Only the second away game of the season for Poole and the first for over a month as the Dolphins made the trip to deepest Devon to take on regular rivals (it seems) Willand Rovers. A fairly predictable line-up for Poole with Stu Brown starting wide right, Hubbard in centre midfield with Dave Sturgess out.

Even before the game started it was clear that the pitch would not be helpful to the type of football that Poole play. Firstly it is absolutely tiny (and that after it had been extended to allow Willand to play in the FA Cup some time back) and this resulted in the rather farcical game of each goalkeeper punting several goal kicks straight to each other. Also, although the grass was excellent the pitch was undulating. Witness Carl Preston repeatedly running down the wing and stumbling as his feet were expecting solid ground only to find thin air. None of these are excuses for a poor Poole performance but perhaps the players have been spoilt with the vast number of home games they have enjoyed at the start of this season.

The first half was a non event in terms of action or excitement. Both sides cancelled each other out defensively and but for a couple of half chances there was very little to report. Willand are a strong physical team (we know that from old) and this time they seemed to have even bigger players in the squad, two or three of whom were well over six foot. Poole coped well enough with the physical presence but never really got into any consistent pattern of football.

On 9 minutes Willand put some pressure on the Poole goal but the Dolphins broke at pace through Pete Smith and after he had linked up Taffy he played in Charlie Austin and his shot went just wide. Twenty minutes gone and it looked like Poole might score as Russell Cook managed to round the keeper but a defender did very well to come across and clear the ball away before Cook could shoot.

Half time: 0-0

Poole were better in the second half as they seemed to possess a bit more urgency about their play. Taffy Richardson led by example as always and this seemed to galvanise a few of the players, although on this day none of them covered themselves in any glory, Taffy and Pete Smith perhaps being the exceptions.

Willand had a break on 52 minutes and a fine cross from the right was headed just over. A minute later and a ball into the Willand box was missed by a defender and Cook took a touch before volleying badly over the bar. Kevin Gill made a welcome return on 62 minutes as Stu Brown made way.

Sixty seven minutes and controversy as a Poole defender was adjudged to have handled in the box. The referee allowed play to continue and it was only after the linesman flagged and the referee consulted him that the penalty was awarded. Poole were obviously upset with the decision as several players remonstrated with the linesman. Was it handball? Was it inside the area? It seemed near the touchline but given the width of the pitch you could almost jump from the touchline into the penalty area anyway! At the end of the day, the decision was made and the penalty converted.

Obviously from this point Willand were going to just defend and allow Poole to have the ball. Ross Lloyd replaced a disappointing Carl Preston and this allowed Lamin Dibba to make his way forward. Steve Smith replaced Carl Poore too late to make any impact (86 minutes) and despite having the possession Poole never really looked like scoring. Nearly every freekick and corner was aimed straight at the home keeper and he was very secure, claiming everything.

Poole certainly did not do themselves justice today. Having said that, they didn't deserve to lose either as a draw would have been a fair result. But, Willand are through and Poole now have an early chance on Tuesday to make amends and re-focus on the league.