Less than 48 hours after Poole Town had to play Wimborne Town with ten men for over an hour, The Dolphins had to travel to high flying Gosport Borough and shot themselves in the foot by finding themselves down to ten men yet again inside thirty minutes. Ten men 1-0 up at home against Wimborne is one thing but you simply cannot expect to go to Gosport and get anything under the same circumstances. The most frustrating thing therefore is that we simply don't know if Poole could have got a result at Privett Park or not. Benssaouda's sending off on 26 minutes ended the match as a contest right there.

With Skelton and Stuart Brown unavailable, Gary Funnell returned to the starting line-up and there was a welcome return to the side for Alan Jordan - Poole's captain at the start of the season who had left for Lymington & New Milton in November.

The referee made his intentions clear as early as the sisth minute when Taffy Richardson was given a yellow for his first offence. Two minutes later however Benssaouda was knocked to the ground in the Gosport area and the referee had no hesitation in awarding Poole a penalty. Unfortunately Funnell hit perhaps his worst ever penalty and tamely rolled the ball well wide of the right hand post.

The unbelievably high winds made football practically impossible and with Poole against the wind in the first half they were under a lot of pressure. On 11 minutes a good ball into the Poole area found a Gosport striker in space. His touch took the ball away from Frampton but as he hit his shot towards an empty net Ian Richardson made a fantastic recovery to get back and block the shot.

On 24 minutes Benssaouda picked up a yellow card for kicking the ball away and two minutes later he lunged in on a Gosport defender clearing the ball. Whether there was contact or not it was a stupid challenge to make after the previous booking and the referee immediately produced his second yellow and red to send him off. This week has summed Karim Benssaouda up. Two days ago, brilliant against Wimborne scoring the winner and running the front line on his own. Today, impetuous and sent off inside half an hour letting himself, his team mates and the Club down. It being his third red card of the season a lengthy ban will follow which will see him out for the rest of the season. Has he played his last game for Poole Town?

Down to ten men and against the wind Poole were now under the cosh and Glenister came on for the sacrificed Danny Neville to give Poole something to aim for up front. On 37 minutes Gosport took the lead with a fine goal. Good passing and movement saw the ball fall to Stuart Findlay and he hammered the ball into the top corner from ten yards. Two minutes later Gosport skipper White chipped a cross into the box which the wind caught and left Frampton stranded as it dipped just under the bar. Two nil - end of game. Dan cann limped off just before the break to add to the Poole misery - Sean Hogan his replacement.

Half time: 2-0.

The second half was pretty much forgettable. Poole had a player less but they had the wind and this just about levelled things up. Gosport seemed in no mood to go looking for goals and Poole were playing for pride only. A Funnell freekick on 52 minutes did find Taffy Richardson in the box and his free header went wide of the post. Had that have gone in then things would have been interesting and Taffy's reaction suggested he knew he should have scored.

On 54 minutes a super cross from the right saw a Gosport striker head just over and there was little to report from then on. Max Frampton made a great save right at the end which saw him limp off and with Chivers having already come on for Funnell, Poole were reduced to nine men as Alan Jordan took over between the sticks for the last couple of minutes.

A spirited battle from Poole in the second half but unfortunately the first half had already decided this game.

Poole: Frampton, Whitley, I. Richardson, Jordan, Neville (Glenister), S. Richardson, C. Smith, T. Smith, Funnell (Chivers), Cann (Hogan), Benssaouda

After a week of watching dismal performances from England it was good to get back to watching some proper committed football. The outcome?The best performance and result at home this season. The Dolphin's home form has been patchy at best since before Christmas but against local rivals Wimborne Town they returned to excellent form with a gutsy display fully worthy of the three points. The presence of a couple of Poole Town girls youth teams for an awards ceremony added to the 200 plus crowd and the girls in particular added a great atmosphere as they sang and cheered Poole on throughout the 90 minutes.

Stuart Brown returned to the side to partner Karim Benssaouda up front and Gary Funnell had to content himself with a place on the bench.

The match started brightly for both sides as the ball was passed crisply around the pitch. Poole fashioned the first chance on twelve minutes when a Dan Cann freekick was met at the back post by Ian Richardson but his header bounced down the wrong side of the post and hit the side netting. What turned out to be the winning goal came on 23 minutes. Another Cann freekick was curled into the box but with the keeper only punching out so far Karim Benssaouda looped a header back over everyone's head into the net to score in his third consecutive match. In the melee that followed Stuart Brown was adjudged to have stamped on the Wimborne keeper after the ball had gone in. he goal stood but Brown was sent off with a straight red card.

