“ME and Kenny Dalglish have got 103 Scotland caps between us.” As you can see, Warren Cummings is not the type of man to dwell too much on what might have been.

As a 21-year-old without an appearance to his name at Chelsea, he had played just 10 games on loan at Dean Court and a handful during a spell with West Brom when Berti Vogts gestured to get the bib off in Hong Kong in 2002.

Vogts had a reputation, while boss of the Scottish national team, for unearthing raw, untried but passionate youngsters north of the border, yet that 45 minutes in the Reunification Cup was to prove both Cummings’ debut and swansong. While many have been quoted pinpointing the horrendous double leg break Cummings suffered at Swindon in 2005 as a turning point for his international ambitions, the fact is he should have already been capped more than once prior to that injury. Cummings will almost certainly feel that, even if he prefers to keep any lingering frustrations to himself.

After all, his has been a career, upon deeper reflection, laced with many highs and successes. Promotion in dramatic circumstances via the play-offs in 2003 and again under Eddie Howe in 2010 were dissected only by a moment of heartache in 2007 at Carlisle on the final day of a campaign blighted by administration.

Of course, Cherries’ current lofty status among England’s elite has brought with it a whole host of new supporters, many of whom won’t remember the days of Cummings in his pomp. The fact hundreds of slightly more weathered faces turned out on Saturday, in replica kits, many adorning ‘Cummings’ on the back, was a refreshing fillip in 2016 and proof that, if you give your all for this football club, you will never be forgotten, Premier League football or not.

AC Milan’s attendance, not to mention that of one Jack Wilshere, England’s enigma, making his first start, added to the occasion and to the number of bums on seats.

Playing an advanced role in midfield behind Benik Afobe and Lewis Grabban, Wilshere showed from the off why the hyperbole surrounding his loan signing from Arsenal was fully justified. On five minutes, he gave Leonel Vangioni the slip down the inside right channel and crossed for Grabban who fired wide. Moments later a cross from Junior Stanislas, from a similar position, flashed across the six-yard box.

Ten minutes later, Wilshere almost opened his goal account. The midfielder found himself just outside the Milan penalty area and turned Jose Sosa beautifully before curling a left-foot shot which Vasconcelos Gabriel turned around the post.

The Rossoneri were guarded and seemingly happy for Cherries to dictate. A rare foray towards Ryan Allsop’s goal saw Gianluca Lapadula fire meekly at the Cherries goalkeeper.

Grabban, heavily involved in Cherries’ attacking moves, blasted at Gabriel after half-an-hour, before Allsop stayed on his feet to save brilliantly from Niang two minutes before the break.

Wilshere departed at half-time, alongside Mings, as boss Howe made wholesale changes. But as the driving rain eased and conditions improved, it was more of the same as Cherries dominated.

Afobe went close just after the restart when his deft left-foot shot was tipped over the crossbar by Gabriel, before the Rossoneri keeper saved well from Emerson Hyndman’s long-range effort.

Gabriel Paletta did well to block Junior Stanislas’s shot on 55 minutes after another sweeping Cherries move down the left, while half-time substitute Mousset almost got on the end of Stanislas’ cross into the six-yard area minutes later.

On 58 minutes, a wonderful move that saw Afobe and Stanislas exchange passes allowed Mousset to ghost into the box, but the ball became trapped under the Frenchman’s feet as he looked to shoot.

Cherries were lining up, one after another, to take pot shots at the Rossoneri goal. Hyndman again tried his luck but found his effort blocked.

But it was the visitors who took a surprise, and largely undeserved lead, on 64 minutes when Suso turned unchallenged on the edge of the penalty area and fired past substitute goalkeeper Jordan Holmes. The advantage was to last a matter of seconds.

Mousset escaped several heavy challenges to stay on his feet before unleashing an unstoppable right-foot drive from around 25 yards to level the scores. As the game came alive, though, Milan again went in front from Niang’s penalty after Holmes had felled the Frenchman.

Holmes saved well from Suso 20 minutes from time as Milan looked to extend their lead, before Cummings made his entrance as an 80th-minute substitute for Ollie Harfield.

Mousset almost doubled his tally seven minutes from time when his header from Marc Pugh’s cross smashed back off the crossbar, while Cherries almost nicked a draw in stoppage time when Mousset got on the end of a superb cross from Callum Buckley only to watch the ball come back off the post.

Cherries: Allsop (Holmes, h-t), Stanislas, Mings (McCarthy, h-t), Jordan (Buckley, h-t), Harfield (Cummings, 80), Gosling, Hyndman, Wilshere (Mousset, h-t), Pugh, Grabban, Afobe.

Unused subs: Lee, Ndjoli, Dobre, O'Connell, Worthington.

Booked: McCarthy AC Milan: Gabriel (Plizzari, 79); Abate (Pobega, 90), Ely, Paletta, Vangioni; Pasalic (Curto, 79), Sosa, Suso; Niang, L.Adriano (La Ferrara, h-t)), Lapadula (Zanellato, 61).

Unused subs: Spinelli, Careccia, Zuccheti.

Referee: James Linington.