Another very good first half performance secured the three points to keep the Dolphins at the top of the Hampshire Premier League at the end of August. With Darren Mooney still out with archilles problems Paul Manning retained his place in the starting line-up

Poole took the lead on 5 minutes when a freekick from Carl Woodward was completely misjudged by the keeper and the ball flew into the back of the net with no additional touch needed. Woodward had a terrific first half and a superb diagonal ball from left to right saw Paul Manning clear on 12 minutes. Manning ran on and volleyed just wide of the post.

On 15 minutes Woodward turned provider when he beat the defender out wide on the left and delivered a great ball into the box and Lee Manning rose to head home his first competitive goal for the club. During this period Poole were creating chances at will and only some poor finishing prevented a much bigger total. On 18 minutes Woodward again crossed from the left and this time Paul Manning headed over the bar with an open goal beckoning. Two minutes later and the keeper made a good save to deny Cornick after he was sent clean through.

On 24 minutes Amesbury created their first chance and Potter needed to react well to save a close range header. This was as close as Amesbury came to scoring all afternoon. Two minutes later and Benssaouda delivered a brilliant cross to Paul Manning and the young winger again volleyed over when well placed. Supporters needed to wait just four more minutes for the third goal to come. A short corner saw Andy Gater cross into a packed area and Benssaouda headed home at the far post to continue his amazing goalscoring record. Half-time: 3-0.

The start of the second half saw a scuffle between Lee Manning and an Amesbury Town defender. Both received a yellow card and with the Amesbury player already booked previously, the visitors were reduced to ten men for the remaining 40 minutes. As often happens this made it harder for the eleven players and Poole lost their way a little bit in the second half. On 60 minutes substitute Callum Burt volleyed over after good work by Paul Manning. On 63 minutes Benssaouda lashed a fierce left foot shot past the keeper from a tight angle and within minutes manager Morrell brought him off to great applause from the Poole crowd. As Karim enters his four month suspension there is no doubt that he will be sorely missed and vice-chairman Chris Reeves summed it up in his programme notes when he described how tragic it is for everyone that we will all be deprived of his talents for such a long time. Karim's record of 42 goals in 36 competitive games for Poole speaks for itself and all supporters await his return in January with anticipation.

With Benssaouda off the field players and supporters could see what it will be like without him and Poole made heavy work of the remaining 25 minutes. The Amesbury keeper needed to be sharp to save from Miles on 77 minutes and substitute Ricky Muir was very lucky to escape with a yellow card when he clearly raised an elbow into the face of a visiting player.

Poole: Potter, Kemp, Woodward, Gater, Wood, L. Manning (Burt), P. Manning, Reeks (Muir), White, Cornick, Benssaouda (N. Miles)

Yet again Poole turned on the style at local rivals Ringwood with an emphatic victory to keep them firmly at the top of the table. In all honesty performances do not come much better than this one as they powered their way to another six goals and again double figures would not have seemed out of place at all. Only change from Saturday was Paul Manning starting for the injured Darren Mooney.

On a hard pitch Poole again started brightly and soon put pressure on the Ringwood defence. On 7 minutes Cornick was brought down on the edge of the box and Karim Benssaouda drilled a low free kick which was deflected just wide of the left hand post with the keeper rooted to the spot. Despite the pressure it took until the 19th minute before Poole could finally open the scoring. Three successive corners saw the Poole players piling into the box and after two shots were heroically blocked on the line, Benssaouda thumped in the third rebound to begin an extraordinary day for the Frenchman. On 25 minutes Matty White picked the ball up in the middle of the park, turned and delivered a great pass to the right where Benssaouda lurked on the edge of the area. As the keeper narrowed the angle Benssaouda waited and finally pushed the ball under the keeper and the ball slowly crossed the line to give the Dolphins a two goal cushion.