Despite being a goal up this was now a very hard game for Poole to even get a draw from - they had to last for well over an hour with just ten men. Obviously Poole had to be much more wary when pushing forward and the whole team adhered to Killick's gameplan perfectly. Benssaouda was superb up front on his own causing the Wimborne defence far more problems by himself than Gareth Barnes or Scott Joyce could muster between them.

It was clear that Poole were well organised at the back and that Wimborne were struggling to create any sort of chance and it was disappointing to see so many Poole challenges met by the constant squealing and crying out by nearly all the visiting players. As much effort put into their football as their playacting may well have got Wimborne something from the game.

Just before a long Dan Cann throw put Benssaouda through again and after his first shot was well saved by Kearns Karim did well to get to ball and cross it back across the open goal but there was no-one in support to knock it home.

Half time: 1-0.

Poole continued the second half in the same vein as the constantly hit Wimborne on the counter attack. On 50 minutes Trefor Smith and Benssaouda combined well and a speculative shot from the goalscorer saw the visiting keeper fumble the ball over his head and then fumble the ball when trying to clear off the goal line. So close to being number two. Eight minutes later Benssaouda broke through the offside trap and his fine shot beat the keeper but cannoned back off the post straight into the keeper's arms.

Trefor Smith limped off injured on 70 minutes and Gary Funnell replaced him in midfield. The eleven of Wimborne were enjoying a lot of possession but they just seemed to run out of any ideas when getting into the final third. Their best and only serious chance came with twelve minutes remaining when a corner was neatly flicked on towards the back post and a Wimborne forward seemed to just shepherd the ball in at the far post only to see it go wide of the post.

The Poole defence remained firm during the closing minutes and the final whistle was met with a huge roar as Poole picked up three important points ahead of trips to Gosport on Saturday and VT next Tuesday.

Superb performances from every single Poole player - Benssaouda up front, Chris Smith and Taffy Richardson outstanding in the middle of the park and the whole defence solid against the odds.  Great stuff.

Poole: Frampton, Whitley, I. Richardson, Skelton, Neville, S. Richardson, C. Smith, T. Smith (Funnell), Cann, Brown, Benssaouda

W

With only the league left to play for now Poole Town returned home again to take on high flying VT at Tatnam. Given recent performances and the home form in particular this was always going to be a tough game but the result was perhaps the least surprising thing. This was a (currently) typical Poole performance - no lack of effort across the park but an overall lack of cohesiveness in the team and a lack of ideas going forward. Since Christmas it's probably fair to say that their play has become somewhat predictable in general and teams seem able to defend against Poole with some ease.

In memory of Eric Drake a minutes silence was observed before the game and the Poole players wore black armbands during the match.

The Dolphins got off to the worst possible start when they fell behind after just five minutes. Trefor Smith handled the ball outside the Poole area and the resulting freekick was hit fairly tamely across the ground but somehow managed to elude everyone and nestle in the far left corner. It was the sort of soft goal that Poole seem to regularly concede but how many goals like that to other teams give us? Not many.

The goal did shake Poole into action however and they quickly got back on level terms on ten minutes with an absolutely superb goal. Gary Funnell produced a bit of showboat magic in the middle of the park to leave a VT player for dead and his first time ball to Benssaouda was perfect. Karim's first touch was his best of the match and he then thundered a left foot volley into the corner - his 14th goal of the season.

On 22 minutes a Funnell corner found the head (nose!) of Ian Richardson at the far post but his downward header was superbly saved by the visiting keeper. This was almost the last decent chance that Poole could muster. From her VT pressed forward and after a couple of ominous goalmouth scrambles which saw Frampton fall gratefully onto the ball the goal that looked like coming arrived for VT on the half hour mark. A simple break up the field put the number seven Ryan Ashford in and as he advanced on Frampton he placed a good left foot shot into the corner for his second of the match. Easy.

On 39 minutes a ball into the box was flicked on by Cann and Ian Richardson in space volleyed the ball but the keeper was able to palm it over the bar.

Half time: 1-2.

