On a blisteringly hot day Poole Town lined up for the match against local rivals Ringwood Town without Chris Pratt, Neil Wardle or Darren Elmes. Matty Parkin and Andy Culliford made their first full starts of the season and after international clearance, Taku Omoto took his place on the bench.

After 7 minutes Poole nearly took the lead when good interplay allowed Jamie Holland to go one v one with the keeper but his resulting shot rolled the wrong side of the post. A minute later and Ringwood should have taken the lead. A nice move down the left saw the ball crossed to a free player but his shot was smashed wildly over the bar. More neat play from Poole on 17 minutes saw Culliford deliver a great ball through the defence but John Rowley's shot whistled over the bar.

On 21 minutes Poole were awarded a free kick and words from Andy Gater led to the defender being booked. A minute later Gater was fouled again and after complaining to the referee, found himself booked for a second time and was sent off! So, two free kicks to Poole and the result? Poole down to ten men! This was refereeing at it's most officious and it is increasingly sad to see the power mad men in the middle deciding the outcome of matches rather than the players themselves. The result of skipper Martin Jones asking the referee why a player was sent off? Jones himself yellow carded.
On 32 minutes Ringwood broke and a shot hit a post before being cleared to safety. Seconds later and keeper Paul Spillane came for a ball, changed his mind and as he retreated the Ringwood player coolly lobbed him to put the visitors 1-0 up.
Straight from the kick-off Tony Avery made a mistake and allowed the Ringwood striker to run in on Spillane. As he tried to go round Spillane, the keeper caught his ankle and was promptly sent off and a penalty given. Martin Jones, having dropped from midfield into the back three when Gater was dismissed now found himself pulling on the keeper's jersey and facing a penalty which he was unable to stop. Down to nine players, no recognised keeper and in that heat the game was surely up for The Dolphins? Half-time? 0-2.

With supporters wondering how well Poole could keep the score down what followed in the second half was nothing short of thrilling. Although tired the Poole players dug in superbly well and completely outplayed their opponents. With Ringwood seemingly unable to close down nine men and incapable of producing anything when they did manage to get the ball, Poole's confidence grew as the half progressed and the quality of their football was terrific.
On 51 minutes good play between Culliford and Holland saw the ball scrambled off the Ringwood goal line and three minutes later Rowley robbed a defender of the ball and he set up Paul Maloney who shot over the bar. Rowley was replaced by new signing Taku Omoto and his impact was immediate. With twenty minutes remaining Culliford delivered a great ball into the box and as Omoto set himself for a shot he was tugged down for a penalty. The Japanese player despatched the penalty himself. After Louic Rocher replaced John Rowley Poole increased the pressure on the Ringwood goal. On 79 minutes Jamie Holland produced another fine run and when Matty White crossed into the Rocher the keeper nipped in to take the ball off the Frenchman's foot. With seconds remaining Matty Parkin, who had a fine game at right back, delivered a terrific cross from the right and the ball was clearly stopped by a Ringwood arm. With the whole ground echoing to calls for a penalty there was only one person who didn't seem to see the incident - the ref and this final unbelievable decision summed up the day for The Dolphins. It is also worth noting that two Ringwood players were booked in the second half - and neither incident merited a yellow card in what was an extremely clean game.

Although out of the competition, supporters can feel proud of their team for giving 110% on the day. Focus now shifts to Pirelli next week when Poole must get back into winning ways.

Poole: Spillane, Gater, Parkin, Avery, Jones, Mooney, Culliford (Rocher), Holland, Maloney, White, Rowley (Omoto)
Unused Sub: Pratt

With Liss Athletic having proved to be a tough side against Poole over recent games it came as no surprise that the visitors were really up for the opening game of the new season, and with The Dolphins under-performing Liss took home all three points and ended Poole's unbeaten competitive record at Tatnam.

With news that Dan West had returned to Bournemouth Poppies and that Chris Pratt was unavailable, Tony Avery dropped into the back three to complete a makeshift defence for Poole.

