Poole Borough Football Club
Season 2009/10

THE SEASON

Results, Reports & Fixtures

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Appearances

Scorers

	Old Oakmedians (0) 2,
	Poole Borough Reserves (1) 2.

Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 15th August 2009

Borough acquitted themselves well against a physical Oakmedians side who will play 1 level higher than the reserves will be for this new season. Played on a poor surface Borough started hesitantly as Oakmead poured forward, SHEAR tipped a header over in the 2nd minute, this appeared to wake Borough up as a good move minutes later saw a HAMPTON-BROWN header just go over. The same player in the 11th minute executed a great cover tackle to deny the Oak’s forward. On 14 minutes following a flowing 4 man Borough move, PORTER was adjudged to be offside, a tight call. As the half wore on Borough played the better football whilst the hosts relied on their long ball game and a more physical approach, to Borough’s credit the defence held firm with HEBDON & GRIFFIN winning most challenges which frustrated the home side, SQUIRES went close with a shot in the 30th minute whilst in the 32nd MOORE also went close following a good run and shot. Borough finished the half much the stronger, SQUIRE again went close on 37 minutes only to see a last ditch block rebound to ROBINSON who shot over. On 39 minutes Borough earned a corner and following an excellent delivery from HAMPTON-BROWN, PORTER rose to nod home 1-0 there was still time in the 43rd minute to increase the lead however the home keeper pulled of a fine save from HAMPTON-BROWN.

HALF-TIME OLD OAKMEDIANS 0-1 PBFC

Borough expected an early bout of pressure from the home side and so it proved as Oakmedians piled on the pressure, again the defence ably marshalled by SHEAR coped, PORTER again went close on the 53rd minute, however minutes later the scores were level when an Oakmedian player skipped down the Borough left, evaded 3 tackles and got his cross in which was firmly met un-opposed at the far post to be firmly headed home 1-1

If this was a sign for the home team to think they would now get on top they severely underestimated Borough who immediately from the re start earned a free kick, from which the keeper spilled the ball for HEBDON to lift home 2-1 the game now settled down to nip and tuck with both sides creating chances only to see poor finishing and good keeping to the fore. Changes were forced onto Borough as GRIFFIN was cynically fouled by a home player, with the re organising taking place, Borough looked dis jointed however they continued to mop up pressure and play some good attacking football. ROBINSON had good chances in the 82nd & 84th minutes, however, with the home side increasingly getting desperate a long ball into the box, again, caused a miscued clearance to loop up, out came SHEAR who collided with a forward, and from the resulting melle, the ball was knocked home 2-2 both sides still managed chances to win the game however they were not taken.

Giles & Sean were disappointed to concede in the manner that we did, however the effort and application was superb and the side can take a lot of positives from the game, Borough more than matched their higher opposition, one area that was highlighted was the physical side of the game, Borough were by far the fitter side and by playing football, will overcome pure physical sides, the squad is gelling nicely and all cannot wait for the league programme to start.

SHEAR, DE-BEN, GRIFFIN (MURPHY 64), HEBDON, ALLEN (TOWNEND 68), MOORE, KENDRICK (HOLBERT 77) ,HAMPTON-BROWN, ROBINSON, PORTER, SQUIRE

	Cranborne XI (1) 1,
	Poole Borough Reserves (2) 2.

