Slough 1 Poole Town 3 (29 August 2015)

Poole achieved an expected win at Slough in spite of a turgid first half and going behind just after half time. With Connell starting up front, Davidson coming in from the start and Roberts on the right wing it looked a different kind of set up from the Merthyr game and Poole were dominant in terms of possession in the first half. Brooks went close with a shot across goal and other shots came in from various Poole players. Roberts was hacked down when running through but generally Poole lacked the quality to penetrate the Slough defence. At the other end Slough manufactured several chances but didn't manage to take any of them. At half time the score was 0 - 0 and the shot count Slough 5 / Poole 6.

Just after half time the Poole defence was caught sleeping / appealing for offside and the ball was emphatically rammed home to give the lead to Slough. As we were recalling Bunyan's 'Slough of Despond' Devlin woke up, broke free and fired an unstoppable shot past the Slough keeper. He was booked shortly afterwards. The sharpness that Poole had been lacking in front of goal was emphasised when Gillespie replaced Connell and scored with virtually his first touch, getting to a ball running low across the goal before the defenders and deflecting the ball in.  Whisken received a yellow to add to his points tally for the season and a Slough defender was shown a straight red for hacking down Gillespie on a run which could have led to a goal. After that it was relatively easy for Poole and Brooks added a third just before the end. Second half shots Slough 4 / Poole 8.

Poole now lie just outside the play off positions, 5 points off the top of the table and look forward to the visit of Frome on Bank Holiday Monday and must hope to make further progress. The dolphins have still not reached the heights of last season's performances and still appear to lack cutting edge up front. With both centre backs under suspension soon the next few games will be interesting. Will Spetch came on for a cameo on the left wing before the end against Slough and looked ok. He may well be drafted in at centre back. I for one am looking forward to the return of Lewis Lindsay.

Poole Town 2 Merthyr 2 (22 August 2015)

Against a backdrop of the Bournemouth Air Show and rain threatening throughout, this performance was more red sparrows than red arrows. Although Poole salvaged a point in a 2 - 2 draw with a piece of individual brilliance from Luke Roberts they were outplayed throughout by a Merthyr team with more imagination and individual skill proving that Chip was no blip.

The match started well as the Kettering game had with an unmarked Brooks heading in from a corner and for a short time it looked as though Poole would kick on and control the game. Merthyr however regained their composure and worked their way back in to it. Soon they started to dominate with accurate passing and quick movement which left Poole chasing shadows. A free kick on the edge of the area was poorly defended with the ball bobbling about for ages before the equaliser was rifled in.

The second half brought more from Merthyr who kept the ball for long periods exerting pressure until inevitably they took the lead not long before the end. Roberts had been brought on at half time for Gillespie to introduce a different type of threat and Davidson and Connell were added to try to turn things around. There wasn't too much success although Poole put in plenty of effort. Just before the end Roberts produced a piece of individual skill that showed what had been missing previously as he jinked past 3 players and slotted the ball past the keeper. There was still time for a Merthyr player to be red carded for a reckless tackle on Pettifer (is this in their DNA?) and for Whisken to get a second yellow for what looked like dissent (inexplicable).

I feel that Poole got away with a point here after playing poorly. The midfield was strengthened at the expense of wing play and that left the team short of ideas with Holmes unable to bear the burden of sole provider for Gillespie. It will be good to get Lindsay back in to the team from a defesive and attacking perspective. Davidson, Connell and Gleeson have so far not made an impact although they all work hard. The bright outlook is the form of Roberts who after scoring the two goals against Corby last season looks more confident and capable of ripping open defences. If he can establish a regular rapport with Gillespie it could be fruitful.

Poole Town 1 Chippenham 3

Sadly this was the type of Poole performance we have seen before. Plenty of effort but no cutting edge and a competent opposition making the most of defensive errors. Gleeson came in for his first game of the season but Poole without Petts is like a doughnut without jam. Although Chippenham should have scored early on from a diving header, Poole went on to dominate the first half. Gillespie headed wide, Burbs had plenty of runs with the ball on the right and shots rained in on the Chippenham goal (or wide or over). Poole unfortunately weren't sharp enough in front of goal and paid the penalty (literally) when Chippenham broke, caused panic in the Poole area and had a player tripped from behind. The penalty was easily converted.

