Poole Town vs Weymouth – Match Preview
You wait several months for a local derby and two come along at once. After the incredible excitement of the 6-0 thrashing of Weymouth, in front of a huge crowd of 1434, we turn our attention to Tuesday evening and the visit of Dorchester Town ko 7.45pm. The atmosphere inside the ground on Saturday was electric as the lads played to a very high tempo and looked like scoring with every attack. We will be wanting more of the same on Tuesday.
We didn’t score 6 goals in a match last season, but in 2023/4 we smashed seven past Swindon Supermarine on the opening day and then followed it up in November with a 7-0 drubbing of Didcot Town.
We do not get carried away with the league table too early, but after ten games things do seem to start settling down and we are more than happy to be in third place at this stage. (P10 W6 D3 L1 21 points) We have won three matches on the road, losing just the once, at Sholing (4-1). We have won three of our home matches picking up 11 points at The Black Gold Stadium and sit in second place in the form table (P6 D4 D2).
The lads really are playing as a team as they get used to playing together. Shaq has now fired himself to the top of the Pitching In goalscoring chart with 6 league goals, 11 in total.
The Magpies made it to the play-offs last season, losing out to AFC Totton who were promoted after beating Gloucester City in the play-off final. We drew the home Boxing Day fixture 1-1 but we narrowly lost 3-2 at The Avenue on Easter Bank Holiday Monday.
We know only too well that it won’t be easy on Tuesday evening. After a disappointing start to the season Dorchester are now starting to pick up valuable points. They come into the match on the back of their first away win of the season, 2-0 at Hanwell Town on Saturday. They have spent time at the foot of the table but they have now climbed to 18th place (P10 W2 D3 L5 9 points). They are in 13th place in the form table (P6 W2 D1 L3). We also know that form goes out of the window when local derbies come along.
Of course we will recognise virtually all the Magpies, Corby Moore and Harvey Wright have made 14 appearances for them to date this campaign and many more ex-Dolphins will no doubt make the trip. One player, not an ex-Dolphin, who we have come up against several times, but most recently in the colours of Taunton Town is Tom Smith.
After losing a significant number of their better players at the end of last season, Tommy Killick needed to find some quality replacements. He turned to the cultured, goalscoring midfielder, Smith who began his career with Swindon Town, before joining National League South side Bath City. He became a Twerton Park icon during a seven-year spell, where he made over 260 appearances and scored over 50 goals for The Romans. He was notably named National League South Player of the 2019–20 season. He left Bath in the Summer of 2024 to sign for fellow Somerset side, Taunton Town, where he captained the team to a top-half finish.
It was hoped that Brett Pitman would make an impact at this level, both as a coach and as a player but due to lack of playing time he has been loaned out to AFC Portchester.
We can hardly wait for what promises to be one of those classic non-league encounters between two committed sides desperate for the points for very different reasons.
Come along early and soak up the atmosphere under the Black Gold lights.
Enjoy the game,
Neil Wellington.