The middle of August, the start of a new campaign and the rain lashed down at Tatnam as waterproofs and brollies proved to be the order of the day as the Dolphins took on much fancied Fareham Town.

There had been much speculation as to the starting eleven for Poole Town but the absence of Aaron Skelton (thigh injury) and both Kevin Gill and Stuart Brown suspended meant it was a slightly easier job for manager Tom Killick. There were debuts for Lamin Dibba, Carl Poore and new skipper Simon Browne in defence, Mickey Hubbard and James Bailey-Pearce (second spell) in midfield and Charlie Austin up front alongside the returning Leigh Phillips.

The first half proved to be a cagey affair with both sides not wanting to make any errors early on. Both sides enjoyed spells of good pressure but it was Poole who finished the half the stronger and were probably more confident going into the second half. On 5 minutes Trefor Smith crossed from the right and Phillips's diving header went wide of the target. Six minutes later and a Hubbard freekick (surely a future trademark?) beat the keeper all ends up but bounced back off the bar and was cleared.

Poole were producing some neat football and it always seemed as though a goal was just a matter of time. The Fareham defence however proved pretty solid on all occasions. On 17 minutes a ball into Dibba in the Fareham box saw the tall defender turn and fire off a shot which was deflected just wide of the post.

On 38 minutes another Poole freekick into the box saw the keeper come for the ball but he was never going to get there and Leigh Phillips managed to loop a header over the keeper but the ball bounced just wide of the post once again.

Half time: 0-0.

Having got to half time level Fareham seemed a little less expansive in the second half as they looked to soak up the pressure and maybe escape with a point. The good thing from Poole was that they didn't panic at not scoring and simply continued to press, playing good football with it. On 53 minutes Bailey-Pearce turned a defender inside out and hit a left foot shot just came back off of the inside of the post.

Five minutes later and Jack Swann replaced Phillips and he instantly seemed at home with Austin up front as well. Finally the Poole pressure paid off on 65 minutes. Another freekick into the box caused the Fareham defence problems and after a couple of blocked Poole shots the ball dropped to Luke Whitley and he slammed it home to give Poole the lead.

From that point there was only going to be one winner but it was important that the concentration was maintained at the back. As it turned out Fareham created very little and barely managed an effort on target during the entire match. Yet another set piece saw Austin header just over with fifteen minutes left. On 83 minutes it was Austin who produced a neat touch on the edge of the box before sliding the ball through to Swann who controlled the ball and placed it beyond the keeper into the corner to seal the points.

The excellent Bailey-Pearce had another shot just wide in injury time and with a little luck he could have bagged a hat-trick himself. This was a very good start to the season for Poole. The defence looked particularly strong with Poore, Dibba, Whitley and Browne across the line and both Austin and Swann looked useful up front as well. The midfield had it's usual mix of grit and skill and this was a very nice three point start.