Ringwood Town  1  V  4  Poole Town  -  Wessex League Division 2

Report Courtesy of Andy Starmore - www.pitchside.net

In freezing conditions Poole Town clawed their back from a goal down to run out 4-1 winners in their festive fixture with local rivals Ringwood Town at Long Lane in Wessex Two.

It literally was a ‘game of two halves’ with the hosts proving to be the better side in the opening period and the Dolphins clearly on top in the second.

The game began in rather controversial fashion, when Max Grieves was brought down inside the Poole Town penalty area.

The referee gave the spot kick but, according to Ringwood manager Bob Lane, Ollie Cherrett, who was the culprit, “should have been shown a red card.”

“If he had been sent off, I don’t think I could have had any complaints and, I suppose that early on in the game it could have been a factor,” said Poole Town manager Tommy Killick.

To make matters worse for Ringwood, Carl Fleet missed the penalty, although minutes later they did take the lead through a 25 yard angled free kick from Steve Geary.

That’s the way the scoreline remained going into the half time dressing rooms but, soon after the restart Poole’s fight-back began.

Leigh Cornick latched onto a cross to bury the equaliser before Gary Bartlett, who had just about recovered from his 18th birthday celebrations the night before, enjoyed a belated present by scoring his first goal for the club.

Stewart Brown then added number three with a tap in following a goalmouth scramble and, to round the successful afternoon off for the Dolphins, Anthony Warrington made it 4-1.

Poole boss Killick admitted it was hardly a classic match to witness but, nevertheless he was delighted to come away from the New Forest with three points.

“The first half we didn’t play very well at all but, in the second half we were much better and once we’d scored our first goal there was only going to be one winner,” said Killick.

“It was relatively comfortable in the end but it was a bit indifferent to say the least in the first half.”

Ringwood manager Lane wasn’t impressed with the match in the slightest.

He said, “They were only an average side but we were very poor.”

Ringwood: Goodman, Dilling, Edwards, Pearson, Russon, Grieves (Hunt 80), Broad, Geary, Burrett (Wiseman 20), Fleet (Adlam 70), Yates.

Poole Town: Scrivens, Cornick (Welsh 80), Cherrett (Mountford 75), Spalding, Bartlett, Brown, Funnell, White, Manning, Warrington, Turner (Bayston 65).

Fixture News

The match away at Amesbury Town was postponed due to waterlogged pitch

Wimborne Town  1  V  2  Poole Town  -  Wessex League Cup 4th Round

Poole Town deservedly marched into the Wessex League Cup Quarter Finals after dumping Wessex Division 1 side and fierce local rivals Wimborne Town out of the competition at The Cuthbury. Despite the return to fitness of Lee Manning, manager Tommy Killick stuck with the youngsters as both Gary Bartlett and Dave Sturgess started the match. It proved to be the right choice as once again the youngsters were outstanding and mixed it easily with the more senior players. After the rave comments about Sturgess and Chivers in recent weeks it is perhaps time to underline the importance of Gary Bartlett to the side. He has matured so well in the first team and every game sees his performance go to a higher level. They are all a credit to Kevin Jackson and Tommy Killick.

From the start of the game Poole took the game to their opponents and White, Funnell, Brown and Bartlett took early control of the midfield. Poole took the lead in the 7th minute and it was no more than their early pressure deserved. After a bit of a goalmouth scramble it was Dave Sturgess who again got the final touch to prod the ball home and notch his fourth goal in just five appearances for the senior side.

On 10 minutes Poole produced another fine move. Bartlett sent Funnell away down the right wing and his first time cross was met by Anthony Warrington but the striker's shot rolled just wide of the left hand post.

Wimborne's tactics of playing the offside trap at every opportunity nearly cost them dear on numerous occasions as they seemed incapable of knowing a) when to play it and b) how to play it. Poole sprang the trap time and time again and with more composure they could easily have gone in 3 or 4 up at the break. On 20 minutes Aaron Turner found himself clear on the right side of the box but his shot flew wide of the left hand post.

Again on 45 minutes Warrington found himself away and clean through on the keeper. Rather than shooting he attempted to go round the keeper but when a defender got back to deny him another shot from Poole was superbly saved by the home keeper. Half-time: 0-1.

After a poor display in the first half Wimborne upped their game in the second half but it was Poole who still bossed the game. On 58 minutes a Matty White(?) shot dipped over the keeper but just flashed over the corner of bar and post. Three minutes later and White produced a great run and cross from the right hand side but Warrington's shot was again weak and wide. As in other matches it looked like Poole's superiority would be undone by a lack of finishing.

