Poole Town have gone back to the top of the Southern Premier league after an emphatic 4-0 win over Weymouth in Saturday’s local derby.
Despite going into the clash as league leaders, Weymouth went into the game as underdogs given the differing recent form of each side, and they set out to be hard to beat.
And that’s what they were in a tight and nervy first half, in which both sides appeared to be working each other out.
Adam Kelly had the first shot of the match, though his long range effort drifted wide of the target.
From that point the Dolphins slowly began to take charge, and they really should have taken the lead shortly before the break.
Steve Devlin’s corner was flicked on towards the back post, but with an open goal to aim for, Bournemouth loanee Joe Quigley somehow put his free header a couple of yards wide.
Poole continued to press, and they went close again early in the second half when Weymouth again failed to deal with a Devlin corner. This time a header was cleared off the line by a covering defender, though quite how much he knew about it only he will know!
Weymouth appeared to have weathered the storm, but then just past the hour mark, they shot themselves in the foot by gifting Poole the opening goal.
Ben Close received the ball in the box, and Ashley Wells showed him away from goal.
There didn’t appear to be any immediate danger with Close having has back to goal and having nowhere to go, but all of a sudden Wells suffered a rush of blood to the head, and tripped the Portsmouth loanee, leaving the referee no choice but to award the penalty.
Steve Devlin duly slotted the ball home to give the home side a precious lead.
Weymouth now had to tear their game plan up and go for it. Tim Sills was thrown on in an attempt to gain more of a foothold in the game, but Poole’s tails were up now, and they were playing some superb football.
It should have been 2-0 moments later when Luke Burbridge was sent through on goal, but Jason Matthews was quick off his line, and did well to narrow the angle and smother the shot.
Then came the games big turning point.
Adam Kelly went down inside the Poole penalty area under pressure from two defenders, but the referee waved the protests away, to the disbelief of the team and travelling fans.
Weymouth lost their heads from that point, and with a quarter of an hour remaining, they conceded a poor second goal to Richard Gillespie, after failing to deal with yet another corner.
Inevitably, ex Terra Luke Burbridge got the goal his performance deserved on 86 minutes, putting Poole in dreamland.
Gillespie was on hand to rub more salt into the wounds with virtually the last kick of the game, and complete a famous win for Poole.
4-0 probably flattered the hosts, but it certainly can’t be denied that they thoroughly deserved their victory.
They controlled the game from start to finish – playing some wonderful flowing football, and giving Weymouth absolutely no time to settle when they did have the ball.
Not to take anything away from Poole, but it must be said that Weymouth helped them along the way by playing straight into their hands.
The Terras don’t exactly have a strong defence, so asking them to defend for a full 90 minutes was always going to be a tall order. But their insistence on hoofing the ball long to Stewart Yetton was a major flaw, as the Poole centre back’s Michael Walker and Jamie Wisken won everything that came their way. So no sooner would Weymouth clear the ball up field, than it’d be back on it’s way into the danger area.
The defeat isn’t season ending for the Terras. They’re only two points adrift of Poole although they have played two games more. Psychologically though Saturday’s defeat is a major blow, and they’ll need to recover immediately if they want to keep their title hopes alive.
That’s easier said than done though, as on Saturday they welcome Redditch United to the Bob Lucas Stadium.
United have been the league’s surprise package this season – occupying a play-off spot for most it, but they have also hit a rough patch of form recently, and Saturday’s defeat saw them drop to eighth in the table.
It should be an intriguing contest between two good sides who are struggling to find the consistency which saw both top the table earlier in the season.
Poole now have a real opportunity to build a cushion at the top of the table, and they’ll be looking to carry the momentum forward on Saturday when they travel to Histon. They’re unbeaten in their previous twelve home games, but with the form Poole are in, they will be expecting to return from Cambridgeshire with another three points in the bag.
At the other end of the table, Dorchester Town’s revival was brought to a temporary hault on Saturday as they suffered a cruel 1-0 defeat at home to Cirencester Town.
A 23rd minute goal from Dunton ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides, but the Magpies will be incredibly frustrated not to have taken something from the game.
They had a number of good chances, and in injury time the referee bottled awarding them a stonewall penalty, and he even had the nerve to book Matt Oldring for his protests!
That result makes Wednesday night’s trip to Frome Town a massive game for both clubs.
Frome currently sit 20th – two points below the Magpies with two games in hand, so a win would take them above Dorchester. A win for the Magpies however would see them climb eight points above the relegation zone. It’s a real six pointer.
With a trip to Dunstable Town to come on Saturday, this week represents a golden chance for Dorchester to take a big step towards securing their place in the Southern Premier League for next season.
Every point is becoming more and more crucial, and all three sides will be desperate to pick up maximum points this week.
James Spring
