After Saturday's poor result at Petersfield, Poole returned to league action at Tatnam with the rearranged fixture against Portsmouth RN. Graham Kemp, who walked out as manager of Lymington & New MIlton at the weekend made his debut for Poole in the centre of defence and Neil Wardle and Neal Spalding played alongside him. Karim Benssaouda returned to the front line after his suspension and Jamie Holland started on the bench.

Although the game started brightly neither side seemed capable of taking control of the game and it soon descended into a midfield battle. With few chances being created it was an error which allowed the Dolphins to take the lead on 21 minutes. A backpass was feebly sliced about 5 yards by the visiting keeper and Karim Benssaouda was left with an open goal to tap the ball into. 1-0.

Seven minutes later and Benssaouda turned villain. After the referee gave a freekick for an innocuous challenge from the striker, Benssaouda's words with the ref eventually led to a straight red card. For the umpteenth time this season Poole were left with a huge part of the match to face with only ten men.

On 39 minutes following some good work from Paul Roberts a cross from Carl Woodward deceived the keeper and as it cannoned back off the bar a defender nipped in to head the ball away for a corner. A tactical switch at this point saw Holland come on for Garry Morris. Half time: 1-0.

Portsmouth RN started the second half well but although their approach play was good they could not find the killer touch in the final third of the pitch. On 48 minutes panic in the Poole defence eventually saw a shot thump back off the post before being cleared. The ten men of Poole continued to defend their slender lead but were let off again on 77 minutes. The ball broke to Portsmouth RN player on the right of the box and his superb shot cannoned back off the underside of the bar and somehow managed to spin off the line and away again to safety - it deserved a goal.

However on 81 minutes Poole wrapped up the points when Jamie Holland raced onto a long ball, rode the challenge of a defender and then fired a typical Holland shot wide of the keeper into the bottom left hand corner of the net.

Poole: Elliot, Woodward, Spalding, G. Morris (Holland), Kemp, Wardle, Roberts, Elmes, M. Morris, Benssaouda, Moulder (Reeks) (Wright)

Unfortunately no match report available as unable to attend this fixture.

Again with many first team regulars out for various reasons the Dolphins travelled to Petersfield with a seriously depleted squad. Even so, this result will come as a major shock to Poole supporters and by all accounts it was not a good performance at all by the players.

Poole fell behind to a goal after just two minutes but hope was raised when Darren Elmes scored his 7th of the season after 25 minutes. The Poole defence then proceeded to totally fall apart and Petersfield managed a further three goals within a seven minute spell. Half time: 4-1.

Although Poole played much better in the second half they could do nothing about the score and therefore fell to their 9th league defeat of the season.

Poole: Elliot, Woodward, Wright, Spalding, G. Morris, Ainsworth, Reeks, Roberts, Elmes, Mulder
Subs: Braggington, D. Morrell, P. Morrell

Fixture News

The rearranged home fixture against Portsmouth RN will now take place this Wednesday 26th February at Tatnam, kick-off 7.30pm

The match at home to Portsmouth RN was postponed as Portsmouth could not raise a side for the match

After several previous attempts the Trophyman Cup Third round match finally took place at a cold and murky Stockbridge. With four or five players crying off on the day Poole Town were again reduced to only bare bones and it was a unusual line-up for the game. No Mooney, Fletcher, Holland or Brian Mundee saw Tommy Killick, Jez Ainsworth and Mickey Rideout all make the starting eleven.

From the start Poole took control of the game and it was quickly apparent that the pace of Benssaouda was always going to cause the defence problems. Therefore the Dolphins used this to their advantage and time and again the ball was knocked in behind the defence for the young striker to latch on to. As early as the seventh minute Benssaouda showed his intentions for the night - unleashing a fierce left foot volley from 25 yards which was superbly tipped over for a corner. On 13 minutes Poole took the lead with a well worked goal. Killick made a good run down the left before feeding the ball to Rideout. His low cross was brilliantly dummied by Elmes and this left Ainsworth free to side foot the ball into the bottom left hand corner.

Although Poole continued to dominate and play good football they were unable to add to their tally and Stockbridge fashioned their first chance on 26 minutes. A poor clearance from Ross Eliiot in goal fell to a Stockbridge player and after parrying the initial shot the keeper had to quickly back peddle to clear the ball away from the open goal.

It is impossible to report on this match without commenting on the appalling officials and the ridiculous decisions which plagued both sides for the entire game. By the middle of the first half it was clear that the referee had lost the plot and both linesmen were guilty of dreadful offside decisions when some attackers had started their runs from at least 5 yards in front of the last defender. The frustration for Killick and Benssaouda boiled over on 33 minutes with both players being booked for dissent. Two minutes later and Stockbridge pulled level. A fierce cross from the left hit Ben Wright's arm at point blank range and the home side scored from the resulting penalty.

