Chertsey Town vs Poole Town – Match Preview
Even by Poole Town’s standards last week was quite remarkable. Steve Tully and Luke Burbidge left the club, Pat Suraci and Joe Lea were appointed as joint managers, along with a new back-room team and our match at Hungerford was one of six games which were postponed due to the extremely cold conditions.
So, we set off into a new era with Pat and Joe at the helm. Postponements are never good but in this case I’m sure that they have made the most of the opportunity to meet up with the squad both on Thursday evening and then again at Blandford on Saturday between 1-3pm.
Some of the players made their way to watch Wimborne after the training session and were full of praise for the way that the training had gone and expressed their eagerness to make a fresh start and do everything that needs to be done to pull the club away from the lower end of the table. Harvey Slade told me that we now have a fully squad and Cam Pain has just one more match of his ban to serve and then he will be available for selection. However, the amazing performances of Ben Taylor may give Pat and Joe something to think about!
At one point on Saturday afternoon we dropped into the bottom four but some late goals went in our favour and we now sit in 18th place (P23 W6 D8 L9 26 points). There are five teams just above us on 28 points so, as usual the league is very congested at this time of the season.
One of those five teams is Surrey based, Chertsey Town who we visit on Tuesday evening ko 7.45. The Curfews were promoted into this league after winning the Isthmian League- South Central Division at something of a canter last season. They finished the campaign with a massive 100 points and scored 103 goals going unbeaten at home, winning 15, and drawing 5 of the 20 home matches played. They finished 11 points clear of Marlow who won promotion through the play-offs.
They currently find themselves in 12th place (P22 W8 D4 L10 28points) and will be pleased with the first half of their first season at this level. They have enjoyed a successful run in the FA Trophy, eventually being put out by Aldershot Town in the fourth round in their last match on January 4th. They have a good record in the non-league cup competitions and won the FA Vase at Wembley Stadium in the 2018/19 season.
They owe a lot of their success this season to the very experienced striker Jack Mazzone who has scored 17 league goals so far, putting him in second place in the Pitching-In table of leading scorers. We have come up against Jack on several occasions so we have a good idea of what to expect.
I’m certain that the supporters will get fully behind the new management team, starting on Tuesday and give them and the team the support that they need to take the club forward.
Enjoy the game
Neil Wellington.