A fantastic night at The Salterns's Hotel saw the season finish with the annual End of Season Presentation Night. Guest of honour, and great to see him there, was Joe Collins whose career was ended by that horrific double break of the leg back in August 2005. This season's trophies were awarded as follows:-

1st Team Awards

Supporter's Player of the Year:  LUKE WHITLEY & TREFOR SMITH

Supporter's Club Player of the Year:   TREFOR SMITH

Top Goalscorer Award:  KARIM BENSSAOUDA

Player's Player of the Year:  TREFOR SMITH

Manager's Player of the Year:  CHRIS SMITH

Reserve Team Awards

Player of the Year:  LEIGH MITCHENER

Player's Player of the Year:  LEIGH MITCHENER

Top Goalscorer:   CALLUM McLEOD

Manager's Player of the Year:  MARTIN NEWBERY

Poole's remarkable record of never having lost to Brading in ten years and seventeen matches continued at Tatnam as the Dolphins ripped their visitors apart from the first minute to the last. Stuart Brown returned to the forward line to partner Karim Benssaouda and both Aaron Skelton and Dave Sturgess started in place of Chris Smith and Danny Neville.

As early as the third minute Dan Cann had a fierce left foot shot dip just over the bar. On 6 minutes the first goal came for Poole - nice passing and movement eventually saw the ball worked wide and a superb cross was met by Benssaouda and he headed home.

On 11 minutes Poole got a freekick on the right side of the Brading area and although the keeper got a hand to Dan Cann's strike the ball was hit powerfully enough to find the far corner. Straight from the kick off Poole won the ball back and broke upfield. The ball was played to Stuart Brown and after taking a couple of touches the striker looked up and hit the sweetest chip over the keeper to make it three nil and it was game over with just twelve minutes on the clock.

On 14 minutes Brading managed to break and Greening found himself clear. His good shot beat Mitchener but cannoned back off the Poole post straight into the keeper's arms - it really was going to be one of those days.

The Brading defence was non-existent for most of the match and on 20 minutes Cann took a quick throw in and released Benssaouda clear on goal. After running in on goal his volley flew over the bar - he should have scored. Three minutes later and Sturgess produced a neat ball over the top for Benssaouda to chase and this time his right foot shot also went over. Over the next few minutes there were two more shots on target from Brown and also a couple of efforts from Sturgess which threatened to extend the lead.

On 33 minutes Benssaouda turned his marker inside out with a piece of magic and his chip over the keeper came back off the bar and was cleared. On 41 minutes Poole eventually got their fourth (it should have been ten by then in all honesty!). Great interplay between Benssaouda and Brown all the way from the halfway line eventually ended with Brown firing the ball low into the bottom left corner of the net. Great football followed which produced the goal of the game. Brilliant passing involving about six players saw the ball pushed wide to Cann. His first time cross was whipped in and with the defence already pulled all over the place from the preceding play Brown nipped in to head home his third - the first hat-trick by a Poole player this season. Even with a minute to go before the break Poole were able to grab another goal when good pressure forced a defensive error and Ian Richardson tucked away the loose ball to score his second in consecutive games.

Half time: 6-0.

Sean Hogan replaced a hobbling Skelton at half time and Poole carried on exactly where they left off - there was to be no easing off the pedal in this match. On 50 minutes Poole made it seven - Benssaouda chased a seemingly lost cause, won the ball and fed Trefor Smith. His eventual cross found Benssaouda again and he knocked it home for his second and, remarkably, his tenth goal against Brading Town in Poole colours!

54 minutes and Poole made it 8-0 - super passing again saw the ball passed to Cann in space and he had time to control it and then lash a volley into the far corner giving the keeper no chance. Assistant manager Gavin Reeves came on for Stuart Brown on the hour mark and three minutes later Brading got their consolation goal. Even at 8-0 up however it was still irritating that an dreadful decision from the linesman should lead to the goal. With the ball in midfield a Brading player waited and waited for Greening to get back onside. He had been constantly three yards offside for at least five seconds and eventually the midfielder gave up and just booted the ball forward anyway. Immediately Greening chased after it and unbelievably the linesman kept his flag down. It was the first decision he had had to make in over an hour, he was dead in line and got it completely wrong. After Greening had scored even the referee wandered over to the linesman as he probably couldn't understand why there was no flag either but the goal was allowed to stand.

