“A little sore” – Bournemouth signing reassures Cherries after injury scare on international duty
Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez has assured fans he is feeling fine after an initial concern following a strong challenge in the 2-1 win over Serbia.
The defender has been speaking to M4 Sports, relayed by CSAK Foci, following the win over Serbia in European qualifying.
Goals from Barnabas Varga and Willi Orban within two minutes of each other saw them secure all three points after Attila Szalai had opened the scoring in the 10th minute with an own goal.
The Bournemouth man started the game in a left-wing back position before being subbed off in the 70th minute for Attila Fiola.
That change was part tactical, part necessity as the Bournemouth man had been dealing with a blow to his knee following an early heavy challenge.
The fact he was substituted off in a game his side were winning would suggest there were some concerns from the coach team regarding the injury, but it appears that is not the case.
Kerkez has instead moved to allay any fears and is instead focusing on the positives of not only a big win, but a big moment for him.
“It was a great feeling to play here, I used to go to this stadium to watch matches when I was a child, now I could play here,” he said.
“I’m very happy that we got three points, that’s the most important thing. We came here with a plan, and the captain also said that we are not afraid, we want to win, we have to play aggressively, run and everyone has to give 100% on the pitch, and I think everyone did.
“My knee is a little sore, I got a kick, but I’m fine. There are still four games left, we still have to focus, and we want to win every game and be first in the group.”
Dominic Sadi on his hopes for this season at AFC Bournemouth
DOMINIC Sadi insists he will be ready should another first-team opportunity come his way, adding: “It is a goal of mine just to prove myself day in, day out.”
Sadi got off the mark for the season with a superb strike as Cherries’ development squad drew 1-1 with Sheffield Wednesday at Vitality Stadium on Tuesday, with first-team boss Andoni Iraola watching on from the stands.
Midfielder Sadi has caught the eye since arriving in the summer of 2022, following a spell in non-league with Wingate & Finchley.
His performances earned him a two-year contract extension in February of this year, tying him to the club until 2025.
Sadi made his competitive debut for the club in the Carabao Cup at Norwich City in August 2022, coming off the bench to provide the cross for Brooklyn Genesini to score a dramatic late equaliser in one of Scott Parker’s final games in charge.
The former West Ham United youngster then made his Vitality Stadium debut as a late substitute in the following round, a 4-1 win over Everton under Gary O’Neil. He has since been on the bench for four Premier League matches and was with the first team during pre-season under Iraola, featuring in a friendly against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Marbella.
Asked for his hopes this season, Sadi told the Daily Echo: “For me, the goal is to prove the experiences I’ve learnt and I can prove it here playing with my own age.
“Then going out proving I can play men’s football. The only way I can do that is to do it from here (development squad) and get goals and assists and play week in, week out and proving I can play.
“It is a goal of mine just to prove myself day in, day out. Whatever happens comes through and I know when my opportunity comes, I’m there to take it.”
Speaking about Sadi in November 2022, O’Neil told the Daily Echo: “He is a talented boy.
“He moves well with the ball, sort of glides. He has a lovely left foot.
“He has a lot of developing still to do, physically and sort of mentally, maturity wise.
“But he has a real hunger for the game, wants to improve, wants to learn.
“I’ve never seen him have a bad day application wise, always wants to work. He has a good chance.”
Discussing his time training under Parker, O’Neil and Iraola in the space of a year, Sadi added: “There’s not much difference, he (Iraola) demands physically and technically.
“It’s just the language barrier is different, that’s all I can say!
“Apart from that, all three of them have been lovely towards me ever since I came in.
“Meeting every one of them has been nice and it’s a lovely experience to be part of every pre-season tour or being around all three of them when they came in.
“It’s just keep proving I can play, whoever comes in.”
Cherries led for most of the contest against the Owls, only for Adam Adetoro to equalise with six minutes to play.
After four matches competing in the Professional Development League for the first time, Cherries have seven points and go to Hull City’s MKM Stadium tomorrow (12pm).
“Coming into a new league, we all learn to come together and have different experiences, come up against different games and different types of challenges,” said Sadi.
“Tuesday was another one. We dominated, throughout the whole 90 minutes. But it was just one mistake, one slip of concentration which just knocks us down.
“But it is definitely a learning curve for us. Next time we know what needs to be done and we’ll get it done.”
Asked how the team have found playing at a new level this year, the 20-year-old added: “I wouldn’t say it’s new to us, because we’ve played friendly games against top cat one and cat two teams and we’ve proved ourselves against them.
“We knew what level we were going into and then we just came at it and proved to other teams we can play in this league and we’ve showed it so far.”
And Sadi was pleased to get off the mark personally for the campaign.
“That’s just what I base my game around, getting involved in the final third and trying to get goals and assists whenever I can,” he said.
“First of the season, it feels nice, but plenty more to come.”