At this point mention must be made of the officials for this match. Put simply - they were dreadful. Between 200 and 300 people turned up to see this match and you almost have to question why they bothered when three of the most inept officials you could ever put together contrived to make a total mockery of the game. It was simply awful and they can hardly wander why the players lose their temper when all the efforts of both sets of players are ruled out by ridiculous decisions that change games.

On 70 minutes a Poole player was clearly fouled and the referee awarded Wimborne the freekick. As is often the way, they broke upfield and Cannie headed Wimborne back into the game. On 83 minutes Poole striker Aaron Turner was clattered off the ball. Even with Wimborne supporters agreeing that the Wimborne player had to go, the resulting red card was met by cheers from the Poole fans until they realised that Turner had himself received the sending off!! Unbelievable.

Down to ten men Poole faced an uphill battle but it was the brilliance of Gary Funnell who completed the deserved victory when his skill and drag back in the Wimborne box saw him upended and a penalty awarded. Justice was done as Funnell himself drilled the penalty home with minutes remaining and Poole saw out the final few minutes with ease.

A great victory for the Dolphins and they will now face an away trip to Hamble ASSC in the quarter finals.

Poole: Scriven, Cornick (Welsh), Spalding, Cherrett, Bartlett, Brown (L. Manning), Sturgess, Funnell, White, Turner, Warrington (Chivers)

Poole Town  7  V  0  AFC Aldermaston  -  Wessex League Division 2

Report Courtesy of Andy Starmore - www.pitchside.net

Poole Town destroyed basement club AFC Aldermaston at Tatnam Farm to run out emphatic 7-0 victors on a day where the outcome was obvious from the very start.

The Dolphins are on an excellent run at the moment and should they win their game in hand over both Romsey Town and Locks Heath, they will be lofted to the heady heights of second in the table.

Poole boss Tommy Killick was delighted with their latest triumph, giving particular praise to 17-year-old Dave Sturgess, who marked his first full 90 minutes for the club with a goal.

“Without being unkind to Aldermaston, they weren’t very good but, it’s still nice to have a game where you can relax a little bit,” said Killick.

“Against a side like that it always helps to score early on, which is what we did.

“If you score early they quickly become deflated, whereas if they think they’re in with a chance for a while, they’ll get more ambitious.

“He’s (Sturgess) one of a crop of youngsters we’ve got at the club and he’s a very good prospect.

“He played well last week for us when he came on as a sub, so I decided to start with him for this match and he did really well.

“We got through the game without any injuries as well, so that was another plus for us.

“We’re on quite a good run at the moment where we’ve won a few league games, and the cup game against Hamworthy, we should have won that as well.”

Sturgess won’t forget his first start for the Dolphins in a hurry, finding the back of the net, albeit from a slight deflection, after just three minutes of the contest.

Gary Funnell made it 2-0 before half time, after which the floodgates opened.

Shortly after the re-start Leigh Cornick got in on the scoring act to fire home the Dolphins third of the afternoon, which was then followed up by a double from impressive substitute Anthony Warrington to make it 5-0.

Aaron Turner then added a sixth for Poole before Funnell grabbed his second of the afternoon with probably the best strike of them all, with a thumping long range effort for number seven.

Poole: Scrivens, Cornick, Spalding, Welsh (Cherrett 55), Bartlett (Warrington 55), Moundford (Bayston 25), Sturgess, Funnell, White, Turner, Brown.

Brading Town  1  V  4  Poole Town  -  Wessex League Division 2

Report Courtesy of Andy Starmore - www.pitchside.net

Poole Town took their time in registering a goal at Brading but, once they found the back of the hosts net, the floodgates opened as they went on to win 4-1.

A stubborn Brading defence frustrated the Dolphins in the opening half as both side’s entered the half time dressing room locked in a goalless stalemate.

Once the second period got under way however, and, a further ten minutes had passed, Matty White finally found the net to put Tommy Killick’s outfit deservedly one up.

The home side then had to become slightly more adventurous than they’d been for the whole game up until that point, which left gaps at the back for Poole to exploit.

Gary Funnell consequently made it 2-0, before Aaron Turner added number three.

Funnell then saw his penalty saved by the Brading goalkeeper but, 18-year-old Ali Harris, who had leapt from the substitutes bench, was the quickest to react, as he netted the rebound.

