Media Watch - Poole Town

While our next three away games will certainly provide an indication of our true potential, our visit to Tatnum this weekend will probably be one of the toughest games of the season. We travel to the South Coast on Saturday to face the bookmakers favourites for promotion, we then face our adversaries for the South and West title two season ago as we go to visit second in the table Cirencester on August Bank Holiday Monday before a visit to Hardenhuish Park home of current league leaders Chippenham Town in Mid-September.

An extremely difficult period 'on the road' for a team and its supporters, who are still coming to terms with our comparatively new surroundings.

Over the last few season Poole have been the benchmark against which opposition teams compare their standards. It is possibly the litmus test for almost every team in our division and after their home defeat against Chippenham on Tuesday evening it may be the worse time to visit this affluent area of Dorset with the ‘wounded animal’ seeking a quick return to full health and back to winning ways this weekend.

They have a very settled starting eleven who have played together for a number of seasons and they know each others games almost telepathically. A well known player to non-league fans is Richard Gillespie who has scored 28 goals in the last two seasons for the Dolphins. They also added two experienced players during the close season in Allan Connell and Jamie Gleeson, who played ten years for neighbours Dorchester. In Luke Burbridge, Marvin Brooks and Steve Devlin they have three attacking midfielders who have scored a combined total of over 100 goals in their relatively short Poole careers.

However, this week the Dolphins boss Tom Killick accused his side of complacency after they had suffered the first league defeat of the season. He told the Bournemouth Echo,

"Although we weren't playing badly in the first half, I felt we weren't flat out and the damage was done then. We didn't have enough intensity and that cost us.

"We had a really good win at St Neots on Saturday and I wonder whether we got a bit carried away in terms of thinking that things can come a bit too easily. I feel there was almost a complacency about our performance and perhaps we've learned a painful lesson."

Technically the standard is much higher then last season, opposition defences play better collectively and individually. Last season Poole only conceded a miserly 35 goals in 44 league games which is an indication of the task ahead. After missing out on promotion on the last day of the regular league season in April and then losing to St Neots Town in the play-offs Tom Killick will do everything in his powers to prevent a repeat of that heartbreak this season. The tactical battle of minds between Steve Jenkins and Killick will inevitably have a significant impact on the final result.

Our last two visits to this part of the Jurassic Coast have seen us suffer defeats in the FA Cup and South & West Division so expect Saturday to be as equally extremely difficult.

Merthyr Town head to the south coast for their Southern League clash with promotion rivals Poole Town
Wales On Line

Merthyr Town and Poole Town, both among the favourites for promotion from EvoStik Southern League football, clash at the Tatnam Farm ground in Dorset on Saturday (3pm).

Both clubs are intent on pressing hard for a place in Conference South next season and the Martyrs know a positive result at Poole will underline their intent. Both teams have started with two wins and a draw from four matches and are level on seven points, although manager Steve Jenkins’ Mertyrs are ahead on goal difference.

The Martyrs travel to Poole after a 3-0 midweek win against Stratford when Ian Traylor, Jaye Bowen and Ryan Prosser, while Poole suffered a 3-1 home defeat against Premier Division leaders Chippenham.

Substitute Jaye Bowen scored for Merthyr Town during the 3-0 win against Stratford Town this week. Bowen, the son of former Cardiff, Swansea and Wales midfield player Jason, made a big impact when he went on as a substitute against Stratford, scoring and setting up Merthyr’s third.

Kyle Patten is fit again after injury and is in the Merthyr squad, but Richard Evans is not available.

Poole had centre-half Michael Walker sent off for a second yellow card with five minutes left, having initially been booked for dissent.

Killick says Howes horror is in the past as he prepares troops for Merthyr
Bournemouth Echo

Boss Tom Killick said Poole’s last encounter with Merthyr had provided an “horrific” flashpoint but insisted the X-rated tackle on Glenn Howes would have no bearing on tomorrow’s clash.

Howes was forced to retire after a challenge by Martyrs’ Nathan Davies in February 2013 had left him with ruptured medial and posterior cruciate ligaments, damaged cartilage and a fractured knee joint.

And while Killick retains vivid memories of the dark day in Wales, he explained that it would not impact his managerial actions at Tatnam against the Southern Premier new boys (3pm).

Killick told the Daily Echo: “It’s probably one of the worst experiences of my football life in terms of the consequences that it carried for one of our players, who remains quite deeply affected by it to this day. You never forget something as horrific as that but, to me, it’s an irrelevance now. It’s just something that happened. But it will not have any bearing on how we approach this game or my feelings towards the game. I have no axe to grind with Merthyr. In terms of the last time we played them, that is the memory we’ve got but this game is all about trying to get back to winning ways.”

Poole suffered their first defeat of the league campaign on Tuesday when table-toppers Chippenham triumphed 3-1 in Dorset. That result had followed a strong start to the season for Dolphins, with Killick’s troops securing victory at St Neots, a draw at Hungerford and an opening-day win over Kettering.

And Killick believes his players will remain grounded despite the disappointment of the defeat. He added: “It comes back to the old thing that you can’t get too carried away with good performances and too affected by bad ones. We weren’t as good against Chippenham as we were against St Neots but we have to retain belief that if we apply ourselves properly and approach the games in the right way then we will get back to winning ways. Defeat to Chippenham was a slap in the face and kept us aware of what is required to win games. I don’t lose any belief on the back of that result and I don’t think the group will either.”

Carl Pettefer could return after missing the Chippenham fixture due to family commitments.

Merthyr have made a positive start to their league campaign following promotion from Southern South & West last season. The Welsh outfit have taken seven points out of a possible 12.

Merthyr’s only league defeat to date this season came when they were sunk 3-2 at Kettering on Saturday.

Wandering wrote:
Boss Tom Killick said Poole’s last encounter with Merthyr had provided an “horrific” flashpoint but insisted the X-rated tackle on Glenn Howes would have no bearing on tomorrow’s clash.

Howes was forced to retire after a challenge by Martyrs’ Nathan Davies in February 2013 had left him with ruptured medial and posterior cruciate ligaments, damaged cartilage and a fractured knee joint.

And while Killick retains vivid memories of the dark day in Wales, he explained that it would not impact his managerial actions at Tatnam against the Southern Premier new boys (3pm).

If Matthew Harris is still out injured we'll only have two players in the side tomorrow who took part in that match in 2013 - Ian Traylor and Ryan Prosser.

Judging by the side they fielded midweek Poole could have as many as six.