With vital matches coming up against Winchester City and Christchurch it was vital that Poole picked up the necessary three points against bottom of the table AFC Aldermaston. This they did without breaking sweat and to be honest the visitors could not have complained had the scoreline been 15-1. Kick-off was delayed by half hour due to traffic and the Aldermaston players turned up at 3.20pm having set off from Hampshire at 12.30pm - not the best preparation!

Players missing for Poole through injury or unavailability- Matty White, Neal Spalding, Stuart Brown, Andy Milligan, Louic Rocher and new signing (making a welcome return to the club) Darren Mooney.

It took just 5 minutes for Poole to take the lead - a long raking ball from Woodward on the left found Gary Morris at the far post to score his first goal for the club. Within the next 20 minutes Poole should have scored at least another six goals. Jamie Holland found himself clean through on several occasions but his shots flew over the bar or wide of both posts. In one good move Holland fired past the keeper only to see the ball cannon back off the post for Mickey Rideout to miss an open goal with the rebound. As often happens (at Poole anyway!) the first time Aldermaston broke from their area they scored an equaliser! Sloppy defending on the half way line gave the ball away and as two strikers advanced for the visitors the three man defence backed off, and backed off some more before allowing the forward to fire past Elliot from 20 yards.

More good approach play on 32 minutes saw Rideout fire just wide again but three minutes later Matt Morris delivered a superb ball through to Danny Neville who, after holding off the defender, turned and slotted the ball into the net for his first goal for the Dolphins. As half-time approached shot after shot followed corner after corner and eventually Gary Morris was brought down in the area when ready to score. Paul Harding stepped forward to drill the penalty past the keeper. Half-time: 3-1.

The second half continued to be a no contest as wave after wave of Poole attacks literally battered the visiting defence. Brian Mundee limped off on 55 minutes to be replaced by Richard Tubbs. On 62 minutes Jamie Holland, whose pace and skill completely destroyed and frustrated Aldermaston all afternoon, was once again brought down on the edge of the box. Harding stepped up and delivered a stunning free kick over the wall and dipping just under the bar in the top left corner - a brilliant strike. A couple of minutes later Holland skipped through the defence again and resulting in an innocuous challenge with the keeper. The keeper immediately threw a punch at Holland and was given his marching orders a minute later, reducing Aldermaston to ten men in the process. With a defender taking over in goal Harding again stepped up to secure his hat-trick with ease. Poole continued to control the game but failed to add to their tally of five goals.

A professional job by the Dolphins but it is always difficult to judge against a side who undoubtedly will finish bottom again this season. With Stuart Brown, Tommy Killick and Darren Mooney all hoping to be involved on Tuesday we have a cracking match at Winchester City to look forward to.

Poole: Elliot, Whatling, Woodward, Mundee (Tubbs) , Fletcher, Harding (Morrell), M. Morris, G. Morris,  Rideout, Holland, Neville (Collins),

At the fourth time of asking Poole Town finally beat Ringwood Town at Tatnam as the Dolphins cruised to a well deserved 3-1 win against their local rivals.

Gary Fletcher returned after holiday and Steve Strong (ex Lymington & New Milton) made a very promising debut for Poole. Neal Spalding and Matty White were both out injured and Poole were also without Paul Harding in midfield.

Poole Town started the match very positively and immediately went looking for goals. On 16 minutes Rocher produced a great cross from the left and Gary Morris got a touch only to see a defender on the line clear the ball away. On 25 minutes Mickey Rideout turned and delivered a great chip but the keeper was able to back track and tip the ball away for a corner. Four minutes later Jamie Holland spun and unleashed a fierce shot just over the bar after good work from Fletcher. Poole continued to dominate the half and on the stroke of half-time the ball broke clear to Fletcher and he rifled it into the net from 10 yards. Half-time: 1-0.

Within 7 minutes of the restart Poole had wrapped the game up. On 50 minutes Holland was sent clear and after side-stepping the keeper he neatly placed the ball into the corner of the net. Two minutes later and Strong produced a cross from the right and although the keeper got a hand to Brown's shot, Holland was again on hand to knock home the rebound.

On 69 minutes Milligan underhit a back pass and as Jason Lovell moved in on the home keeper there only ever looked like being one result - Lovell lifting it over Elliot into the corner to pull a goal back for Ringwood. Chances fell to both sides during the last quarter of an hour but Poole continued to look strong and this win saw them move up to 6th in the Hampshire Premier table.

