Despite the awful weather which saw every other Hampshire Premier game off the Tatnam pitch held up extremely well and a crowd of 101 turned up to see the Dolphins take on Portsmouth RN for the very first time at senior level.

Poole started very well and were one up inside two minutes. A neat ball from Tony Avery found Darren Elmes on the left and after his shot had been blocked Mike McDonnell nipped in continue his scoring run for the club. 12 minutes gone and McDonnell again raced clear and as the keeper advanced the striker coolly slotted the ball under him into the net to give Poole a two goal lead. A great start! Poole continued to put pressure on the Navy goal with Holland and McDonnell looking dangerous at every opportunity. On 29 minutes McDonnell produced some fine work down the left but after delivering a great cross Elmes was unable to convert a relatively straightforward chance. A minute later and a rare attack from Portsmouth saw the Poole defence backing off and providing far too much space to the forward who duly fired into the corner to pull a goal back for the visitors. This seemed to spur the Portsmouth side on as they then enjoyed their best period of the match but without ever looking likely to add to their tally.

Jamie Holland found himself one on one with the keeper on a couple of occasions - the first shot went wide of the post and the second ballooned over the bar. Just prior to the break Neal Spalding rose superbly to meet a Poole corner but the keeper pulled off a fine save to tip the ball away for a corner. Half-Time:: 2-1.

The second half followed a similar pattern with Poole creating numerous chances but generally were unable to finish any of them off. On 52 minutes Holland produced a blistering turn of speed to get away from two defenders but again his shot was well saved by the keeper. Five minutes later and Holland was guilty of a bigger miss - a great cross from the left seemed to evade everyone except Holland who found himself 5 yards out with plenty of time. After steadying himself he managed to fire wide when a goal looked a sure fire bet. Eventually, however, Holland did manage to find the net when he made the score 3-1 on 77 minutes. McDonnell robbed a defender of the ball and after a scramble in the area Holland picked his spot and fired into the corner to wrap the game up.

A good performance from Poole in difficult conditions and with better finishing (the story of Poole's season!) they could have scored a hat-full.

Poole: Spillane, Pratt, Gater, Spalding, Wood, Lovell (Bailey-Pearce), Avery, White, Holland, Elmes, McDonnell (Omoto)
Unused Sub: Wardle

Fixture News

Two previously postponed games have now been rearranged:
Esso (Fawley) - away - Wednesday 6th February - 7.30pm kick-off.
Portsmouth RN - away - Monday 25th February - 7.30pm kick-off.

On Tuesday night Poole Town produced a quality performance to beat local Wessex League side Lymington & New Milton 2-1. Richard Judd (striker) and Paul Mitchell (midfield - ex Salisbury City) both turned out for Poole and both looked useful on the night. Goals from Darren Elmes and Mike McDonnell secured the win on a good workout for the Dolphins.

A friendly has been arranged for this Tuesday 22nd January when Poole Town will take on Lymington & New Milton at Tatnam Farm - kick-off 7.30pm

On a cold night on the Isle of Wight Poole Town and East Cowes produced a pulsating game of football and a feast of goals for home and away supporters alike. Unfortunately it was to be another disappointing night for the Dolphins as the Isle of Wight jinx continued and all but ended any hopes of Poole winning the Hampshire Premier title this season. Despite yet more awful refereeing (and linesman) decisions there can be little argument with the final result. The East Cowes team produced another devastating attacking performance (though not quite matching the 8-1 defeat in the same fixture last season!) and although Poole battled bravely for 70 minutes they eventually couldn't contain their hosts to the end.

The opening 15 minutes gave no indication of the action to follow but it was East Cowes who broke the deadlock on 14 minutes. A mix-up between Andy Gater and Paul Spillane at the back allowed the Vics striker in to score into an empty net. The response was immediate. Good work on the edge of the box saw the ball land at Jamie Holland's feet. On looking up he noticed the keeper out of position and delivered an exquisite chip to bring the scores level. East Cowes continued to look dangerous and there was no surprise when they again took the lead on 26 minutes. A superb cross from the right
found a striker unmarked and he clinically headed into the top corner to make the score 2-1. This really kick started the Poole performance and the Dolphins gradually started to control the midfield, and therefore the tempo of the game. They deservedly equalised again on 41 minutes when a cross from a short corner was turned in at the far post by Darren Elmes. A minute later and Poole should have taken the lead but a header by McDonnell flashed past the post. Half time: 2-2.

