PROUD father Steve Fletcher has dedicated his Cherries comeback goal to his eldest daughter Danni.

Fletcher capped Cherries’ 2-0 win over Aldershot with a trademark bullet header to help Eddie Howe’s men claw out of the League Two drop zone on Tuesday.

It was his first goal for the club following his return from Crawley in January – and his first in the league for Cherries since he netted in a 2-1 win over Cheltenham in August 2006.

The 36-year-old’s second-half effort also came on the same day Fletcher and wife Lynne celebrated a memorable achievement for their 11-year-old daughter.

Fletcher told the Daily Echo: “We found out in the morning that Danni had passed her entrance exams to Bournemouth School for Girls.

“As I was driving to the ground, I was thinking what a great double celebration it would be if I could score my first goal since I came back.

“We’d had a hectic morning and my wife was in floods of tears when she found out. She dialled the number for the school but had to pass the phone to me. She was a nervous wreck.

“As soon as the teacher told us she had got in, my wife started screaming and crying. She ran up the stairs and we had a big celebration party at half-past-seven in the morning!

“Danni has been at Talbot House prep school and has been working towards this for five years. It makes all the hard work worth it for her.”

The Fletchers were unable to celebrate on Tuesday as dad was doing his stuff against the Shots at Dean Court while Danni was at disco dancing classes. However, she was treated to dinner at her favourite restaurant – Ocean Palace – last night.

Fletcher’s goal put the finishing touches to a remarkable nine-match sequence for the popular targetman whose return coincided with Howe being given the managerial reins on a permanent basis.

No fewer than 10 points adrift before he completed his free transfer move from Crawley, Fletcher has played a pivotal role in helping Cherries edge a point clear of the relegation zone. Victory over Aldershot was Cherries’ fifth since he came back.

“Conditions were dreadful and we were disappointed with our first-half performance, even though we were leading at the break,” added Fletcher.

“Aldershot had the wind behind them in the first half and we would probably have settled for 0-0 at half-time. I was just hoping we would improve in the second half.

“I thought we were excellent and you could have picked anybody for the man-of-the-match award. For me, Danny Hollands stood out head and shoulders.

“He was everywhere and probably turned in three man-of-the-match performances in one. He was magnificent and it was a great result and important we got the win.

“I’ve always said that results are more important than Steve Fletcher scoring but to win and for me to score was the icing on the cake.”