Just after half time, Holmes who looked Poole's best player had a good shot turned around the post and that was Poole's best effort of the match. Poole lacked ideas and Chippenham grew in confidence and started to dominate the play. A second penalty was awarded when Hutch inexplicably bundled into a Chippenham forward going for a bouncing ball. It looked a penalty from the other end and it also looked unecessary. Again the penalty was converted. Poole tried gamely to get back in the match and excellent passing between Holmes and Gillespie led to Gillespie being tripped in the box and Devlin converting the penaly. Game on, but not, as Chippenham broke at the other end resulting in a pull back by Walker who received a red card after being yellow carded earlier. Chippenham marauded forward towards the end with Poole in dissaray and scored a third goal.

This was disappointing in that we have seen this kind of game from Poole last season where domination is not turned into goals and poor discipline costs points. The question remains whether the team has been strengthened by the new arrivals. Chippenham were no more than a good team who were determined and on their game. They deserved the win but I will eat a beefburger if they win the league.

St Neots Town v Poole Town 15 August 2015

This match was eagerly anticipated as the test of the season so far against the fancied front runners for the title. The pitch at Rowley Park was green and lush and the chips copious. It was good to see Petts in the side after rumours of absence and the game started with Poole playing as they left off against Hungerford, passing the ball well as they probed a St Neots defence without their two normal giant centre backs. Gillie looked lively up front but it was St Neots who hit the post early on. It looked a fairly even contest until Emerson, coming into the team for Lindsay, stepped forward, moved to the right and struck an unstoppable shot past the St Neots keeper. It is fair to say that no-one saw it coming.

The second half brought louder shouting from the saints bench and a more direct style of play. Poole coped with that adequately until saints drew level passing the ball quickly across the goal and firing a shot in off the underside of the bar. That didn't really change the balance of the game and Poole carried on playing measured football with Devlin playing particularly well with vision to find Poole players marauding forward. One of the attacks let to Burbidge being through on goal. He rounded the keeper and was brought down only for the ref to give a free kick to St Neots and a yellow to Burbs. The Poole player maybe could have stayed on his feet and did go down a little theatrically but it was a foul by the keeper and a definite penalty. The ref got it wrong. 

There was to be no respite for St Neots as they pressed forward and were left exposed as Roberts picked up a pass near the half way line, outstripped the defenders and coolly slotted the ball past the advancing keeper to make the score 1 - 2. Roberts really is showing the talent he has this season and is quickly becoming a very influential player for Poole. Burbidge was put through for another one on one with the St Neots keeper, again went round him and again was clipped. This time he stayed on his feet and passed the ball into the empty net. St Neots threw everything forward and scored a second. The game was marred for them by a broken leg for goalscorer Remy Gordon. We wish him a speedy recovery. It did mean that there was a significant amount of injury time and St Neots threw everything at Poole looking for the equaliser. They didn't have enough though and the game ended 2 - 3. 

This was more great entertainment for the travelling fans and on this showing Poole look like they could challenge for the title. The games don't get easier though as the dolphins face a Chippenham team with a perfect 3 win record on Tuesday evening.

Hungerford Town FC v Poole Town FC 10.08.2015

The violet kit got an airing tonight and very smart they all looked. Hungerford in white played up the sideways slope in the first half and treated us to exactly what we expected, lumping the ball into the corners trying to create some sort of physical firestorm to blow Poole away. They were determined to be first to the ball and weren't averse to going through players to get it which gave the ref some work to do. The pleasing thing about this performance was how strong Poole were to resist in the first half and then to impose themselves in the second half.

in the first half the ball was moved quickly at every opportunity by the Crusaders and pumped forward. Long balls and long throws rained in on the Poole goalmouth and although these looked threatening, Hutch, Walks and Whisk mainly dealt with them fairly easily. There was moment where Walks gave the ball away on the edge of the area which should have led to a goal. At the other end Gillie, Burbs and Roberts put lots of effort in and Poole's best moment came when Roberts produced a superb cross from the left which Gillie got his head to but was deflected over by a defender.