Pre-Season Friendly
Tuesday 11th August 2009

Borough reserves responded in the best way possible after Saturdays below par performance, by deservedly winning in a hastily arranged match at Cranborne who put a mixture of first team and reserve players out. Once again the match was played on a glorious surface, a credit to Cranborne, and that lent itself to a good Borough passing performance. The tempo to the game was high and Borough settled the quicker with ROBINSON forcing an early save in the 4th minute, ROBINSON again went close in the 14th minute with another shot after a decent 3 man build up. SHEAR was alert in the 18th minute when he held onto a good shot from the edge of the box, on 20 minutes, PORTER forced a corner after good pressure on the home defence, the resulting corner was well dealt with, on 22 minutes HEBDON latched onto the end of a floated free kick only to see his effort saved, PORTER again went close inn the 29th minute when he headed wide after good work from DE-BEN. Back came Cranborne and after a good ball into the box caused problems, the resulting confusion saw their forward shoot home 1-0 This appeared to jolt Borough momentarily as McNALLY needed to react quickly to deny a further goal scoring chance moments later. However Borough soon picked up the pace as their better passing through midfield started to create problems and on 35 minutes it was no surprise that the equaliser came after a quick release from ALLEN found SQUIRE who collected and placed home past the home keeper 1-1 Porter went close minutes later when another good build up saw his shot well saved, in the 39th minute a superb ball from KENDRICK found SQUIRE who beat the offside to round the keeper and slot home 2-1 Still Borough pushed forward and, again, following excellent work down the right from DE BEN, a well timed run and header from PORTER went just over moments before the half time whistle.

HALF-TIME CRANBORNE XI 1-2 PBFC

The second half saw Cranborne make wholesale changes as they looked to get back into the game, however Borough continued to play well and take the game to the hosts, HEBDON defended well in the 51st minute when clearing from a free kick, moments later SQUIRE received a quickly taken free kick, span and shot narrowly wide. TOWNEND foraged down the left and delivered a good cross moments later that was well held by the keeper, in the 63rd minute, SHEAR blocked well with HEBDON clearing the rebound. In the 71st minute following good closing from COONEY, the ball looped up for ROBINSON to head narrowly wide, on 78 minutes following a flowing Borough move involving MOORE, KENDRICK & DE BEN, PORTER received the ball, cut inside his defender and shot narrowly wide. With moments to go, HEBDON rose highest at a corner only to head wide when well placed, with time running out Cranborne nearly sneaked an equaliser as their forward found himself in the clear only to shoot over, however back came Borough and COONEY saw his effort tipped over by the keeper.

Giles & Sean were extremely pleased with the positive response shown by the side and in the way the players took on board the instructions given, and followed them on to the pitch.
It had been a very worthwhile exercise in taking the friendly late on Monday and the performance shown by all in attendance has certainly given Giles some food for thought with the season only a few weeks away.

SHEAR, DE-BEN, McNALLY, HEBDON, ALLEN (CARVELL HT) , MOORE, KENDRICK, MOLYNEAUX (TOWNEND HT) ROBINSON, PORTER (COONEY 82), SQUIRE

	Poole Borough Reserves (0) 0,
	Kangaroos (0) 1.

Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 8th August 2009

The reserves gave a below par performance against their Senior Division opponents who, on the whole of the play deserved their win with a well taken goal. Borough settled the quicker and forced the early play which amounted to no direct threat; Kangaroos came into the game and forced a series of corners in the 6th minute, which were cleared well by the Borough defence. On 16 minutes DE BEN got his shot away after good work from HAMILTON-BROWN only to see the visiting keeper hold on. Borough then entered a phase of play that saw them lose possession in bad areas as their normal passing game eluded them; this gave Kangaroos more belief as they slowly took control of the game. SHEAR had to be alert to save well from efforts in the 31st & 35th minutes, he bettered himself in the 37th minute when faced with a 1 on 1 against him, he pulled of an excellent block. Back came Borough DE BEN saw another shot blocked only for PORTERS rebound to be blocked as well, Kangaroos cleared and went down the other end only to see their effort turned round the post by SHEAR.

HALF-TIME PBFC 0-0 KANGAROOS

The second half saw Borough line up in their familiar 442 formation, this led to a far better performance all round as Borough more than matched their opponents, Kangaroos again pressed early and forced another succession of corners all of which were well dealt with by the Borough defence, Kangaroos got a deserved lead in the 56th minute when a quick ball into their forward was controlled, he got his shot away over the keeper 0-1 Borough almost responded immediately when following a great ball by HAMPTON-BROWN, into SQUIRE his resultant shot just went over. SHEAR again performed well in the 63rd minute when he produced a fine double save. To Boroughs credit they controlled the final ¼ of an hour as they pressed forward in search of an equaliser, chances fell to FARROW, PORTER and MOORE whose efforts either went just wide or were well saved by the visiting keeper. PORTER tried an overhead kick in the 84th minute that went narrowly wide and moments later dragged his shot across the face of the goal, Kangaroos mustered one last effort with minutes to go that was easily held by SHEAR.