Two minutes later and Poole conceded their first goal of the season. The ever dangerous Jason Lovell took a very quick freekick and planted the ball into the Poole net whilst the defence were still preparing themselves for the kick. Any thoughts of a Ringwood comeback lasted just three minutes when Benssaouda completed a sensational hat-trick with the goal of the game. Paul Manning (much improved in the couple of years since he played for Poole before) produced a superb one touch piece of control as the ball dropped from a high clearance, he then deftly lifted the ball over the defence and Benssaouda, spotting the keeper a couple of yards from his line executed a sublime 25 yard lob which bounced just inside the left hand post - a top quality goal all round. Poole were now rampant and on 33 minutes a Woodward freekick was headed just over the bar from Lee Manning. Half-time: 1-3.

With a hat-trick already secured Benssaouda produced a dazzling second half display as he produced his full repertoire of dribbling, passing, overhead kicks and quality finishing. Just five minutes into the second half he picked the ball up outside of the box and immediately started running at defenders. As soon as he had opened the space he fired an unstoppable shot from 25 yards which flashed across the keeper and found the bottom left hand corner of the net.

Unlike previous seasons Poole now seem to have acquired the killer instinct and rather than settling for the win they pushed forward looking for more goals. On 53 minutes Gater played a one-two with Lee Manning and then delivered a superb ball into the box which Darren Reeks rose to head firmly past the keeper to make it five.

After some substitutions Poole continued to press and on 78 minutes Benssaouda fizzed a shot just wide after a great ball from Nick Miles. On 86 minutes the roles were reversed. Benssaouda produced yet more ball juggling and dribbling skills to emerge from three Ringwood players and his pass sent Nick Miles clear to finish coolly past the keeper to complete the rout.

Whilst much will be made of Benssaouda's performance it would be unfair to single out anybody. Every Poole player contributed to a superb team performance and it was great to see everyone cheered so loudly off the pitch at the end of the game. Supporting Poole has taught us to never get too confident but currently the games just can't come quick enough.......................

Poole: Potter, Kemp, Woodward, Gater, Wood, L. Manning (Muir), P. Manning, Reeks (M. Morris), White, Cornick (N. Miles), Benssaouda

Having been beaten at home by Locks Heath for the last two seasons Poole Town avoided the hat-trick as they romped to the top of the league with a 5-0 victory. Paul Morrell managed to field the exact same starting eleven as last week - something he could rarely do at all last season. Nick Miles started on the bench alongside new signing Paul Manning from Wimborne Town.

Again the Dolphins were very quick out of the block and earned a penalty inside of two minutes.  The excellent Lee Manning (below)

Lee Manning impressed again

On 30 minutes Cornick superbly flicked the ball on and Benssaouda raced away one-on-one with the keeper. His final touch let him down however as he pushed the ball too far ahead of himself and the keeper was able to collect with no problems. The first half ended with some confusion for Poole as players and manager alike continued to argue over tactics, shape etc and the dressing room was probably not a happy one at half time! Half-time: 1-0.

The second half saw Poole return to their form of last week and soon the goals began to flow. Nick Miles made his welcome return to the side as he replaced Reeks at the break. On a couple of occasions Miles showed some great control and pace as he weaved through the Locks Heath defence to create chances. On 57 minutes Andy Gater received a short corner and after one touch delivered a superb cross deep into the Locks area and Leigh Cornick rose to firmly head home his first of the game. It was to get better for Cornick just two minutes later when Benssaouda sent him clear with an exquisite through ball which split the defence. Cornick ran on to thump the ball past the keeper and Poole knew the points were safe from here.

Cornick celebrates his second goal against Locks Heath

With a quarter of an hour remaining Benssaouda produced yet more skill to dribble effortlessly past three Locks Heath players. This opened up the defence and he was able to square the ball into the path of substitute Matt Morris who applied the finish to make it 4-0. In the dying seconds Miles again beat defenders and raced in on goal only for the keeper to take the ball from his toes but Poole were not to be denied a fifth - on 90 minutes Benssaouda again fizzed a great ball out to Paul Manning on the right, he beat the last defender and rolled the ball into the path of Miles who hit the ball first time past the keeper.

This was another very good performance from the Dolphins and it is difficult not to get too carried away at this early stage. Defensively the team looks very solid and the creative flair from midfield and finishing up front has left supporters now looking forward to every game.

Gary Fletcher will be unavailable for the next couple of games but both Nick Miles and Milan Parodi should be available for Saturday's game at home to Locks Heath. Ben Wright may also be back.