If the first half was entertaining the second half was both exciting and frustrating. On 51 minutes Paul Spillane pulled off a fine save when faced with a one v one situation and Poole continued to dominate the game. On 62 minutes the travelling supporters saw Poole take the lead when McDonnell raced in to score after the keeper had only parried an earlier shot from outside the box. After being behind for the first time this inspired Vics on and it was their turn to control the game once more. On 68 minutes they raced clear to equalise and ten minutes later they took the lead again although this time in dubious circumstances. Spillane was adjudged to have tapped a Vics player in the box and the referee (after consultation with the linesman who didn't flag for an offence) suddenly awarded a penalty! Vics were soon celebrating after the ball was despatched with venom into the Poole net. Three minutes later more poor refereeing led to East Cowes taking a 5-3 lead. An indirect (confirmed by the referee) freekick was awarded for obstruction just outside the box. The resulting kick flew into the goal with no touch en route and amazingly the referee awarded the goal muttering that the kick was indeed direct!!! The penalty for obstructing an opposing player? Indirect freekick. Go Figure.

Despite the goals flying in from everywhere it was still not the end of the action. On 90 minutes Poole saw a fierce shot rebound off the underside of the bar and with the ball still not cleared Tony Avery nipped in to side foot home into the corner. 5-4. With Poole pushing everyone forward the final nail in the coffin arrived on 92 minutes. Three people stood in the Poole half, Spillane the keeper and two Vics strikers (at least 5 yards inside the Poole half). With a long ball out of defence the two strikers set off up the field with everyone else waiting for the linesman to flag for offside. Needless to say it didn't happen. As if that wasn't bad enough one striker then proceeded to pass to his team-mate in front of him and the same linesman failed to flag for that offside as well!! 6-4.

As already mentioned these are not excuses for the defeat - in the end Poole were beaten by the better side but the officials still managed to spoil an otherwise enthralling game. The biggest bright spot of the night? Well, at least Poole don't have to travel to the Isle of Wight again until next season! Maybe by then East Cowes will have been promoted back to the Wessex League - we can only hope!!

Poole: Spillane, Pratt, Gater, Spalding (Wood), Wardle, Lovell (Avery), Bailey-Pearce, White, Holland (Jones), Elmes, McDonnell

Brian O'Donnell Slams 'Unfit' Dolphins

Read the recent Daily Echo article here following Poole's home win against Lymington Town.

Taku Omoto returned to the side after his Christmas break in Japan and Mike McDonnell took his place on the bench next to Martin Jones and Tony Avery.

In a dire first half neither side looked capable of creating anything and the game descended into a midfield battle. The brightest spot came on 20 minutes when Jamie Holland latched onto a superb throughball from Omoto but his shot flew past the keeper and rebounded off the foot of the post to safety. Half-Time: 0-0.

Although the quality of football failed to improve in the second half at least there were some incidents of note to keep the supporters entertained. On 49 minutes Chris Pratt caught a Lymington player in the area and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Unlike Tuesday night Paul Spillane could do nothing as Lymington took the lead from the penalty spot. On 53 minutes Poole eventually fashioned another chance. Matty Lovell produced a great driving run into the Lymington half and eventually set up Darren Elmes who could only tamely volley over the bar from close range. A minute later and Holland was sent off for a bad foul and retaliation - not the first time that has happened! It was only when McDonnell replaced Omoto that Poole began to look remotely dangerous up front. On 63 minutes Poole eventually equalised; Neal Spalding delivered a tremendous ball spreading the play wide to Wardle. Wardle sent McDonnell clear with a good throughball and the substitute rifled the ball past the keeper into the corner. If the supporters expected Poole to now step up a gear they were to be sorely disappointed. With the match seemingly heading for a draw McDonnell was adjudged to have been brought down in the area and Martin Jones (on for Matty Lovell) stepped up to score from the penalty spot in the very last minute.

Three points but yet another unconvincing performance from the Dolphins. The result was a little hard on Lymington who worked hard all afternoon and perhaps for the first time this season Poole can consider themselves fortunate to get a win they barely deserved. A performance like this at top of the table East Cowes on Tuesday night could well see a repeat of the 8-1 demolition there last season but Poole's away form has been better than their home form of late so a good match is in prospect. Defeat on Tuesday would leave Poole 10 points behind their title rivals - somehow they need to break East Cowes 18 match unbeaten league record...........

Poole: Spillane, Pratt, Gater, Spalding, Wardle (Avery), Lovell (Jones), Bailey-Pearce, White, Holland, Elmes, Omoto (McDonnell)

Players Views

Read Gary Fletcher's latest comment here.

On a bitterly cold night Poole Town travelled to Wiltshire to take on Amesbury Town in a rearranged Hampshire Premier League fixture. For the first time in months (years?) Poole Town reverted to a 4-4-2 formation and looked considerably more solid at the back as a result. New signing Neal Spalding took his place in the back four alongside Neil Wardle, Andy Gater and Chris Pratt.

