Poole Borough Football Club

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Matt Bircumshaw - finished the season with a hat-trick and came close to equaling Alan Fooks goalscoring record and also sharing the top scorer award.

Borough Scorers: Matt Bircumshaw 2, 65, 89; Scott Smith 52; Tony White 77.
Borough Man of the Match: Matt Bircumshaw

Borough finished the season with a well deserved win at Cranford Avenue, with Matt Bircumshaw bagging a hat-trick against a Sports side looking for a point to lift them off the bottom of the table and secure their Premier League status.

Borough played the first half against a strong wind, but made the best possible start when Bircumshaw opened the scoring in only the second minute, collecting the ball on the edge of the area before picking his spot just inside the left hand post.

Bircumshaw came close again on 11 minutes after making space for a shot which went just over and James Edwards had a free kick palmed away by the home keeper and another shot from 30 yards out cannon off the bar as Borough dominated the first 20 minutes.

Weymouth however stepped up their game as the half progressed and Paul Maitland was forced to palm away a free kick on 28 minutes and from the resulting corner Edwards had to clear a shot off the line. 5 minutes later a low diagonal ball across the Borough penalty area was met by a home forward at the far post, but his shot hit the post.

Sports, however collected a deserved equaliser on 42 minutes when Maitland could only block a long shot and Paul Cole ran in to convert the rebound. Borough almost restored their lead a minute later when a right wing cross from Alex Gunn was met by Scott Smith in the box but his shot was tipped over the bar.

HT 1-1

With the wind in their favour after the restart, Borough looked more assured on the ball and took the lead again on 52 minutes when Tony White sent over a cross from the left which Smith rose to head home at the far post. Smith came close again two minutes later, but just failed to control a defence splitting cross-field pass from Dan Herrington. Sports however were still dangerous on the break and Maitland did well to stop a shot at point blank range, but Borough's defence, including Tommy Allen making his full debut, worked well to limit the second half chances for the home side.

It looked all over for Sports however on 65 minutes when White collected the ball in the middle of the park and sent a teasing ball forward for Bircumshaw to chase and with the home keeper placed under pressure and unable to clear, Bircumshaw challenged for the ball which kindly for him to roll into an empty net. Sports were immediately down to 10 men with a player sent off for something comments made to the linesman about the goal.

Ten minutes later Sports had a second player sent off for a crude challenge on Bircumshaw near the left hand touchline, and from the resulting Edwards free kick White arrived at the far post to head home his first goal of the season.

Borough poured forward looking for further goals and James Morrell saw a shot saved by the keepers legs while Smith was unable to squeeze a shot inside the near post after collecting a cross from White. Substitute Bradley Asagba broke through on 86 minutes but shot wide when he should really have squared to the unmarked Bircumshaw, but his hat-trick came three minutes later when he hit a low shot from 25 yards out which crept inside the right hand post.

A minute later Bircumshaw looked to have secured his fourth goal as he ran through, but was forced wide by the home keeper and his angled shot hit the inside of the post. Deep in injury time Cole scored a consolation goal for Sports from the penalty spot after a home player was adjudged to have been tripped in the area.

Borough : Paul Maitland, Tommy Allen, Tony White, Shaun Clarke, Dan Herrington, Jamie Wilson (Andy Curtis 70), Alex Gunn (James Morrell 57), Scott Arnold (Bradley Asagba 65), Scott Smith, James Edwards, Matt Bircumshaw.