ALAN Connell hailed Cherries under-18s' first game of the season as "a good day out all round" as they thrashed Forest Green Rovers 5-0.

Christian Saydee bagged a brace of volleys for the youngsters in the Youth Alliance League clash while Jake Adams, Nathan Moriah-Welsh and Connor Kurran-Browne were also on target.

But it was the defensive side of the game which pleased boss Connell the most at Canford Arena.

He told the club website: "First league game of the season and I could feel the boys were desperate to do well, so we tried to relax them after all the work they've put in during pre-season.

"They came out with a real intent to win the ball back and then with the ball we tried to be progressive and create as many chances as we could and I think we did that.

"Once we scored the first goal it settled us down and we took full control of the game.

"I'm delighted with the goals we scored and we could have had more, hitting the post in the second half."

He continued: "The most pleasing thing about the whole day for me was the clean sheet.

"The boys have put a lot of work into their defending in pre-season and the way we play the ball will be a risk at times, but we encourage the boys to play and to handle what we expect of them technically.

"They showed determination to keep that clean sheet and it was a good day out all round, with plenty still to work on as we go into the season."