Stuart Brown and Danny Neville replaced Aaron Skelton and Dave Sturgess at half time and Brown in particular looked bright and sharp in the second half. On 48 minutes Frampton made a point blank save to deny VT and from that point VT sat back and didn't venture out of their half again in the entire match. Poole practically camped in the VT half for easily forty minutes and never once looked like scoring. They certainly played better in the second half and some of the build up play was good but the door was firmly shut and that was it - game over.

Dan Cann picked up a yellow card on 67 minutes and Richard Glenister replaced Benssaouda on 82 minutes. Apologies but there was little else to report.

Poole: Frampton, Whitley, I. Richardson, Skelton (Brown), Hogan, Sturgess (Neville), Funnell, C. Smith, T. Smith, Cann, Benssaouda (Glenister)

At Shaftesbury FC.

The Dorset Senior Cup Semi Final finally got underway at Shaftesbury after the previous two scheduled games had been postponed because of the weather. Both Taffy and Ian Richardson were unavailable for the game so James Guetling returned to the side in defence and there was also a welcome return for Aaron Skelton. Karim Benssaouda was available again after his three match suspension but he started on the bench along with Glenister as Brown and Cann again started up front.

A very small crowd turned up for the game and on a bogey ground, against a bit of a bogey side and with Poole not playing particularly well at the moment this was always going to be a difficult game. The first half saw Sherborne as much the better side as they domiated possession and territory as time and again they advance against the Poole defence. On seven minutes Poole created the first good chance - Dan Cann did well down the right and his cross found the head of Stuart Brown but the ball went just over the bar. On 15 minutes Cann controlled the ball well before feeding it to Trefor Smith but his left foot shot back across the face of the goal went just wide.

Clear cut chances for either side were in short supply but still Sherborne looked the more dangerous. Just prior to the break Trefor Smith did produce another superb volley but the keeper did well to parry the ball before gathering it in.

Half time: 0-0.

Having been second best in the first half but still level there were hopes within the Poole supporters that with a period of good possession then maybe they could take a lead. So it proved. Poole played much better in the first 15 minutes of the second half and managed to start pushing Sherborne back towards their own goal.

On 57 minutes Poole got the lead. A Funnell freekick into the box came back out to Trefor Smith and he volleyed a good shot past the keeper into the net. To their credit Sherborne did not panic and they continued to play in the same vein as they had since the start.

At this stage manager Killick had been urging his defence to just put their foot through everything but it was a defensive error that lead to the equaliser. Exactly when a big clearance was needed Sturgess hestitated on the ball and tried to play it out. He was quickly robbed by a Sherborne player and they raced away up field and slotted the ball low past Frampton. Ten minutes later and Sherborne got the deserved winner. Again a quick counter attack saw them have two or three players breaking and a smooth passing movement saw an easy finish past Frampton who could do nothing.

In all honesty Sherborne never then looked like they would lose the tie. Benssaouda and Chivers came on for Brown and Chris Smith respectively and but for a Chivers header on 86 minutes after a cross from Benssaouda, the equaliser was just not going to come. Sherborne progress to the final to take on Dorchester Town and on this night - they deserved to.

Again a disjointed performance from Poole and much to ponder ahead of a key league match against VT this Saturday.

Poole: Frampton, Whitley, Guetling, Skelton, Hogan, Sturgess, Funnell, C. Smith (Chivers), T. Smith, Cann, Brown (Benssaouda)

Back to Tatnam again and Poole supporters arrived wondering if the home form would improve over recent weeks. Well, the result was an improvement but the performance certainly wasn't. Horndean were the visitors for the latest league match and Poole started with a similar team to last week.

To be honest this was a pretty painful match to watch. Poole's performance was poor but fortunately the opposition were, to be blunt, fairly hopeless. To add to the mix the referee's performance followed suit and actually made the efforts of both teams look quite good!

As early as the second minute Poole should have taken the lead. A quick freekick from Funnell saw his shot rebound to Stuart Brown and from just a few yards out he managed to shoot wide of the post. Five minutes later and it was Funnell again, this time crossing from the left and after Brown had missed his header Dan Cann collected the ball and he too shot over the bar when a goal looked certain.