On 40 minutes Darren Elmes took a quick free kick and his cross in behind the defence was met by Rideout who's point blank header was deflected clear for a corner. This was a good spell for Poole - a minute later and a goal mouth scramble saw the ball cannon back off the bar and within another minute the deserved second goal arrived. Benssaouda was sent clear down the right and as the keeper raced out of his area to meet him Karim neatly skipped past the keeper and cut the ball back for Killick to finish well. Half-time: 1-2.

As in so many other games recently Poole's form failed to carry through to the second half as they struggled to maintain control of the game. That said, on 60 minutes they did combine superbly to make the score 3-1. Some patient build-up down both flanks eventually saw the ball into the six yard box where Ainsworth nodded in his second of the game. The two-goal lead lasted less than ten seconds from the restart - Stockbridge immediately attacking down the centre of the pitch and pulling it back to 3-2. The game was now a pulsating cup-tie with both sides going for goal in end-to-end action.

On 65 minutes Rideout provided a great cross from the left and Ainsworth first time volley was smothered by the home keeper. On 75 minutes Stockbridge scored their best goal of the game - a super cross from the left was volleyed first time past Elliot into the top left corner. Having conceded a two goal lead there was now genuine panic in the Poole defence and time and again it looked like Stockbridge might nick the match. No-one was reckoning on Karim Benssaouda however and with just 6 minutes left he produced a piece of solo magic worthy of winning any game. Sprinting down the left wing he turned the last defender one way before turning him the other and unleashing a left foot shot from 30 yards which screamed over the keeper into the top right corner of the net.

As the referee decided to add 5 minutes extra time Poole did their utmost to hand the game back to Stockbridge. Passes went astray and the pressure piled up in the Poole defence. Seconds before the final whistle blew Stockbridge managed to hit the ball before the ball was cleared away to safety.

A thrilling match, spoilt by all three awful officials, has resulted in a quarter final match for Poole away at the winners of Bishops Waltham Town or Micheldever.

Poole: Elliot, Woodward, Wright, Spalding, M. Morris, Homer, Rideout, Ainsworth, Elmes, Benssaouda, Killick
Unused subs: G. Morris, Fletcher, D. Morrell

No match report available for this match as not present at the game.
With no Spalding, Wright, Mundee, A. Neville, Mooney, Holland, Elmes or Fletcher Poole struggled to complete a line-up of eleven players. Manager Paul Morrell and young son Danny both started the game with unknown players Collins and Reeks also helping out. The half time score was 2-0.

Poole: Elliot, Woodward, Reeks, P. Morrell, Drew, Collins, Homer, G. Morris, M. Morris, Benssaouda, D. Morrell
Subs: Swann, Roberts

After an absence of a month football returned to Tatnam with the visit of Pirelli General in the Hampshire Premier League. No Jamie Holland or Darren Mooney saw returns for Matt Morris and Neil Wardle to the starting line-up.

On a fantastic surface Poole took control from the off and immediately put some nice football together. As early as the 5th minute saw Darren Elmes put a header clean over the bar after a nice cross from Garry Morris. Six minutes later and it was Elmes again who headed wide, this time from a Homer cross.  More good play a couple of minutes later saw Homer and Benssaouda combine well down the right and after Karim swung in a great cross Elmes' shot was well saved by the keeper. This was to be a pattern for the entire match as Poole played some excellent football but the finishing left an awful lot to be desired.

On 26 minutes Garry Morris again teed up Homer on the edge of the box but the shot again went agonisingly wide of the post. On 33 minutes a Garry Morris shot was parried and Elmes' follow-up shot was stopped on the line and cleared by the last defender. Frustrating! Despite chance after chance the half time whistle blew with no score on the board. Half time: 0-0.

The second half started as the first had ended. On 60 minutes Benssaouda delivered another fine cross and this time Fletcher put the ball just wide. A minute later and a warning for the home side - Pirelli broke away and Elliot had to pull off a superb save to deny a header and then a follow up shot beat the keeper but rolled just wide of the post. With young Paul Roberts on for Fletcher Poole eventually broke the deadlock on 66 minutes. The ball broke to Matt Morris and he struck a sweet left foot shot from 25 yards which screamed into the bottom left hand corner of the net.

Although Pirelli began to come more into the game it was Poole still creating (and missing) most of the chances. On 79 minutes there was a superb flowing move from the back which eventually saw Ben Wright clear with only the keeper to beat. Unfortunately he produced a typical centre back shot (!) and the ball scooped high over the bar. A minute later and Matt Morris cracked a volley off the inside of the post and again the ball was cleared to safety.

This was a good performance from the Dolphins with every player contributing to the overall show. The defence looked particularly solid with Wright and Mundee looking unbeatable. Both Matt and Garry Morris looked terrific all match and Benssaouda provide some great skill and link up play despite leaving his shooting boots at home. A good three points.

Poole: Elliot, Woodward, Wardle, G. Morris, Wright, Mundee, M. Morris, Homer (A. Neville), Fletcher (Roberts), Elmes, Benssaouda
Unused subs: Swann