Giles & Sean were disappointed in the way the side started, a new formation was tried, it did not work and was correctly changed back to 442 for the second half where the side did play better, still that did not excuse the basic errors that were on show, Giles has challenged his side to give a vastly improved team performance next time round.

SHEAR, McNALLY, GRIFFIN, HEBDON, MOLYNEAUX, MOORE, KENDRICK, HAMPTON-BROWN, DE-BEN, PORTER, TOWNEND changes were made periodically and those further introduced were, SQUIRE, FARROW, CARVELL & FARNON

	Poole Borough (1) 1,
	Ringwood Town (0) 1.

Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 1st August 2009

Match photos

Borough narrowly failed to pick up their second Wessex League scalp of the week, but a draw was a fair result as following a cautious first half the game opened up after the break, with both sides creating chances to win.

The first opportunity fell to the visitors on 5 minutes with Jakub Malara having to be on his toes to tip a cross field shot over the bar. James Pinder was the main early threat to the Ringwood defence and on 22 minutes he managed to carve out some space down the right, but his final shot went wide of the far post.

It was Borough who took the lead on 33 minutes when Pinder fired in a low drive from wide on the left which Pearce in the the visiting goal could only fumble onto his post and Lucasz Balinski was on hand to tuck home the loose ball. 1-0.

Just before the break Ringwood had their best chance of the half with a 20 yard shot on the turn, but Malara was down smartly to block.

Half time 1-1

The Hornets approach play improved after the break and on 57 minutes Balinski sent Pinder into space down the right, but his final shot went wide, while a minute later Martin Sault saw his header from a corner drop narrowly past the upright.

Ringwood showed their intent with a breakaway down the left on 64 minutes and the resulting low cross into the area alluded two strikers neither of whom could provide the final touch. Five minutes later a visiting striker found himself through on goal, but with Simon Higgins out quickly to narrow the angle, the final shot went wide of the far post.

That let-off spurred Borough forward and on 75 minutes Sean Gallagher took advantage of a defensive error wide on the left to collect the ball before cutting inside, but from a tight angle he shot hit the side netting.

Ringwood however equalised on 81 minutes when a good ball into the area was chested down by Carl Fleet with his back to goal and he beat Higgins with a cheeky overhead kick. 1-1.

Borough could have restored their lead on 83 minutes when a close range effort from Martin Warren came back off the post, while Gallagher's shot on the rebound was palmed away at point blank range by Pearce and Ryan Moore steered the loose ball narrowly over.

The visitors had the ball in the back of the net late on but saw the strike ruled out for offside, but the last chance fell to Borough when a Gallagher strike took a deflection off a defender into the path of Warren, but his first time shot went wide.

Borough: Jakub Malara (Simon Higgins H-T),Ben Wright, John Bates, Ross Mills, Alex Grimason, James Pinder (Dan Molyneaux 66), Martin Sault (Brad Kendrick 73), Max Wilcock (Kenny Strong 58), Lucasz Balinski (Ryan Moore 73), Martin Warren, Kieran Mulvey (Sean Gallagher 66).

	New Milton Town (0) 0,
	Poole Borough (0) 1.

Pre-Season Friendly
Tuesday 28th July 2009

Borough manager Paul Harding described their victory against a full strength New Milton side at Fawcetts Field as the best performance since he became manager.

After signing late last season but being unavailable through injury, former Cobham keeper Simon Higgins made his Borough debut between the sticks, while Ross Mills and Steve Tricky made their first pre-season appearances.

Martin Warren got the all important strike on 60 minutes to separate the sides but Borough were very comfortable in their victory against New Milton's full Wessex League Premier squad.

