The rain began just before kick-off and got steadily worse throughout the game. This led to very tricky conditions for all the players but clearly in the second half it was Poole who used the conditions better to their advantage.

The opening half hour was pretty even with both sides sharing possession and both looking equally dangerous on the break. On 25 minutes Carl Chivers provided a cross from the left and a Leigh Phillips header was well saved by the Wimborne keeper. Two minutes later and Bacchini saw his first action when he made a good save low down after a snap shot from inside the Poole area.

After returning from injury Gary Funnell has been getting back to his form of last season and this was his best game yet on his return. On 41 minutes he played a one-two just outside the Wimborne box and his right foot shot left the keeper for dead but crashed back off the underside of the bar and was cleared away. It was a great effort and deserved a goal. On the stroke of half time Poole's disgraceful disciplinary record took a further hammering when Ian Richardson was given a straight red card - presumably for foul and abusive language.

Half time: 0-0.

So used have Poole become to playing with ten men this season that it was no surprise when Poole dominated the second half. Right from the start they looked sharper and more confident on the ball. However, on 49 minutes a good break from Wimborne saw a shot dragged across the face of the Poole goal.

Poole now began to exert a lot of pressure and Funnell was prominent in everything. Following a string of corners the ball dropped to Funnell on the edge of the box and his volley was well saved by the visiting keeper. Still Wimborne had the odd chance and on 63 minutes a fine right foot shot whistled just over the Poole bar.

James Totczyk and Dave Sturgess replaced Chivers and Hounsell respectively and it was good to see Sturgess back involved with the first team. On 73 minutes the excellent Hogan hit a great left foot shot which was tipped away for a corner. Hogan himself took the corner and Leigh Phillips managed to out jump everyone to head home what would be the Poole winner. Still Poole pushed on and on 77 minutes Cherrett had a good header stopped by a point blank save.

Funnell terrorised the Wimborne defence throughout the second half and yet another volley from him was parried by the keeper in the dying minutes.

Yet another fine performance from the Poole side as they completed a very satisfying double over Wimborne Town.

Poole: Bacchini, Hogan, Harris, Whitley, Cherrett, I. Richardson, S. Richardson, Funnell, Hounsell (D. Sturgess), Phillips, Chivers  (Totzyck)

Poole went in front on 62 minutes, an effort by Ian Richardson was seemingly cleared off the line following a left side corner - the assistant referee awarded the goal, 0-1.The home side claimed the points with goals on 77 mins and so disappointingly at the last gasp of 92 minutes, when a corner was not cleared out of the danger area. Both goals came from Nick Kemp.

So the rivals over the bridge completed a most unpalatable double over Poole, the teams will now resume at The Cuthbury on April 19th for the Dorset Senior Final.

Poole: Spillane, Hogan, S. Brown, Whitley, Cherrett, S. Richardson, White, Funnell, Hounsell (I. Richardson), Phillips, Chivers  (Totzyck)

For the second consecutive year Poole Town failed to reach the Wessex League Cup Final at the semi final stage. It was always going to be difficult following the narrow 2-1 defeat at Andover last week in the first leg and it proved a step too far for the Poole boys as they took to the field at Tatnam for the second leg.

In front of a great crowd both sides looked positive in the opening ten minutes. Andover had the best of the first five minutes and then Poole enjoyed a lot of possession as they forced four or five corners within the same number of minutes.

On 8 minutes Andover broke away and a ball squared from the right was thumped towards goal but a Poole defender managed to get a block on the shot and it was cleared away to safety. It took another twenty minutes for another clear cut chance to come along. On the half hour mark a good ball into the box was controlled by Phillips and he set up Funnell who shot just over the bar from the edge of the area.

It was Funnell again who gave Poole a deserved half time lead on 44 minutes. Facing his own goal in the centre circle he neatly spun round and accelerated away from a couple of players. With the space opening up he reached the edge of the box before passing right to Chivers. The young striker waited for Funnell to continue before returning the pass and Funnell knocked the ball in to give Poole the lead in the tie (on away goals).

Half time: 1-0.

