Andoni Iraola watched on as AFC Bournemouth U21's bowed out of the Premier League Cup in a thrilling 5-4 loss to West Brom, before the U18s beat Brentford on Saturday morning, with his presence has sparking fresh debate over his future at Vitality Stadium.
Andoni Iraola was watching on last night as AFC Bournemouth Under 21's impressive Premier League Cup journey came to an end in an exhilarating 5-4 defeat to West Bromwich Albion. The game, which was live on AFCBTV, has only fuelled yet more conjecture about the future of Bournemouth's Basque boss.
Iraola, flanked by Simon Francis, Shaun Cooper and Tommy Elphick, would have been impressed by what he was seeing in this behind closed doors fixture, attended only by the friends and family of the personnel involved - as there was some excellent football at times.
Under 21's vs West Bromwich Albion
The Friday night fixture marked Cherries’ first appearance at this stage of the competition since joining in 2017, and they made a strong start with goals from Koby Mottoh and Michael Dacosta Gonzalez putting the hosts 2-0 up inside the opening period.
However, West Brom responded quickly as George Shaw pulled one back just minutes later, and despite Bournemouth continuing to threaten, the visitors drew level on the stroke of half-time through Eseosa Sule.
The momentum swung firmly in West Brom’s favour early in the second half when Sule struck twice in quick succession to complete his hat-trick and turn the game on its head, giving the visitors a 4-2 lead.
Bournemouth hit back when Remy Rees-Dottin calmly finished to make it 4-3 and set up a tense finale, but just as the Cherries looked to build momentum, Noah Dupont restored West Brom’s two-goal cushion before Nyarko pulled another goal back deep into stoppage time, but Bournemouth were unable to find an equaliser in the closing moments.
First teamer Ben Gannon-Doak got some useful minutes in the tank, being fielded for over two-thirds of the Friday night clash.
Under 18's vs Brentford
On the subsequent day, the Under 18's were then in action at the Pavilion training pitches adjacent to Dean Court in the Premier League Professional Development League, where Bournemouth saw off Brentford 4-2 in pulsating clash, which again, was screened live on AFCBTV.
Andoni being present for the Under 21's match has only served to fuel numerous conversations within the fanbase about his future plans, with some supporters citing their confusion at why an outgoing manager would be concerned about watching the potential Bournemouth stars of the future if his intentions were to up sticks and leave.
Women's Team vs Plymouth Argyle
Bournemouth fans desperate for a "Cherry fix" during this international break will not have long to wait to see the next match, as the Women's team will be aiming to lift more silverware this weekend as they take on Plymouth Argyle in the FA Women’s National League Cup final. The game is at Loftus Road Stadium — home of Queens Park Rangers — with kick-off scheduled for 3:30pm on Saturday. It is also being screened live on BBC iPlayer.