The most exciting match of ther season thus far captivated the crowd at Tatnam as Lymington Town took on the league leaders.

Simon Browne was suspended for this match and so Aaron Skelton started in defence. The midfield was packed out with Carl Preston again starting wide on the left. Andy Cuffiford again partnered Austin up front.

The pitch was in amazing condition considering the snow and rain over the previous few days and groundsman Chris Kelly had worked tirelessly to get the game on. Credit to him - the playing surface was perfect. Both sides started brightly and given their recent win at Moneyfields it was clear that Lymington have come a long way through the course of this season. They looked to hit Poole on the break and did so quite effectively from the start of the game.

On 15 minutes there were appeals from Lymington for a penalty as a Poole defender had gone to ground early and a Lymington player had gone over an outstretched leg. They have been given for less and was a warning to Poole that they needed to be on their game.

On 24 minutes a Gill cross was headed in by Taffy Richardson but the linesman's flag ruled it out for offside. Poole were finally taking control of the game however and the pressure was mounting on the Lymington backline. Lymington were certainly not shy in their physical approach to the game and time and again they clattered into challenges all over the pitch. The referee did not help the situation as he allowed far too much to go and this gave free reign for the challenges to continue. Purkiss clattered Kevin Gill off the ball which the refreee missed completely and the Lymington's number 10 smirking and comments to the crowd as he walked away did little to quell the emotions. He'd got away with it and knew it.

On 36 minutes Preston, who had a superb game again for Poole, curled a shot just wide of the right hand post but a minute later he provided a cross into the box which Charlie Austin rose to head home superbly. Poole controlled the rest of the half and should have scored a second just before the break when Austin got away on the right and he unselfishly squared to a free Taffy Richardson who could only scoop the bar high over the bar from just a few yards out.

Half time: 1-0.

For much of the second half Poole were in charge and created chance after chance. It really looked like a question of how many goals they would get and there was no indication of the drama to follow. On 50 minutes Sturgess did well and found Austin. He beat a defender and squared for Culliford and his right foot shot hit the outside of the post and went wide.

Two minutes later and Preston combined with Dibba and between them they found Sturgess who burst through two or three defenders and fired wide of the goal. On 57 minutes Austin produced some magic on the edge of the box to create some space and his fierce shot produced an outstanding one handed save from the Lymington keeper. From the resulting corner Taffy Richardson found Culliford but again the shot went over the bar.

Back came Lymington and on 63 minutes their number 7 shot just over. Steve Smith came on for Culliford and within a few minutes had a shot which saw the keeper backpeddling to claw away for a corner. Within seconds Preston was superb on the left and beat defenders to get to the line. He pulled the ball back for Austin but his first time shot just cleared the crossbar.

Fifteen minutes left and it all started. Firstly a Poole lapse in defence allowed Cooper to race clear. He just beat Harvell to the ball and toe poked it past him into the net. 1-1. A minute later and Lymington took the lead when Purkiss was allowed to much room and he clipped the ball past Harvell. Stunned silence in the crowd. Despite Taffy firing wide at the other end and Bailey-Pearce coming on for Skelton it was the 80th minute when Lymington broke again. Dibba hesitated on the ball and Cooper raced clear again and produced a cool finish to make it 3-1. Three goals in four minutes had left Poole's unbeaten league record hanging from a thread.

A thread was all they needed however and if there's one thing supporters have learnt this season is that that their boys never ever give up. On 83 minutes there was a scramble in the Lymington six yard box with shots being blocked all over the place. Eventually it came out to skipper Luke Whitley and he thumped it in at the far post. On 87 minutes Poole got a freekick just outside the box and Carl Preston produced a superb shot to find the bottom left corner of the net. This was harsh on Lymington however as the referee clearly blew his whistle right at the point that Preston connected with the ball. It was an odd moment and the kick really should have been retaken. If it had been the other way there is no doubt that Poole supporters would have been up in arms! The referee allowed the goal to stand and sent off Blake for Lymington for his protestations.

Suddenly it was 3-3 and never looked like ending that way. Sure enough straight from the kick off Poole won the ball back, made their way down the left wing and a cross found Steve Smith lurking at the far post and he hammered it home to secure the most amazing three points of the season.

A fantastic team performance to retrieve a hopeless situation and how important are those three points in the context of the league? Wonderful entertainment for £6. Man of the match? Chris Kelly for allowing the whole spectacle to take place.