Borough line-up
Simon Higgins, John Bates, Alex Grimason, Ross Mills, Steve Tricky, Lucasz Balinski, Martin Sault, Kenny Strong, Joe Toghill, James Pinder, Martin Warren. Subs (all 65 minutes) Ben Wright, Brett Jones-Power, Sean Gallagher, Kieran Mulvey, Jakub Malara.

	Poole Borough Reserves (3) 4.
	Queens Park (0) 0.

Pre-Season Friendly
Tuesday 28th July 2009

The reserves played their first friendly of the season against a well organised side ably managed by 2 ex Borough people, Craig Shanley & Mark Sansom, however their side were not able to beat a determined reserve outfit who took their chances when presented. Giles & Sean took the opportunity to run the rule over most of their new squad and were both pleased with the effort and application shown.

The game was played in an excellent spirit as both sides endeavoured to play a good style of play, the opening exchanges were good as both teams pressed, the first real chance came in the 4th minute when a PORTER header went close following good work from De BEN. A sloppy piece of defending nearly cost Borough minutes later when a mis placed pass saw the Queens park forward through on goal only for SHEAR to divert away for a corner.

On 22 minutes good play between D.ALLEN and PORTER saw the latte’s shot go narrowly wide, back came Queens Park as SHEAR again saved well. Borough started to gain control in midfield as WATSON & HAMPTON-BROWN began to dominate and on 31 minutes WATSON opened the scoring with a well executed free kick over the wall after a foul 1-0

Borough were now in the ascendancy as Queens Park struggled to cope with the attacks from Borough, MOLYNEAUX & De BEN continued to hassle and force errors from the Queens Park defence, in the 37th a quick ball into D.ALLEN saw the forward show quick feet and smash home 2-0 – a well taken goal.

Queens Park responded well and another 1 on 1 in the 42nd minute went begging as SHEAR, again made the save, back came Borough and a quick move down the right saw De BEN hassle well for the ball, his resulting cross was knocked home by D.ALLEN 3-0

Half time PBFC 3-0 Queens Park

5 changes were made at half time and one of them TOWNEND made an immediate impact in the 46th minute when his well executed shot took a deflection past the stranded keeper 4-0

Queens Park then moments later shot over from a free kick when well placed, as the game wore on both sides played some neat stuff with Borough looking the more threatening, ALLEN in the space of 3 minutes in the 67th, 68th & 69th had 3 great chances to get a well deserved hat trick, however a combination of near misses thwarted his efforts.

PORTER went close on 78 minutes when, following an excellent 3 man move, his shot went narrowly wide, CARVELL shot over when reacting well to a clearance in the 82nd minute, to Queens Park’s credit they still went in search of a consolation, however SHEAR blocked well at his near post in the 85th minute forcing the shot away for a corner.

Giles & Sean were delighted with the effort and ability shown by all the players on the night and were impressed by the new additions to the squad who all played their part, they were quietly pleased also with the style of play shown, however there is still a long way to go yet in pre season and there are a few areas to work on, but as the old adage says “Out of little acorns” All in all a good nights exercise.

Borough: Shear, Bloor, Griffin, Farnon (Hebdon ht) Allen-T (Murphy ht) Molyneaux (Farrow ht), Watson, Hampton-Brown (Carvell ht) De Ben (Mowlem 60) Porter (Townend ht) Allen-D

	Poole Borough (1) 3.
	Bournemouth Electric (1) 1.

Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 25th July 2009

Match photos

Borough Scorers: Pinder 35, Toghill 53, Wilcock 68.

With Paul Harding beginning to trim down his squad, Borough were given a stern test by Electric and although it took the Hornets half an hour to get into their stride, they finished up convincing winners against the Bournemouth Premier League Champions, who had lost just one league game last season.

Borough had the best of the early exchanges and Martin Sault came close on 13 minutes with a far post header from a deep right wing cross by James Pinder, but the ball was deflected over off a defender. A minute later Pinder sent a low centre from the right across the edge of the area and Sault allowed the ball to run through to Kieran Mulvey whose first time shot was parried by former Borough keeper Dan Burton.