In a frantic opening period both sides competed hard for the ball with Liss looking dangerous on the break. On 16 minutes Liss had the first attempt on goal when a shot whistled narrowly over the Poole bar. A minute later and a right wing cross from Jamie Holland saw the ball come back off the Liss crossbar and bounce to safety. On the half hour Poole Town took the lead in emphatic style. A thunderous right foot shot from John Rowley saw the keeper tip the bar away for a corner. Paul Maloney's corner eventually found Holland who volleyed in at the far post. Disaster struck four minutes later when the impressive Alan Smith of Liss beat Matt White and his cross was headed into his own net by the unfortunate Tony Avery. With half-time fast approaching Liss created more chances to take the lead but two fine saves from Spillane kept the scores level. Half-time: 1-1.

A good move on 52 minutes saw Holland provide a great 1-2 and the Liss keeper made a double save to keep the winger out. Another fine move on 58 minutes saw a great ball from Maloney to John Rowley - his cross being met by Martin Jones who shot just past the post. Minutes later and a defensive error saw the ref award Liss a penalty although with the ball in the Poole net the advantage should have been played. No matter - the ball was placed into the corner and Liss went ahead. On 68 minutes Maloney laid on another fine through ball and as the keeper advanced Holland lobbed the keeper superbly to grab his second of the match. A minute later and another great lob from Holland again nearly capped an excellent performance from the player. Within seconds Liss broke up the field and with the defence AWOL again they grabbed the winner.

Poole: Spillane, Gater, Wardle (Parkin), Avery, Jones, Mooney (Culliford), Holland, Maloney (Rocher), White, Elmes, Rowley

A tremendous crowd of 153 turned up at Tatnam to see Poole Town take on current Wessex League Runners-Up Lymington & New Milton. With The Linnets fielding a strong side including ex-Poole players Leigh Phillips and Richie Glenister this was always going to be a tough match and a game that Poole could measure themselves against in terms of becoming a top Wessex League side.

The first half proved to be a very even contest with chances falling to both sides. Phillips fashioned the first real chance of the night when he drilled in a low shot from the edge of the box. Spillane managed to deflect the ball clear and the rebound was hit wildly over the bar from just three yards out. At the other end Jamie Holland beat the defence but saw his shot well saved by Linnet's keeper. A defensive mistake on the half hour allowed Phillips through again and he slotted home to give Lymington a 1-0 half-time lead.

Poole continued to put together some excellent football in the second half but gradually the speed and accuaracy of Linnets' passing and movement began to tell and a second goal looked ominous. It duly came after Paul Spillane had pulled off a terrific save - Matty Town following up to score easily. Lymington were reduced to 10 men midway through the second half but Poole were unable to breakdown the well organised defence (marshalled superbly all evening by Kemp) and the game finished 2-0 to Lymington & New Milton.

Poole: Spillane, West, Gater, Wardle, Mooney, Jones, White, Maloney, Elmes, Holland, Rowley

Hellenic Premier Division Wantage Town made the trip down from the Oxford area for Poole Town's first home fixture of the season. From a league on a par if not higher than the Wessex League it was always going to be a competitive game and The Dolphins twice came from behind to earn a hard fought draw against a slick Wantage outfit.

A mistake by Andy Gater on six minutes allowed the Wantage striker to race clear and drill a fine shot past keeper Paul Spillane. Poole immediately hit back and two minutes later John Rowley was unlucky to see his header go just over the bar. Poole equalised on 18 minutes when a Holland corner was flicked on and with the ball rebounding off a couple of players Dan West was on hand to head the ball home from close range. Just prior to the break a flowing passing move from Poole ended with a Darren Elmes shot being tipped acrobatically over the bar by the visiting keeper. Half-Time: 1-1.

