A decent crowd of 405 turned up at Cuthbury to see the latest chapter of the Poole Town / Wimborne Town local rivalry. Both sides fielded strong sides as Poole looked to knock the holders out of the Wessex League Cup. Aaron Skelton returned to midfield for Poole and once again Stuart Brown and Charlie Austin led the line for the Dolphins. The bench was incredibly strong for Poole with Hubbard, Preston, Smith, Bailey-Pearce and Dave Sturgess all itching to get into the action.

This was a very strange game. Most were expecting a close fought match with plenty of passion and commitment. In the end only Poole showed any of this as Wimborne, even from the first whistle, just didn't look like they even wanted to be out there on the same pitch. An early goal for Poole looked like it could just send them over the edge and so it proved. The writing was on the wall in the first 60 seconds when a Poole freekick into the Wimborne defence was narrowly missed by Luke Whitely and Austin fired just over. It took just another minute before Poole took the lead. Stuart Brown produced a great cross from the left, deep to the far post. Culliford headed back across goal and Charlie Austin headed sweetly into the top right corner and the away side were in front. If Wimborne looked nervous at the start the heads visibly dropped at this point.

On 4 minutes a Wimborne defender made a mistake and Gill pounced. He raced away only to see his eventual shot well saved by the keeper who conceded a corner. Poole sensed more goals and pushed forward with speed and incisiveness. On 11 minutes a Skelton corner curled into the near post saw Stu Brown get up to head home. Now it was a case of holding shape and not doing anything silly to let the home side back into the game. Poole enjoyed much of the possession and continued to look the better side. The referee made poor decisions in issuing yellows to Poore and Culliford for innocuous challenges and Wimborne names were added to the book as well shortly afterwards as the ref had no choice but to book every foul going. It was a problem of his own making.

With half time approaching Poole clinched the all important third goal. A superb ball through the defence sent Brown away and as the keeper came out he took the ball wide and finished brilliantly from the acutest of angles. The finish was all about confidence and the big South African is not lacking in that at the moment! There was still time for Austin to race clear on the stroke of half time but his deft chip went the wrong side of the bar.

Half time: 0-3

Carl Preston replaced Aaron Skelton at half time and if anything Poole enjoyed even more possession at the start of the second half. Wimborne offered nothing - never have I seen a Wimborne side so lacking in passion or belief. They are all good players but Alex Browne has a huge job to mould them into a team. The defending, or lack of it, would have made him cringe for sure. On 61 minutes Dibba sent Brown clear again and having checked his run he cut inside and fired weakly into the side netting. He mad up for it a minute later when a hopeful ball out of the Poole defence saw a static Wimborne defence allow Brown to race clear again and his log was the perfect way to complete a tremendous hat-trick. 0-4.

Taffy Richardson tried his luck on 68 minutes with a 25 yard volley that went just wide. Steve Smith replaced Brown shortly after and another Poole corner saw a Culliford header deflect off a defender on the line straight into the keeper's arms. Culliford himself made way for Hubbard on 77 minutes and Wimborne did at least enjoy a 10 minute spell in the Poole half without ever really threatening the Poole goal.
On 90 minutes Poole broke superbly again - Steve Smith raced away on the right and squared across the box. Carl Preston hit the ball first time and with the keeper beaten the ball crashed back off the post to safety. Although not confirmed, rumours suggest that Dan Cann actually did get a touch of the ball in injury time......................................

Poole have the perfect combination at the moment. Brilliant at the back, hardworking in midfield and strikers who are scoring goals but also working so hard for the rest of the team. This match wasn't even a contest as Poole extended their run to eleven consecutive wins on the road in all competitions. Terrific stuff.