A terrific bank holiday crowd of 382 turned up at Tatnam to see Poole take on local rivals Christchurch. After the 7-0 mauling by Poppies just two days previous it was clear that Kempy would not be allowing his boys to suffer the same fate against the reigning champions.

Certainly Christchurch looked better than that scoreline suggested and they did work hard throughout the evening. However, Poole are in good form at the moment and in particular the front two are on fire - there has been no-one yet within the league that has been able to contain them.

If the visitors were looking not to concede an early goal then they were to be disappointed. As early as the seventh minute Austin fired off a shot at goal and with the ball blocked en-route, Russell Cook nipped in to thump the ball home. Two minutes later and a Hubbard corner was met by the head of Whitley(?) but the ball cannoned back off the left hand post and was cleared to safety before Austin could apply the finishing touch.

The game got a little bogged down in the midifield for the next ten minutes or so with neither side really creating too much in front of goal. However, on 17 minutes Kearn in the Christchurch goal launched a kick downfield. Lamin Dibba had a free header and thumped it back over the Christchurch defence. Austin raced away and his shot brought a fine save from Kearn who managed to knock the ball up and over the bar for a corner.

On 23 minutes a cross from the left found Taffy Richardson free and after taking a touch he managed to beat the keeper with his shot but again the left hand post conspired to deny Poole a two goal lead. Eventually on 35 minutes the second goal arrived and it was a cracker. Austin held the ball up well and played the ball out wide to Preston. Immediately Cook made the run to the far post and Preston picked him out superbly for Cook to volley the ball home for his, and Poole's, second.

Half time: 2-0.

Early into the second half Stuart Brown replaced a hobbling Russell Cook and it was Brown's ball to Sturgess on 63 minutes that saw the young midfielder's first touch take him past the defender only to be brought down in the box. It was a clear cut penalty and Charlie Austin made no mistake from the spot.

The game was now safe for Poole and although Christchurch never stopped working, Poole were always in control. On 70 minutes Whitley burst into the box and was clearly brought down. It was even more of a penalty than the Sturgess incident but the referee claimed Whitley had dived. Which, if true, should have resulted in a yellow card for the Poole defender. But when you see Luke Whitley contesting a decision then you know that it should have been a penalty. End of.

Steve Smith replaced Austin with fifteen minutes left and shortly afterwards Aaron Skelton came on for Taffy Richardson. Perhaps Christchurchs' best chance came deep into injury time when the number 17 fired in a fine left foot shot but the very secure looking Nic Jones had it covered and pushed it away for a corner.

Job done - three more points. Oh - man of the match for me? Pete Smith was absolutely outstanding. Great in the tackle and brilliant going forward.