However Electric looked dangerous on the counter attack and the visitors took the lead on 17 minutes when good skill down the right saw the winger carve out the space to send over a perfectly weighted cross which was met with a downward header, beating Jakub Malara inside his left hand post. 0-1.

Borough continued to enjoy the majority of possession, but were unable to break down a well organised Electric defence until the 35th minute when James Pinder cut in from the left and sent in a low drive from 20 yards out which went in via the left hand post. 1-1.

The Hornets stepped up their game and nearly took the lead on 39 minutes when Joe Toghill send Martin Warren through on goal but Burton blocked the final shot with his legs, while a minute before the break Sault got his head to a right wing corner, but Burton was again on hand to divert the ball past the post.

Half time 1-1.

The pressure continued on the visitor's goal after the break and Burton denied Borough again on 52 minutes when he got his hand to a low shot from Pinder. But from the resulting near post corner John Bates sent the ball goalwards and Kenny Strong was on hand to hammer home from close range. 2-1.

Borough increased their lead on 68 minutes when Pinder broke clear down the right before pulling the ball back to Max Wilcock whose blistering drive from 10 yards out gave Burton no chance. 3-1.

Sean Gallagher came close to increasing Borough's lead on 73 minutes as he chased down a through ball with Burton coming out of his area to collect and managed to nick the ball away from the keeper, but couldn't get the final shot on target. With 10 minutes remaining Electric had the chance to pull a goal back with a close range effort after a goal mouth scramble, but Malara made a fine save at full stretch to palm the shot away.

Borough line-up
Jakub Malara, Ben Wright, John Bates, Keith Whatling (Dan Molyneaux 66), Alex Grimason, James Pinder (Will Robinson 76), Martin Sault, Kenny Strong (Max Wilcock 56), Joe Toghill (Adam Watson 68), Martin Warren (Sean Gallagher 68), Kieran Mulvey (Lucasz Balinski 55).

	Poole Borough (1) 2.
	Verwood Town (2) 3.

Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 18th July 2009

Match photos

Despite being short of a number of key players for their first workout of the new season, Borough still gave a good account of themselves in an even encounter against their Wessex 1 opponents, with Paul Harding playing different sides in each half to run the rule over the full available squad.

Borough had to make an early change after Ryan Moore came off worse following a full blooded block tackle on he edge of the area, and the Hornets went behind on 17 minutes when a visiting striker did well to carve out space on the edge of the area before finishing with a powerful drive. 0-1.

Martin Warren put Borough back on level terms after 25 minutes, slotting into the top corner from 10 yards out, however Verwood restored their lead three minutes later following a dubious penalty award, and although keeper Jakub Malara did well to block the spot kick, a visiting forward was first to the rebound to tuck the ball home.

James Pinder came close to restoring parity late on in the half after cutting in from the right, before shooting narrowly wide of the far post.

HT 1-2.

The woodwork came to the visitors rescue early in the second half after a curling shot from Will Robinson came back off the post. However Borough found themselves further behind on 70 minutes when a high ball into the area picked out a striker unmarked by the left hand post who volleyed home. 1-3.

Borough however pulled a goal back four minutes from time when Max Wilcock ran clear of the visiting defence but saw his final shot blocked by the keeper, but Kieran Mulvey was on hand to slot home the loose ball. 2-3.

Borough line-up
First Half: Jakub Malara, Dan Molyneaux, John Bates, Kenny Strong, Alex Grimason, James Pinder, Martin Sault, Ryan Moore (Max Wilcock 10), Lucasz Balinski, Martin Warren, Joe Toghill.

Second Half: Jakub Malara, Brett Jones-Power, John Bates, Keith Whatling, Alex Grimason, Kieran Mulvey, Max Wilcock, Will Robinson, DJ, Lucanio, Andy Powell. Sub: Dan Molyneaux.