JOE Roach fired a warning to his Youth Alliance charges after they slumped to a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Exeter City.

With just four league matches left in the season, Roach is keen to see what they can take on board during the final weeks of the campaign.

He told the Echo: “They have got to apply themselves. It’s not down to me and their opportunity on the Saturday is to apply what we have worked on in the week, show some consistency and develop a maturity in the matches.

“They have got to show a capability to train and play at the next level, even if they are young players.”

A cruel own goal proved the difference for Roach’s side.

A misunderstanding between goalkeeper Shane Murphy and centre-half Ryan Case resulted in Case’s looping header finding the net after an early period of dominance from the home side.

“I thought we did really well for the first 15 to 20 minutes, so I was disappointed to concede at that point,” added Roach. “But I thought Exeter then gave us problems if I am honest.

“We had a couple of players out due to injuries and the game would not flow the way we would have liked it to.

“But I have got to give credit to Exeter because I thought they played the way we like to play, with the ball on the ground, and gave us more problems than we gave them.”

Cherries: Murphy, Lindsay, Case, Maybury, Farren, Bell, Vokes (Carmichael, 69), Wakefield, Zocchi (Makoni, 65), Strong (Moth, 67), Parsons. Unused sub: Tierney.