In a carbon copy of the first half Wantage again took the lead early on. A freekick was deflected off the wall and the striker was quickest to react, following up to volley the bar into the net. Peter Moore made several changes in the second half - Mooney, Pratt, Parkin, Fletcher and Omoto coming on for Avery, Gater, Holland, White and Rowley respectively. With Poole's unbeaten record at Tatnam under threat Paul Maloney produced a superb 25 yard volley on 76 minutes to square the match.

Poole: Spillane, Gater (Pratt), Wardle, West, Jones, Avery (Mooney), Holland (Parkin), Maloney, White (Fletcher), Elmes, Rowley (Omoto)

League News

Following earlier comments on this site regarding the running of the Hampshire League I am delighted to report that Ian Craig from the Hampshire Football League has contacted me and explained at length the reasoning behind the fixture schedule etc for the coming season. Ian also highlighted the distinction between the Hampshire FA and the Hampshire Football League and as a result I am happy to apologise for any criticism wrongly levelled at the Hampshire Football League.

As I have mentioned on the site before I would wholeheartedly recommend the YellowJersey website (found on the Links page which is officially linked in with the Hampshire Football League) for all Hampshire League news etc.
My sincere thanks go to Ian Craig for taking the time out to explain the situation and I am happy to report that discussions are ongoing whereby this site can help out with regard to a results bulletin for the coming season.

A strong Poole Town squad travelled to Dorset Combination Holt United on Tuesday evening as part of their continuing pre-season build up. Both Matty Parkin and Matt Lovell were unfit for the game and with keeper Paul Spillane also injured, manager Peter Moore played in goal.

Despite early pressure from Holt Poole took the lead after 10 minutes when Darren Elmes struck a superb 25 yard shot. Fifteen minutes later Elmes grabbed his second with an even better goal. After breaking from the half way line he noticed the keeper off his line and chipped him from fully 35 yards. Holt pulled a goal back before the break to leave a half-time score of 2-1 to Poole.

The Dolphins continued their good form in the second half and Gary Fletcher scored at the far post from an Andy Gater cross. Taku Amoto came on for John Rowley and made it 4-1 before Darren Elmes broke again and completed his hat-trick. Playing some excellent football Poole went into cruise mode and Holt pulled two goals back late in the game.

At a meeting on the evening of Thursday 2nd August, Poole Borough Council have granted planning permission for the installation of floodlights at Tatnam. This is a tremendous piece of news for the Club and not only secures Hampshire Premier League status but puts Poole Town well on the way to achieving Wessex League facilities.

For the first time in nearly seven years supporters can at last celebrate the fact that their club 'has a home' and work is expected to commence on the lights as soon as possible. Special mention must go to the three Directors of the Club, Chris Reeves, Clive and Arthur Robbins as well as officials of Oakdale School for their total commitment and effort in securing this deal.

Poole Town welcomed back Darren Mooney and Gary Fletcher for their trip to Wessex League Eastleigh. With many players unavailable for the game Simon Raines (AFC Bournemouth) came in as keeper and Japanese Taku Amoto partnered Mark Dancer up front.

In a fairly even match Eastleigh shaded the first half and had several clear cut chances to add to their total. On 10 minutes Andy Gater committed a foul in the area and Eastleigh were awarded a penalty. Raines made a fine save to his left to keep the scores level. Poole took the lead on 27 minutes with a terrific goal. Rocher went round two players on the left and fed the ball to Dancer. His cross was controlled superbly by Amoto and he neatly rounded the keeper to slot the ball home. Eastleigh equalised as the half progressed and a mistake by Chris Pratt on 41 minutes allowed the striker through but he wasted his one v one opportunity. Half-Time: 1-1.

Poole had the better of the second half and produced their best football of the pre-season so far. A Dancer cross on 65 minutes was met with a firm Fletcher header low into the corner of the net to give the Dolphins the lead again but a goalmouth scramble five minutes later allowed Eastleigh to pull the deficit back.

Poole: Raines, Pratt, West, Gater, Jones, Mooney, Rocher, Holland, Maloney, Amoto, Dancer
Subs (all used): Fletcher, White, Parkin