Great funky half time music lifted the spirits and the dolphins must have listened to the lyrics of 'Le Freak' blasting around the ground:

All that pressure got you down
Has your head spinning all around
Feel the rhythm, check the ride
Come on along and have a real good time

Because Poole came out for the second half to claim the points with slick fast passing and Hungerford were at full stretch for long periods to cover wave after wave of attack.  Poole played some of the best football I have seen from them for a long time and it was a pleasure to watch. As they got more desperate, the Hungerford tackles flew in and a noise abatement order should have been served on their bench. I had to laugh at their shout of 'pass the ball!'. Can they? But Poole stood up to it and continued the pressure. In spite of that dolphins couldn't find a way through and there were few shots on goal. Burbs struck a shot just wide. Connell replaced Gillespie but didn't really get into the game. Towards the end Hungerford did turn it around and create some awkward moments with long throws but neither side really came close.

This was a really enjoyable game to watch with so much commitment from both teams on show and markedly contrasting styles. The fact that it finished 0 - 0 didn't detract from that. It is very early days and a draw at Hungerford won't be the worst result in the world. Hopefully the goals will start flowing soon, but St Neots will provide another tough challenge.

We are top of the league, said we are top of the league!!

Poole Town FC v Kettering Town FC 8 August 2015

8 August, the first day of the new Southern Premier League season; 76,000 spectators at Old Trafford for the Tottenham game and 399 at Poole as they hosted new boys Kettering Town and I know where I would rather be (Tatnam of course). The early start to the season corresponded with the normal congestion on the roads meaning that Kettering were delayed and the kick off was put back to just before 4 p.m.

Lots of apprehension as the new season got under way. Poole retaining most of the squad that nearly won the league last season and adding a few interesting players, namely Gleeson from Dorchester, Holmes from Wimborne and Connell ex Bournemouth.

Questions to be asked included:

• Is Gillespie fit / can he say fit?
• Will there be a hangover from the disappointment of last season?
• What are the new players like?
• How strong is the opposition?
• Will vegetable burgers be widely available for the first time (Biggleswade being the stars in vegetarian provision so far – when I say stars, I mean 'I think we've got one out the back somewhere')?

As it happens we didn't have to wait long, Gillespie rising like the proverbial salmon to head home from a corner after 3 minutes, the ball taking a deflection from a defender on the way in. After the initial shock Kettering picked themselves up and seemed to have some decent young players who moved the ball well in the build up but without too much effect at the sharp end. The rest of the half was mostly Poole who moved the ball from side to side with Roberts on the left and Burbidge on the right. Burbidge looked effective getting to the byline a number of times and cutting the ball back. A header from Walker could have gone in but Gillespie intervened to head over the top, the keeper pawed one off the line (probably not over the line) and there were shots high, wide and tame. At the other end Hutch wasn't troubled much.

The second half was much of the same with the heat taking its toll. Subs came and went and Kettering managed to get a player sent off for 2 bookable offences. Poole should have scored more goals but left their shooting boots at home, Roberts shooting tamely when in good positions, Devs blasting over and Connell shooting over the bar when he only had to hit the target. Burbidge wilted in the heat, Brooks was replaced and Holmes looked lively after coming on but with Brooks leaving the scene Poole did look a bit lightweight. Petts aka 'the rock' was busy and as usual broke up a lot of Kettering's play. Kettering threw what they had at Poole and there were 2 or 3 moments when they could have equalised. Poole should have won this game by 3 or 4 goals, however I would have taken 1 – 0 before the game and it is the start we wanted. On this performance Kettering look to be a higher mid table team but away to Poole was a tough start to their programme and the delay and heat obviously didn't do them any favours.

So, off to Hungerford on Monday. Not a favourite venue for me with its uneven high bouncing pitch. We always seem to face a well motivated physical team well up for moaning at the ref at every available opportunity. Possibly also the loudest and moaniest bench in the league. For some reason the tiny amount of home supporters also have something against Poole. For me a draw would be a good result.