Hungerford Town vs Poole Town – Match Preview
It’s back to league action this weekend as The Dolphins travel to Bulpit Lane to take on Hungerford Town on Saturday KO 3pm.
The Crusaders are sitting in seventh place in the league but at this early stage we do not draw to much from that. (P7 W4 D0 L3 12 points). They have won two of their three home league fixtures to date. The 2-1 win over Tiverton and the dramatic late 3-1 victory over Yate Town. In that match veteran striker Conor McDonagh was brought on as an eighty-fifth minute substitute with the match at 1-1. He went on to score in the nineth and ninety-sixth minutes to give the home side the points. Their only defeat at home was the 2-1 loss to Gloucester City. They lost their last league match, the 2-1 defeat at newly promoted Evesham.
They are, like us, still involved in the FA Cup after overcoming Swindon Supermarine last Saturday, thanks again mainly to McDonagh who scored all three goals in the 3-0 win, they will travel to Whitstable Town in the next round.
We drew both matches against them last season, 0-0 at Tatnam in November and then 1-1 at Bulpit Lane in February. They finished the season in 7th place but 16 points off the play-off places, winning 16 of their 42 matches.
There will be several players to look out for on the day, not least the ex-Dolphin keeper Luke Cairney who seems to be front and centre of the action when we meet up against him. Looking to keep his scoring momentum going will be Conor McDonagh who is currently on 6 and James Ollis on 3.
The Crusaders are managed by Danny Robinson who made the switch to Hungerford Town after five very successful years with Thatcham Town. One of his most proud and memorable moments at the club was winning the FA Vase at Wembley in 2018 and he also won the Hellenic League title and guided the Kingfishers to promotion to the Southern League Division 1 South. Robinson was on the verge of another promotion with Thatcham before the season was null and voided due to Covid-19. He joined the Crusaders in early May 2020.
Dolphin fans will be delighted with the start that we have made. Our away form has been good, our only defeat this season so far being the 4-1 reverse at Sholing. We took all three points at Bracknell (4-3) and Plymouth Parkway (1-0). We also have the bonus of a 3Q FA Cup tie to look forward to when we will entertain Weston-Super-Mare.
Pat & Joe are working hard to keep the balance of the team right and have acted this week to do just that. We are sorry to lose the popular Tyrrell Sampson who has re-signed for AFC Stoneham but we understand the reasons for his move. We have made two additions to the squad, defender Owen Dore on loan from Salisbury and Samuel Ayo Faniyan who has recently represented Hayes & Yeading and Gosport Borough.
We will be hoping to keep this excellent run of form going and building on the great start that we have made.
Enjoy the game
Neil Wellington.