On a very difficult pitch it was Amesbury who provided the early pressure. On 14 minutes Paul Spillane pulled off the first of several great saves on the night after an Amesbury forward had been superbly put through the middle. The Dolphins's first chance came on 25 minutes when Matty Lovell unleashed a great drive from the edge of the box which flashed past the left hand post. On 33 minutes Andy Gater was adjudged to have tugged a player down in the box and the referee immediately awarded a penalty. Gater was subsequently booked for protesting his innocence. Perhaps justice
prevailed when Spillane again got down to his right to cleanly catch the spot kick. Three minutes later and Poole took the lead. Lovell cleverly spread play to Holland on the right and after playing a neat one-two with Lovell again, Holland raced past the defence to fire across the keeper into the corner of the net. Half Time: 0-1.

If Poole had played fairly well in the first half they stepped up another gear in the second forty five minutes. Immediately after the break Mike McDonnell was brought down in the area and Matty Lovell stepped forward to take the penalty. Although the keeper got a hand to it the ball spooned up and landed clearly over the line. With McDonnell following in to make sure the ball was in the Amesbury keeper lunged dangerously (and needlessly) and the Poole forward and a melee of several players ensued in the Amesbury goalmouth. In the middle of this McDonnell floored an Amesbury player with a punch sealing his fate for the rest of the match. After deliberation with the linesmen the referee rightly sent McDonnell off (no complaints there) and also proceeded to book two Amesbury players (including the keeper who should have gone) and also Matty Lovell (for scoring???).

Even down to ten men and defending a two goal lead Poole sensed there were more goals available and they continued to push forward looking to add to their tally. Time and again Jamie Holland tormented the Amesbury defence and found himself through one on one with the keeper. Only a combination of poor finishing and a couple of fine saves denied the winger from scoring about 10 goals!! Amesbury's frustration was evident throughout the second half as they invested much effort into trying to take as many lumps out of Holland as they could. Thankfully Holland refrained from getting involved in anything untoward, instead allowing his superb performance to do the talking for him.

On 74 minutes Poole extended their lead with a superb goal. A ball was sent down the left channel and with the keeper on walkabout Bailey-Pearce delivered a cracking 25 yard lob into an empty net for his first goal in Poole colours. The remaining 15 minutes almost resembled a training match as Poole controlled possession. Yellow card followed yellow card for the home side before the Amesbury No. 8 was dismissed for one dirty tackle too many.

This was a good performance from Poole with Holland and Spillane both putting in match winning performances. Darren Elmes, Matty White and Matty Lovell all upped their performance levels and debutant Spalding also looked impressive at the back. A great team effort.

Poole: Spillane, Pratt, Gater, Spalding, Wardle, Lovell, Bailey-Pearce, White, Holland, Elmes, McDonnell

O'Donnell Back at Poole - Dorset Echo Report

A report in the Dorset Echo regarding Brian O'Donnell's return to the club can be found here.

The first match of 2002 saw Poole take on Alton Town in a top of the table clash at Tatnam. And despite a new year and new manager in Brian O'Donnell, it was the same old story on the pitch as Poole's indifferent form continued with a repeat of the scoreline from the same match last year.

After looking lively in the opening spell it was yet another terrible defensive error which presented the visitors with an undeserved lead. On 8 minutes a suicidal pass across the box by Matty Lovell ended up at the feet of an Alton's Steve Paulton and he easily tucked it away into an empty net. On 17 minutes worse was to follow as another apparently innocuous ball into the Poole box was not dealt with properly and the same Alton player was able to rifle the ball past Spillane for a two nil lead. On 22 minutes Alton found themselves one V one with Spillane but the resulting shot was tamely placed into the keeper's arms. Shortly after this Louic Rocher had to leave the field injured and Tony Avery took his place in midfield. Indeed it was Avery who produced most of the good work for Poole during the rest of the match, driving through the midfield at every opportunity. Just before half time he delivered a fine diagonal ball into the path of Bailey-Pearce but the final shot was well smothered by the Alton keeper. Half-Time: 0-2.

After the break Avery again delivered a great cross, this time out to the right and a Matt White volley was superbly tipped over the bar. Although Poole continued to enjoy much of the possession they never really looked like breaking down a well organised Alton defence and when chances did arrive they were simply wasted. On 71 minutes several corners from Poole eventually led to a goal mouth scramble but when the ball fell to Elmes his shot flashed the wrong side of the post. Finally a consolation goal did arrive on 90 minutes when a freekick from the right was swung in and Matty Lovell glanced a header into the far corner. It was too little, too late.

Poole: Spillane, Pratt, Gater, Lovell, Bailey-Pearce, White, Rocher (Avery), Maloney (Wardle), Elmes, Holland, McDonnell (Homer)

Tonight's fixture away at Esso (Fawley) has been postponed due to a frozen pitch.

Manager News

It has been announced that Brian O'Donnell has been appointed Poole Town manager with effect from 31st December 2001. More info on Brian to follow............