On 72 minutes Greening raced away again and this time Mitchener made a good point blank save to deny the lively striker. Ian Richardson had switched from defence to centre forward with Brown's departure and he produced much amusement on the Poole bench as he wasted several good chances to add to his first half goal. However, he was to have the last laugh as he headed Poole's ninth on 88 minutes and after being put through by Benssaouda in the final minute he finished well to secure his hat-trick and achieve the first double figure score by a Wessex Premier team this season. It was also Poole's biggest win since beating Overton United 11-1 on 22nd April 2000.

Not the greatest of opposition but a thoroughly professional and deadly display by Poole today. Three more points lift Poole back into fourth - can they hold onto it over the last three games? Bogey side Hamworthy United visit in three days..............

Poole: Mitchener, Whitley, I. Richardson, Jordan, Skelton (Hogan), S. Richardson, Sturgess, T. Smith, Cann, Benssaouda, Brown (Reeves)

For their latest league match Poole Town travelled to third placed VT FC. Max Frampton suffered ligament damage in his elbow in the match against Gosport so Leigh Mitchener made just his second appearance for Poole this season in goal. Still no Aaron Skelton or Stuart Brown and Gary Funnell was also absent. After his recent poor performances Funnell is taking a break from the game and is unlikely to return this season. Let's hope the club can hang on to Gary and that he comes back as the player all the fans know and love. VT were without three regular defenders and one of their strikers so there was a real chance that Poole could get something from this game.

It was a poor start from Poole though and they went behind on just eleven minutes. Simple VT passes brought a striker into play and his right foot shot went under the foot of a defender and beyond Mitchener into the corner of the net. On 24 minutes Poole fashioned their first chance when a Cann freekick was swung in from the right and a Glenister header went just wide. Three minutes later and Poole were level after their best period of the match. A long kick out from Mitchener bounced once before Benssaouda controlled it, turned and fired a neat shot into the far corner. As always Benssaouda magic is followed pretty quickly by the opposite and he picked up yet another yellow card three minutes later for dissent.

Poole conceded another soft goal on 39 minutes. A throw was flicked on into the box and after several pinball moments of the ball pinging about a VT foot made a connection and the ball rolled over the line.

Half time: 2-1.

Sean Hogan replaced Danny Neville at half time as manager Killick switched from 4-42 to 3-5-2. VT got their third on 66 minutes. A Benssaouda cross field ball was intercepted on the halfway line and with Poole players committed forward VT broke away and their scorer was able to take the ball around Mitchener and finish well from an acute angle.

To their credit Poole didn't give up and with twelve minutes left Ian Richardson produced a wonder goal when he dribbled down the left line, cut in and beat two defenders before knocking the ball over the keeper into the far corner. Unfortunately this was the only highlight of the second half for Poole and VT held on to secure all three points.

This was definitely a match that Poole could, and should, have got something from. It was nothing like the VT team that had won at Tatnam just a few weeks back and a more professional performance from the Dolphins would have earnt them something. On a personal note the most annoying feature of Poole at the moment is the attitude between the players once they go behind. When level or in front they always play as a team (read the ten man performance against Wimborne recently). However, as soon as they go behind the amount of back biting and bitching between the players is simply unacceptable and this game yet again highlighted the issue. Players calling for their team mates to be taken off because they are playing rubbish inspires no confidence in anyone (except the other team who will always be encouraged by this). Arguments, squabbles and just plain insults flying between players (and at Killick in the case of Funnell V Wimborne Town) has just reached a ridiculous level. Very very rarely do we witness this in any team we play against yet it is almost a certainty every time the team plays at present. Inevitably a lot of it gets aimed at Benssaouda and whilst he can be frustrating it is more likely that players try to use him as a scapegoat to mask their own poor performance and I felt this was the case in this match. After all, he has scored four goals in his last five games so he's doing his job. With the exception of Ian Richardson who's performance tonight was superb, how many of the others are doing theirs? It can't be a coincidence that only once this season have Poole come from behind in a game to win - and that was at Fareham in September last year.

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

On behalf of Poole Town Football Club I would like to add our congratulations to AFC Totton on reaching the FA Vase final at Wembley of May 13th. A fantastic achievement - now go and win it!