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!!