BOSS Lee Bradbury knows Cherries must up their game if they are to emerge victorious in tomorrow’s EC Group Cup final against FC Saarbrucken.

Bradbury’s men set up a clash with the German outfit after unconvincingly edging past Glenn Hoddle Academy courtesy of a penalty shootout in today’s semi-final.

A stunning strike from Matt Richards cancelled out Steve Lovell’s opener as Hoddle’s charges claimed a deserved 1-1 draw in front of a crowd of 2,426 at the Seward Stadium.

Then, the two teams contrived to miss no fewer than seven spot kicks with Darryl Flahavan saving Dan Cayford’s sudden death penalty to see Cherries through.

Saarbrucken booked their place in the final with a 4-2 win over a youthful Lokomotiv Moscow outfit – with £80,000 up for grabs for the tournament winners.

Bradbury, who watched the first semi-final, told the Daily Echo: “Saarbrucken are a big, strong side. They looked very organised and were up for the battle.

“We will have to be a lot better to win this competition because they will take advantage if we are not 100 per cent at it. They looked a good outfit and played some good football.”

While Flahavan also saved from Jordan Hugill during the shootout, Cherries were thankful to Harry Arter, Shaun Cooper and Stephen Purches for their successful conversions – with Lyle Taylor, Jayden Stockley and Liam Feeney all guilty of woeful misses.

Bradbury added: “It wasn’t the best penalty shootout I had ever seen! But you would rather be the winning team because we know what it’s like to lose on penalties. We got the result we wanted, although we could have gone about it in a better manner.

“We made hard work of it. They gave us a good game and played a formation that caused us a few problems. The first half wasn’t a great spectacle and was like a game of chess between the two midfields.

“It was cat and mouse. We both made chances and I thought we had the better ones in the second half. It opened up a bit and we were lively. We went for it more and created more chances as a result. Their equaliser was a great goal and nobody wanted to concede knowing it would go straight to penalties.”

The closest either team came to scoring during an instantly forgettable first half was when Cherries trialist Peter Bore saw his looping effort bounce the wrong side of the upright after 37 minutes.

Lovell finished emphatically from around 12 yards after Michael Symes’s clever flick from Bore’s cross had picked him out in space midway through the second half.

But Hoddle’s boys levelled when Richards unleashed a 25-yard piledriver that flew past Flahavan and into the top corner.

• Cherries: Flahavan, Bore, Nelson, Cooper, Hester (Purches, 78) , Holder-Spooner (Forbes, 62), Molesley, Arter, Pugh (Lovell, 65), Symes (Taylor, 70), Lovell (Stockley, 80).

• Glenn Hoddle Academy: Lumley, Spence, Hall (Beckles, 78), Cayford, Winter, Folkes (Hugill, 78), Richards, Hutton (Bell, 78), Clucas, Forrester (Thomson, 67), Fisher (Benbow, 57).

• Cherries transfer target Scott Malone could be in line to complete a loan move to the Seward Stadium after watching today’s clash from a seat in the Main Stand.

The 20-year-old is expected to sign initially until the end of December, with the agreement reviewed by both clubs during the January transfer window.

Although Malone has been making subtle references to the fact he could be joining Cherries on social networking site Twitter, manager Bradbury has so far politely declined to comment.

Bradbury also did not wish to comment on suggestions the club had appointed Steve Gritt as chief scout. Bournemouth-born Gritt, who started his playing career with Cherries in 1977, is understood to have replaced Des Taylor, who left the club earlier this month.