Walton & Hersham 1-2 Poole Town – Match Report
The ten men of Poole Town earnt a truly remarkable three points in a 2-1 win on the road against the league leaders Walton & Hersham on Saturday afternoon.
Joe Lea and Pat Suraci made a number of changes with the most noticeable one being top scorer Shaquille Gwengwe on the bench.
The match got underway with a high intensity between the top two sides in the division.
The deadlock was broken within the first ten minutes after Ayo was brought down inside the penalty area with the referee pointing to the spot.
Ik Hill stepped up from 12 yards and converted past Jos Barker to give the Dolphins the dream start.
Despite Walton dominating the majority of the ball, Poole pounced on their opportunities and looked a threat every time coming forward.
On the 35th minute, the Dolphins doubled their lead as Hill played a superb ball which allowed Ayo to go around the goalkeeper and tap the ball home into an empty net to make it two to the good.
Only a few moments later, the second goalscorer Ayo was shown a second yellow card for a harsh challenge on a Walton player resulting in Poole going down to ten men.
The half time whistle arrived with Poole in the commanding position, albeit a player down.
Two half time changes arrived for Lea and Suraci’s side with a return for club captain Jamie Whisken and top scorer Shaquille Gwengwe both being introduced
The second 45 got underway with Walton continuing to dominate possession, but it was Poole with the biggest chance as Gwengwe had two huge opportunities to make it three but was denied by Barker on both occasions.
Walton continued to push for a way back into the game, but the backline of Poole defended valiantly and did not look like they were going to give in.
With less than 15 minutes to play, Adam Parkes controversially picked up a back pass from Owen Dore leading to an indirect free kick inside the penalty area.
The resulting free kick was set to Jack Wood who fired past the yellow wall of Poole to draw it back to 2-1 and adding a tense end to the contest.
Despite the hosts throwing everything at it, the ten men of Poole defended superbly and held on to all three points against the 1st placed side who had not lost at home in the league for over a year.
A truly memorable afternoon for the Poole contingent that made the trip who supported the side magnificently throughout.
Next up for Lea and Suraci’s side is a trip to The Bob Lucas Stadium to face Weymouth next Saturday.