With Andover's proven goalscoring record this season it was imperative that Poole hold on to the lead for as long as possible but Andover levelled the match inside two minutes of the restart. Slack defending allowed the ball to run free and a clinical strike from the edge of the box saw the ball find the bottom right hand corner. Suddenly Poole were chasing the game and with that, the gaps appeared at the back and Andover needed no invitation to take advantage. On 52 minutes a shot was curled over Spillane but came back off the bar before being cleared. Ten minutes later and a defensive disaster gifted the ball to Andover and they made no mistake in thumping home their second of the night.

If things looked bad for Poole, the tie became impossible on 74 minutes when another break saw the ball lobbed over Spillane from 25 yards to secure Andover's place in the final. The only sound in the ground now was the 'rooarrr' of the travelling Lions support as their team now held a 5-2 aggregate advantage. Poole scored a consolation on 90 minutes when a Funnell shot found Phillips in the box and he poked the ball home.

There can be no complaints from the Poole side as they gave their all but in the end came up against a quality Andover side who simply stepped up a gear in the second half. Poole now know the level they must reach next season (and they are not that far away in all honesty) if they are to challenge the top Wessex 1 sides for honours.

Poole: Spillane, Hogan (Harris), S. Brown (Bartlett), Whitley, Cherrett, S. Richardson, White, Funnell, Hounsell (Glenister), Phillips, Chivers 

A cold, windy ground greeted the Poole support as they travelled to Moneyfields for their latest Wessex Division 1 league match.
With Moneyfields not too far behind Poole in the league table this was an important game.

Poole took early control of the game and on 8 minutes Gary Funnell took advantage of the wind as he attempted to lob the keeper from the half way line. He struck the ball sweetly and the keeper was left watching the ball which bounced just wide of the left hand post. Just three minutes later Funnell unleashed another huge volley from 30 yards out and again it whistled just wide of the post.

With the wind behind them in the first half it took Poole a while to adapt to the conditions as many passes were overhit. On 23 minutes Moneyfields posed a rare threat and a great ball through the centre released a Moneyfields striker but Spillane did well to get a hand to the shot and turn it into the side netting.

Poole took the lead on 33 minutes. Matty White threaded a neat pass through the defence and Carl Chivers raced away. His first shot was blocked by the keeper but Chivers picked up the rebound and fired it into an empty net. A minute later and a Taffy Richardson freekick from 40 yards out bounced harmlessly through to the keeper only for him to fumble it and the ball flew up and just over the bar. Half time: 0-1.

Alli Harris replaced the injured Hogan at the start of the second half. On 51 minutes a ball into the Poole area saw the defence static and a ball lobbed over Spillane luckily came back off the bar and was cleared away.

Within five minutes Poole doubled their lead. A ball into the box saw Stuart Brown head the ball down and Funnell hit another great volley, this time finding the left hand corner of the net. At this point Poole were fully in charge of the game and every break looked dangerous.

James Totzyck replaced Chivers with fifteen minutes left and his impact was immediate. He made a good run down the right, looked up and pulled the ball back to Leigh Phillips who was free inside the box and he cracked home another goal. The best was still to come however and the final goal came on 84 minutes. Some nice interplay on the right eventually saw the ball squared across the edge of the box and Brown, racing in, hit a superb first time effort beyond the keeper into the corner. It completed a very good performance for the Dolphins as they leapfrogged Christchurch to move into 8th in the league.

Poole: Spillane, Whitley, Cherrett, S. Richardson, Hogan (Harris), Hounsell, S. Brown, Funnell (G. Reeves), White, Chivers (Totzyck), Phillips

Report Courtesy of Match Programme

Ten days previously the league game had been a topsy turvy affair and this 1st tie proved very similar. The first period went the way of the home side with Lee Chudy firing them ahead on 14 minutes, 1-0. A second goal was added on 43 minutes when Poole were caught out from a corner and Ashley Vine headed home a free header. Half time: 2-0.

Poole got themselves back into the game on 67 minutes when Sean Hogan and Carl Chivers chased a ball into the right side area of the Andover box. Sean seemed to be down and out at one stage but somehow he regained possession and his feet to hit a low shot past the keeper, beating him at the near post, 2-1.

it was Poole who piled on the pressure but a goal would not come. On 85 minutes Paul Spillane pulled off a superb save to deny Andover. Right on the final whistle Carl Chivers had a great chance to level matters but he was denied by the keeper.