Poole: Elliot, Milligan (M. Morris), Woodward, Mundee, Fletcher, Rocher, G. Morris, Strong, Rideout, Holland (Neville), Brown

Jamie Holland (yes, here we go again!) returned to the Poole line-up for the game against Petersfield Town and there is no doubt he added an extra zip to the Dolphins attack. His recent 'trip' to Brockenhurst hit trouble as he had already signed Wessex League papers with Lymington & New Milton and they refused to allow him to sign for Brockenhurst. With his 70+ day ban starting on September 1st Holland was added to the starting line-up but where the player's future lies come November is anyone's guess.......

Tommy Killick (now re-installed as Salisbury City Assistant Manager) allowed South African striker Stuart Brown to play for Poole and after gaining the necessary international clearance he proved exactly what he can do by scoring the two first half goals to put Poole firmly in charge of this game.

Poole scored the first of those goals after just 10 minutes. Great work from Holland on the right saw the ball crossed low into the box and Brown nipped in front of the keeper to tuck the ball first time into the corner of the net - a good finish. Poole continued to dominate the game and on 18 minutes Brian Mundee produced a diagonal ball from the middle of the pitch and Brown volleyed home a cracker past the keeper into the far corner to make the score 2-0. Five minutes later and it was nearly three. Mundee again sent Brown clear down the right and his cross was met by Holland but the ball just failed to cross the line. With Petersfield failing to create a single chance in the first half it was all one-way traffic. A series of crosses from both left and right on half time caused panic in the visitor's defence. One cross was sliced badly by a defender onto his own post and another whistled over the bar after Brown produced an acrobatic overhead kick. Half-time: 2-0.

Petersfield's first chance came immediately from the restart - a great cross from the right was met with a free header at the far post but somehow the ball went the wrong side of the post. The Dolphins continued to control the game with Harding and Rocher both working very hard in midfield to keep the momentum going. Brown went close to his hat-trick with two more chances - a right footed shot just past the post and a header just over. Poole wrapped the game up with a deserved third goal just 10 minutes from time. Harding found substitute Rideout from the corner and his shot was helped in by Rocher for his second goal in as many games.

A much better performance from Poole sees them record their first points of the season. Next up - Ringwood and Jason Lovell on Bank Holiday Monday!

Poole: Elliot, Milligan, Woodward, Mundee, Spalding (M. Morris), Rocher, Harding, White (Rideout), Brown (Neville), Tubbs, Holland

Although Jamie Holland 'returned' from his short stay at Lymington & New Milton and pledged his future to Poole Town, it now appears that he has left and signed for Pete Moore's Brockenhurst. Let's hope this finally ends the Poole Town - Jamie Holland saga once and for all.

Poole Town kicked off their new season against old adversaries Locks Heath at Tatnam. With the Dolphins failing to win their opening match in the last two seasons and having suffered a 0-3 home result against the same side back in March, the omens were not good. Unfortunately the pattern could not be broken and yet again Poole have started off with another stuttering performance.

There were many new faces in the Poole line-up for supporters to get used to but the problems which were apparent last season are still there from the start of this campaign as both the defending and finishing left an awful lot to be desired.

Poole fell behind on 6 minutes. Sloppy defending allowed the Locks Heath forward to run clean through on goal and he scored by blasting the ball past Randall into the left hand corner. On 16 minutes Locks Heath should have gone further ahead when a brilliant cross from the right was headed just over the bar. On 21 minutes Simpson left the field injured and Poole favourite Louic Rocher came off the bench to add some impetus into the midfield. Within nine minutes the Frenchman had made his mark - he rose to meet a Paul Harding corner and glanced his header beyond the keeper. Poole now enjoyed their best spell of the match as they completely dominated the rest of the first half. Some very good approach play created chance after chance but the finishing remained lacklustre.
Half time: 1-1.

Poole carried on their dominance at the start of the second half and after making a great run down the right and then cutting in, Danny Neville fired into the side netting. On 51 minutes Neville had his best chance of the match when he broke clear but his shot tamely ran through to the keeper to save.   Locks Heath scored another goal on the hour and from this point on Poole faded fast and never looked like coming back into the match. More dreadful defending and communication between the keeper and his defenders on 77 minutes allowed the visitors to practically walk the ball into an empty net.

Another poor start for the Dolphins and manager O'Donnell will quickly need to strengthen the squad if we are to avoid a long and tough season.

Poole: Randall, Milligan (G. Morris), Woodward, Mundee, Spalding, Simpson (Rocher), Harding, White, M. Morris (Rideout), Neville, Tubbs

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Player News

Rumour has it that Louic Rocher has left the club. This is another disappointment for The Dolphins and pressure is really on Brian O'Donnell to produce a strong side for the coming season.