A period of stalemate followed as Poole enjoyed the possession but were unable to fashion any clear cut chances. The deadlock was finally broken on 27 minutes and it was a very good goal. Brown won the ball back well wide on the left touchline. He turned and delivered a superb ball into the box and Hogan running into the area controlled it with one touch and then lobbed it over the keeper with his second - a quality cross and finish. Things got even better just five minutes later when Poole added a second goal and effectively killed the game. Chris Smith made a superb tackle in midfield and he then knocked a ball to Brown who was in space on the edge of the box. The striker turned, spotted the keeper off his line and deftly chipped the ball over him into the net - another exquisite finish.

Towards the end of the first half Horndean ventured into Poole's half and on 39 minutes a freekick saw a completely free header for a Horndean player in the box but big Max showed safe hands with his save. Unfortunately Frampton let himself down a bit just before the break when he gifted the visitors a goal. His goalkick was poor, going low and short straight to the Horndean striker and he took it forward a couple of yards before smashing it back past Frampton into the net.

Half time: 2-1.

The second half saw no improvement in the overall play from either side as passes constantly went astray and players seemed to chase the ball all over the pitch. On 62 minutes Poole got their third goal. A goalkick from the Horndean keeper was knocked back over the defensive line. Both Brown and Cann were offside but continued walking back towards the Poole goal and Taffy Richardson therefore timed his run well to break the offside trap. All on his own he calmly ran up to the keeper and then placed it past him low into the right hand corner.

Richard Glenister and Dave Sturgess replaced Brown and Taffy Richardson respectively with about 20 minutes remaining. The referee had been brandishing yellow cards all match for both sides at the slightest hint of a foul and he decided to give Steve Gilbert a straight red card on 84 minutes. Kicking a ball 3 yards away before a freekick was given instant yellow but a foot raised to within an inch of someone's face wasn't even deemed a foul - ridiculous. On 89 minutes Glenister was kicked at with both feet by a Horndean player lying on the ground - referee four yards away looking straight at it - waved play on.

A poor performance but three points. Poole will need to raise their game substantially if they are to get past Sherborne in the Dorset Senior Cup on Tuesday night.

Poole: Frampton, Whitley, I. Richardson, Gilbert, Hogan, S. Richardson (Sturgess), Funnell, C. Smith, T. Smith, Brown (Glenister), Cann (?)

Report by Ian Claxton (from Matchday programme)

On a pitch that can only described as ‘heavy going’. Poole hammered out a deserved 4-2 victory against the Harlequins in a match that will be remembered more for the fractious ending than anything that occurred in the first 80 minutes. Tom fielded the same 11 starters that saw off Downton so resoundingly last week and had Carl Chivers , Dan Cann and the returning Gary Funnell on the bench, with Karim still absent, serving the second of his two-match ban.

Replacement referee Mr A. Roberts got the game started and it was the home side that began the stronger, putting Poole’s goal under some pressure and forcing Frampton into some early saves. Once used to the boggy surface, Town came into their own and the match swung to the other end and a lead was soon established. Hogan swung in a cross that Stuart Brown blasted into the top right-hand corner of the Bemerton goal giving the diving Crowfoot no chance. A superb strike.

The game now settled into a pattern of play with Poole applying most of the pressure and the home side having the occasional foray upfield to keep Frampton on his toes. The pitch didn’t allow for too many mistakes and some of the tackling was a tad late, but Mr Roberts had indicated early on that tackles from anywhere behind were likely to be punished. From one of these infractions came Poole’s next chance on 15 minutes, when Steve Gilbert’s free kick from 20 yards out whistled low around the wall and was just turned around the post by Crowfoot at full stretch. Bemerton’s Graham Mankin was the first into Mr Roberts book on 22 minutes. Taffy had chased the striker down after a 20 yards dash that should have been under a revolving blue light and robbed him of the ball. Mankin’s efforts to regain it were a little over zealous and he was awarded a yellow. This seemed to incite a few members of the local ‘supporters’ whose vocal diatribe for the remainder of the game aimed at all but their own lads included calling the ref a cheat and did nothing to calm the now simmering feeling of discontent on the pitch. Stuart Brown got the next yellow on 25 minutes for booting the ball away after a disputed award of a free kick on the edge of the Poole box.

Poole got the second goal on the half-hour. Chris Smith chased down a ‘no hope’ ball as it headed for touch, retrieved it and sent a cross into Bemerton’s area. Brown got the first contact, his shot rebounding into touch off a defender, who handled it. Ian Richardson slammed home the awarded penalty for his first in Poole colour’s this season.