Poole: Spillane, Hogan, S. Brown, Whitley, Cherrett, Hounsell, Funnell, S. Richardson, Phillips, Chivers, White

Report Courtesy of Match Programme

The Poole unbeaten run finally came to an end and it just had to be Poppies who had a whole host of ex Town players in the side, even the management came from that direction. Back for Poole for the first time since early January was Gary Funnell.

Poole were caught out as early as the 10th minute when Paul Spillane was left exposed at the back, he flung himself at the feet of Scott Joyce who went down in the box, decision penalty. Joyce got up to score from the spot, 0-1. Poole really struggled in the first period to get themselves back into the game and at the break the score was unchanged. Half time: 0-1.

The second period saw Town pile the pressure on the visitors but chances were still thin on the ground, with Poppies fighting a rear guard action with plenty of balls flying high and long away from danger. The closest Poole came was in the 81st minute when a Leigh Phillips effort hit the bar.

Poole: Spillane, Hogan, I. Richardson, Whitley, Cherrett, Hounsell (Cornick), Funnell, S. Richardson, Phillips, Chivers, Harris (S. Brown)

The Wessex League Cup Semi-Final first leg was postponed due to waterlogged pitch.
The match will now take place at Andover next Tuesday 14th March - 7.45pm kick-off

Perhaps the sternest test of Poole Town's two month unbeaten run was expected as the Dolphins travelled to free scoring Andover in a Wessex Division 1 match. With Paul Spillane out with flu and Cornick also unwell, there were returns to the starting eleven for Leigh Mitchener in goal and Ian Richardson in defence.

After a bit of a scrappy start from both sides Poole gifted the home side an opening goal. On 8 minutes Stuart Brown made an error on the left and failed to clear the ball. The ball dropped to Andrews and he hit a superb shot beyond Mitchener into the far left corner of the Poole net.

Poole's first real effort did not come until nearly the half hour mark. A long Cherrett throw was knocked down and Danny Hounsell hit a volley straight at the home keeper. Matty White received a yellow card (why?) on 32 minutes and from the resulting freekick. Mitchener could only parry the shot and the follow-up rebound flew over the bar.

On 40 minutes Taffy Richardson crossed from the right and Phillips hit a volley just wide of the left hand post. Half time: 1-0.

In a similar way to the Dorset Senior Cup Semi Final match in midweek, Poole came out a lot stronger in the second half. Within two minutes Stuart Brown hit a shot just wide of the right hand post. On 53 minutes Matty White was adjudged to have elbowed an Andover player and he received a straight red card (no second yellow was shown following his booking in the first half). This was yet another ridiculous decision from the referee who, quite frankly, had no right to officiate at this level. He was dreadful from start to finish and got just about every decision for both sides wrong. The clear fact was that the Andover player ran into White. Unfortunately when a player collapses into a heap and squeals as loud as he can then there is always a fair chance that he will get a player sent off. It's not a criticism of Andover in any way - it's just a sad reflection on the sportsmanship within the game these days.

Down to ten men for the second match running, Poole yet again dug deep and produced a spirited display in the last half hour which must have left manager Tommy Killick very proud. On 55 minutes however, a shot was only blocked by the defence and Justin Bennett continued his amazing goalscoring record this season by finishing clinically to put Andover two up.

Two minutes later Poole were awarded a penalty (another wrong decision by the ref) for handball inside the box. How the Andover player was supposed to get his arm out of the way from a yard away is anyone's guess. Leigh Phillips thumped the ball home to pull a goal back and in fairness, it was Poole who now looked the better side and a draw was definitely not out of the question.

On 63 minutes Sean Hogan produced a superb cross to the far post. Stuart Brown got up well to head towards goal but the home keeper pulled off a stunning save to scoop the ball away from danger. Four minutes later however, Poole were level when a Cherrett freekick into the box was met by Phillips again and his header went in off the post to make it 2-2.

With 20 minutes to go Mitchener saved a shot and with the attacker clearly  sizing up the rebound the Poole keeper grabbed the striker around the waist and dragged him to the ground. Despite the number of players in the box this was a professional foul and, for me, stopped an almost certain goal. It should have been a straight red card and nobody would have complained if it was. Poole players even came over to the bench to ask who should take over as goalkeeper for the rest of the match. Incredibly, after receiving treatment, Mitchener was given only a yellow card from the ref. Bennett made no mistake from the spot and Andover were back in the lead again.

With Poole still the better team however they got their deserved equaliser again on 77 minutes. Chivers raced away down the ri