Paul Morrell is also talking to three new players (currently training with Poole) who all have Wessex League or higher experience. One of these is also a striker who has had experience at AFC Bournemouth. More news as soon as possible.

Stunning. Poole Town opened their league campaign with a fantastic performance which swept Bishops Waltham away from the first whistle. With both Leigh Cornick and Lee Manning making their competitive debuts for the club the Dolphins looked very strong for their opening game.

Karim Benssaouda's imminent 126 days ban which starts in two weeks seems to have spurred him on to get as many goals as possible in that time and he made his intentions clear in the first minute when he turned and let rip with a 30 yard volley which was tipped over for a corner. Three successive corners followed ending when a fierce shot was parried by the keeper and Benssaouda nipped in but his header flashed over the bar.

On 8 minutes Matty White, who had a great game, robbed a defender and set up Cornick but his super shot was again saved brilliantly by the visiting keeper who made save after save in the opening 20 minutes. On 9 minutes however he was powerless to stop Cornick scoring on his debut after great work down the right from Manning, White and Benssaouda.

On the quarter hour Manning provided another great flick on and White volleyed the ball from 25 yards only to see the keeper tip away the shot for another corner. From the corner there were three goalmouth scrambles as successive shots were blocked on the line before finally being cleared.

After the initial 20 minute salvo Waltham settled and began to put some of their own football together but never really threatened the Poole goal. On 38 minutes a Waltham defender dived in on Cornick in the box and Benssaouda tucked away the penalty low into the right corner to open his account for the season. More chances were to follow - a Kemp freekick was headed on by Benssaouda and White fired a volley over the bar when it looked easier to score. On the stroke of half time Benssaouda also got his disciplinary record off and running with a yellow card. Half Time: 2-0.

If the first half had been a footballing lesson then the second demonstrated some superb finishing in front of goal. On 46 minutes Benssaouda hit a brilliant through ball with the outside of his boot and Cornick thumped the ball under the keeper for his second. On 58 minutes Cornick repaid the complement setting up Benssaouda who despite being hustled and harried by two defenders, managed to stay on his feet and grab his second and Poole's fourth of the afternoon.

Bishops Waltham hit the Poole post with a freekick on 60 minutes and they never again got close to beating Potter. Cornick's superb debut ended on 70 minutes when he picked up a knock and was replaced by Matt Morris. With 5 minutes left White ghosted into the box to apply the finishing touch to a knocked on corner and two minutes later Poole produced the move of the match to make it six. A sweeping move down the pitch combining backheels and one-two passing eventually saw the ball rolled into the path of substitute Ricky Muir and he hit the ball first time without breaking stride to hammer the ball into the top left corner of the net.

This was a perfect performance and result to open the season and hopefully this will bring some supporters back as the smallish crowd resulted in the only disappointing aspect of the day. Well Done lads!

Poole: Potter, Kemp, Woodward, Gater, Wood, Mooney, Manning, Reeks (Muir), White, Cornick (M. Morris), Benssaouda

No full report available.
By all accounts a good crowd saw Poole play well again but were defeated by two sloppy goals. Returning ex-Poole favourite Jan Wagenaar played outstandingly for the visitors and even managed to save a penalty from Lee Cornick.

Poole Town claimed another Wessex League scalp with a very convincing win over Blackfield & Langley at Tatnam.

The Poole goals came from:

• James Wood - far post header from a Carl Woodward corner on 24 minutes
• Lee Manning - took advantage of a defensive mistake to thump the ball past the keeper into the top corner
• Lee Cornick - got his first goal in pre-season after great move down right saw a cross to Cornick who turned the ball in from close range
• Paul Maloney - similar move down right hand side carved defence open and simple cross to Maloney who passed ball into empty net.

This was another very good display indeed and the scoreline could very well have hit double figures with Benssaouda uncharacteristically missing three chances when clean through one on one with the keeper.

Poole: from Potter, Kemp, Fletcher, Woodward, Gater, Maloney, Mooney, N. MIles, Manning, Cornick, M. Morris, Benssaouda, Muir, White, Max ?, ?

No report available.