Poole Town suffered late heartache in Wiltshire on Saturday as Chippenham Town bagged an 86th minute winner which knocked the Dolphins off top spot.
With nothing left to play for – the pressure was off for the Bluebirds, and they put in a spirited performance – never allowing the league leaders to settle into their passing game, and generally making life uncomfortable for them.
Having lifted the Red Insure Cup following a goalless draw at home to Corby on Tuesday night, the Dolphins were keen to cement their advantage at the top of the table, and Tommy Killick returned to the dugout after a six game ban.
He made a few changes with their hectic schedule in mind – most notably leaving out Luke Burbridge and Marvin Brooks
Matt Butcher made his debut for the Dolphins, and he had the games first real chance – hitting a shot just over the crossbar after ten minutes.
Lindsay also had a shot that was wide of the mark right on the stroke of half time, in what was an otherwise fairly uneventful half of football.
The Dolphins had their best chance of the game shortly after the interval, when a Steve Devlin free kick landed at the feet of the unsuspecting Michael Walker, but the big defender failed to react in time and could only poke a tame effort into the grateful arms of the goalkeeper.
That was pretty much the only occasion Steve Devlin managed to trouble the Bluebirds’ defence with his set piece deliveries – with most of the others being claimed quite comfortably by Chippenham keeper Kauppinen.
The Dolphins were clearly struggling to get to grips with a very bobbly surface, and the longer the game went on, the more the hosts grew in confidence.
They came close to breaking the deadlock on 78 minutes but Nick Hutchings did well to claw an effort onto his left hand post before Walker hacked it clear.
Poole failed to heed the warning, and five minutes from time they were hit with a sucker punch.
Another cross wasn’t properly cleared by the visiting defence – and the ball fell to Ashton Holgate who was in the right place at the right time to smash an unstoppable volley beyond the despairing reach of Hutchings to give the hosts a thoroughly deserved victory.
The news of that goal would no doubt have been greeted with much joy from the Corby fans who were not too far away in North Devon watching their side cruise to a 3-1 victory, and that was enough to see the Steelmen regain top spot by two points, albeit having played three games more.
Third placed Truro City would also have been rubbing their hands together as they thumped Redditch 4-0 at the Valley to go five points clear of Weymouth, who they face in a massive game on Easter Monday.
Weymouth head down to Cornwall in pretty awful form with just one win in their last six games, and with just one win on the road since Boxing Day.
In stark contrast – Truro have been unstoppable since the turn of the year, particularly on home soil, where they have won 13 of their 19 games.
Victory for Truro would cement their top three spot, and Weymouth could fall out of the top five for the first time since September if they lose.
Weymouth should at least be much fresher than City though having not played this weekend, but it’s a tall order for them to go down there and get a good result.
Former fans favourite Trevor Challis has been appointed as Weymouth assistant manager until the end of the season after Craig Laird took up the manager’s job at Yate Town.
His arrival has given the fans a much needed boost, and they’ll be hoping he can give the players a much needed rocket up the backside.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Dorchester Town suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Cambridge City. The Magpies did rest a couple of players in preparation for their local derby at home to Poole Town on Monday, although it is now five without a win for the county town outfit.
Weymouth, Truro and Corby will all be hoping the Magpies can at least repeat their draw against Poole from New Year’s Day, and with Poole seemingly beginning to feel the heat at the top and the pressure being off for the Magpies, you wouldn’t bet against them upsetting the odds yet again.
James Spring
