Shaftesbury 3-1 Poole Town – Match Report
Poole Town were beaten 3-1 by Shaftesbury in a friendly on Tuesday evening.
Manager Steve Tully made seven changes to his starting eleven from the 2-1 defeat to Hanwell Town on Saturday.
16-year-old Pietro Almeida made his first start for the side with young goalkeeper Toby Steiner-Reid starting between the sticks.
The match got underway in Shaftesbury with Poole looking bright in the early stages.
After only three minutes into the game, it was the Dolphins who took the lead through striker Rafa Ramos who capitalised on a mistake and fired home.
Poole went close to doubling their lead on the 10th minute after great work from Ramos to find Almieda in space on the edge, but he was unable to keep his effort down.
The hosts fought back and equalised on the 17th minute through Ronan Moore who beat the offside trap and calmy slotted it past the keeper.
Shaftesbury took the lead after 25 minutes after an excellent free kick from Nathan Rogers crashed off the under-side of the bar into the back of the net.
There were multiple chances for both sides, but it was the hosts who went into the break with a 2-1 lead.
An abundance of changes for Poole with a number of players from the under 19’s side coming onto the field.
Shaftesbury made it 3-1 just before the hour mark as Rogers scored his second of the game.
The young Dolphins continued to push on looking to get back into the game but were unable to convert on multiple occasions.
The referee’s whistle brought proceedings to an end with Shaftesbury winning 3-1.
A good run out for Tully’s side with a number of youth players on the pitch.
Next up for Poole is a return to league action as they travel to Gloucester on Saturday.