Bemerton made their first substitution on 38 minutes when Adam Jones replaced defender Paul Palmer, who had injured his shoulder or ribs early on in a clash with Steve Gilbert and had bravely battled on in some considerable discomfort for over half-an-hour. Brown had a shot curl just wide of the post a minute later after the ball had bobbed around the Harlequin box from a corner, and Ian Richardson had to leave the field with a nose bleed after a heavy challenge on the edge of the home’s sides box a few minutes later as the half drew to a close. Bemerton used the man advantage to good effect as time added on rolled in to mount some serious attacks that had Frampton at his best. Half - time Poole lead 2-0.

Ian Richardson returned and Gary Funnell replaced Trefor Smith for the second half, our ‘wizard of dribble’ having had a quiet first half by his standards. Again it was the home side who started stronger and on 51 minutes stunned Poole back into life by getting a goal back. Mike Harris got on the end of a cross and found himself overlapping Poole’s back line with half the goal in front of him unoccupied. His shot went through the back of the net and out, leaving the crowd in silence to see what the referee awarded. The belated cheers were thus muted.

Poole fought back immediately and Glenister had a shot blocked after grabbing a cross out of the air and spinning on a sixpence to drive it goalward. A few minutes later, Gilbert and Funnell played a one-two-one-two down the entire left hand side of the pitch and then set up Glenister again with a cross , the latter’s shot just curling wide. From the corner, Hogan spun it in onto Brown’s head but the keeper saved the shot from almost point-blank range. Soon after, Glenister was put in with a lob over the back line from Funnell with just one defender to beat. The keeper came charging out and Glenny tried to beat them both before getting the shot off, but he got off balance and his eventual shot went wide.

Bemerton made their second substitution on 60 minutes to try and stem the flow, and Joe Sanger earned his Yellow card for the latest in a string of heavy tackles, this latest one on Gary Funnell, after an earlier one on Dave Sturgess that went similarly unrewarded and left the Poole winger needing attention. Stuart Brown and Glenny continued to hammer the home side’s goal and Funnell and Chris Smith had a shot apiece saved all with little reply at the other end. However Bemerton got back into it after Dan Cann replaced Glenister, on 72 minutes as Poole looked to be settling for the precarious 2-1 lead. Mark Keogh’s cross a minute later had Poole’s defense scrambling to clear the ball after several shots rebounded around the area before Gilbert launched the ball clear of the danger zone. Stirred into life again Poole surged up field and on 77 minutes Gilbert’s cross from the byline was slammed in by Dan Cann from pointblank range amongst a gaggle of players. Poole lead 3-1 and tempers finally flared. The half had been marred by some horrible late tackles and now elbows were starting to get thrown, many of each going unpunished The Referee halted play on 78 minutes and insisted Tom leave the dugout and make his way to the stand on the other side of the pitch, after his complaints ‘overstepped the mark’. Frampton was yellow carded for disputing the dubious award of a corner, on 81 minutes from which Graham Mankin sneaked the ball in at the far post to get a goal back.

On 85 minutes, Darren Hardings foul on Gary Funnell, earned another caution. Funnell took his own free kick and saw it cannon off the cross bar and fall to Stu Brown, but he was flagged offside as his shot went wide. Finally the punch-up that was coming ensued on 88 minutes, when after losing possession to a tackle by Gilbert, Matt Cszaka raised his hands and pushed the Poole man over. Everyone got in on the handbags that followed and with the unruly element of home fans mentioned earlier reaching their peek of profanity, the game descended into an uncontrolled farce. Mr Robert’s rightly sent Cszaka to the changing room after long consultation with his assistant but tempers continued to bubble as extra time played on. Poole sealed the game with a late goal by Stuart Brown. Chris Smith picked out Hogan on a run at the keeper with a long lob, Hogan’s shot rebounded off the charging Crowfoot into Brown’s path who rammed it home. Chris Smith was rewarded for his contribution with a smack on the head by a Bemerton player’s elbow as the latter trotted past for which Chris was yellow carded!. The final whistle was the most welcome so far this season, most of the last 15 minutes being shameful to witness. Thankfully we return home next weekend.

Poole: Frampton, Hogan, S. Richardson, I. Richardson, Whitley, C. Smith, T. Smith (Funnell), Gilbert, Glenister (Cann), Brown, Sturgess