The Dolphins also brought on two excellent prospects from the subs bench in 17-year-old Dave Sturgess and Paul Bayston, who is also just 17.

Gary Bartlett, who played the whole 90 minutes is another talented youngster in the Dolphins camp and is also only 17.

Poole Town boss Killick was delighted with the three points and praised his young outfit for their efforts, particularly as so many first team regulars are currently out injured.

Killick said, “We had a few players out like Taffy Richardson, Leigh Cornick, Stuart Brown, Carl Chivers, along with long term injuries Ryan Wolfenden, Lee Manning and Matty Hayfield.

“So with all those players out I thought we did quite well.

“We’re struggling player-wise at the moment but, we are now reaping the benefits of the reserve side which was put in place this season.

“I had three youngsters on the bench and they all came on and they all did well.”

He added, “We dominated it really from start to finish.

“We were putting them under a lot of pressure in the first half but we just couldn’t score.

“We created quite a few chances and didn’t take them.

“Once we’d scored the first goal there was only going to be one winner because they had to come at us a little bit and we were able to just pick them off after that.

“We’ve just signed Jason Mountford from a Sunday side and he’s a strong lad that I hope will be a good addition for us.”

Poole Town: Scrivens, Mountford (Harris 43), Bartlett, Spalding, Cherrett, Welsh, White, Funnell, Reeks (Sturgess 70), Turner, Warrington (Bayston 70).

Poole Town  1  aet  2  Hamworthy United  -  Dorset Senior Cup Quarter Final

For the first time since the Dorset Senior Cup Final six years ago, Poole Town took on local rivals Hamworthy United in a competitive game. On a bitterly cold night a good crowd of 232 turned up to see if Poole could knock out the team from Wessex Division 1.
Darren Reeks returned to the starting line-up in defence alongside Spalding and Cornick and Bartlett again started wide on the left.

Poole started the brighter of the two sides and nearly took the lead on 7 minutes. A Gary Funnell curled freekick on the right eluded everyone and with the keeper beaten a combination of a defender and the far post managed to keep the ball from going in. Hamworthy hit back immediately and Scrivens was called into action making a smart save to his left and smothering a fierce shot.
In a local derby cup tie such as this, it was always going to be a bit physical and both sides got stuck into the midfield battle. It was Poole however who continued to play the better football overall.

On 32 minutes Darren Reeks made a slip at the back which allowed Hamworthy to break through but the resulting shot was dragged wide of the post. On the stroke of half time Poole really should have taken the lead. A miskick from the Hamworthy keeper fell straight to Carl Chivers and as he race d through on goal he could have pulled the trigger. In delaying, he had to try and dribble round the keeper but the ball was taken comfortably away from him. Half time: 0-0.

Hamworthy took an unlikely lead on 53 minutes. A 30 yard freekick was hit towards goal but Scrivens made am rare mistake when he seemed to have the shot covered only to let it slip through his fingers into the net - a soft goal.
As time wore on Tommy Killick decided to make changes and Ollie Cherrett and Anthony Warrington replaced Darren Reeks and Matty White respectively.
Both Reeks and White could feel a bit aggrieved at this change as both had played particularly well up to this point and after the changes were made Poole never seemed to have the shape or confidence that they had had previously.

Despite this it was Poole who surged forward in the second half looking for the equaliser. On 77 minutes Aaron Turner fed Warrington but his shot flew over the bar when well placed. As time was running out Poole finally got their deserved equaliser. A Funnell freekick on 88 minutes was met by a Hamworthy player but his header looped backwards over the keeper for an own goal. Full time: 1-1.

With Poole looking to win the game it came as a bitter blow at the start of extra time when poor defending led to United taking the lead for a second time. The ball was crossed from the left and Lucas was able to control before firing across Scrivens into the far corner.

Although Poole continued to push forward their efforts lacked the penetration of before and Hamworthy were able to see out the remainder of extra time. With fifteen minutes later another Funnell freekick found
Cherrett(?) completely unmarked in the box but his free header sailed over the bar and with it went Poole's last chance to force a replay.

A disappointing result for the Dolphins who were confident before the game of winning the tie. However, it does underline the importance of Poole getting promoted to Wessex 1 where they can expect similar crowds and equally great occasions against local sides.

Poole: Scrivens, Spalding, Reeks (Cherrett), Cornick (Welsh), Bartlett, Brown, Funnell, White (Warrington), Richardson, Chivers, Turner