcombe rounded off the scoring with 12 minutes to play.

Wearden told the Daily Echo: “The lads have been a massive credit to the club and I said to all of them that they should feel proud.

“We’re a grassroots team and the players are essentially a bunch of mates so to get this stage and not embarrass ourselves against a professional setup is great.

“I think we started with a lot of nerves. Them being a full-time team seemed to affect the players mentally but we never gave up and if you take the second half in isolation, we only lost 2-1 which was an improvement.

“Once we settled down we played very well but we have to concede they were technically better than us and their fitness levels were so much higher than ours, which was to be expected because we only train once a week.

“I’d like to thank everyone for their support during our run, particularly the club who were superb and the friends and family of the players who helped to create a special atmosphere and occasion."