Bournemouth U21 beat Stoke City U21 2:1 in the Premier League 2 First Division on Monday evening. The result moves the hosts further clear in sixth place while Stoke remain in the bottom half at 17th.
H. William opened the scoring at the 11th minute, a moment that set the tone for the opening exchanges. Stoke responded quickly, with D. Ndimukum finding the net just a minute later at 21. And here's the thing — that period around the 20th minute, when both sides were pushing, decided the rhythm of the first half.
Bournemouth regained the lead in the second half. A. Ampah struck at 49 minutes, shortly after the break, and the visitors could not respond. To be fair, Stoke created very little after that — they managed only one shot on target all day compared to seven for the hosts.
The statistics tell a clear story. Both teams held 50 per cent possession, but Bournemouth were far more efficient. They registered 85 attacks to Stoke's 83, and while the visitors' goalkeeper had five saves, they rarely faced genuine danger. The shots accuracy figures — 0.41 for Bournemouth against 0.2 for Stoke — underline that difference.
Discipline was not an issue for either side, though Stoke accumulated more yellow cards through the game. E. Nyarko, J. Mears, B. Winterburn and G. Kelly all received cards, with one more booking coming in stoppage time. Bournemouth's pair of yellow cards shared between their own players.
The result extends Bournemouth's good run. They have won three of four games, including a victory over Leicester City U21 last weekend. Stoke, meanwhile, have lost two of their last four league matches and sit nine points adrift of a mid-table position.
