Poole Borough Football Club
Season 2006/07

THE SEASON

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Paul Hubbard
A series of fine saves to record his second consecutive clean sheet.

Borough Line-up
1. Paul Hubbard
2. Dan Young
3. Matt Morris
4. Martin Clarke
5. Shaun Hebdon
6. Paul Getley
7. Paul Harding (C) (replaced H-T)
8. Andy Barham
9. Keith Middleton (replaced 78 mins)
10. Ross Mills
11. Steve Russell (replaced 38 mins)

Substitutes
Karl Griffin (for Steve Russell 38 mins)
John Bates (for Paul Hardin H-T)
Ricky Mee (for Keith Middleton 78 mins)

Conditions
Cloudy and bright with breeze blowing up the slope.

Borough Colours
Grey and Red Shirts, Red shorts & socks

Gillingham Colours
Amber Shirts with Black trim, Amber shorts, Black Socks.

Direction of Play
Borough attacked down the slope first half

Officials
Referee: Mr M. Blatchford
Assistants: 2 xClub Officials

Borough Scorers: Keith Middleton 33.

Borough moved into third place following their first Dorset Premier League victory at Hardings Lane courtesy of a first half Keith Middleton goal and a resolute defensive display in the second half as the Gills attacked in numbers down the Hardings Lane slope.

Within the first two minutes Middleton got to the end of a cross from the left but his header went just over, however the Gills enjoyed much of the early possession and Paul Hubbard was called on twice to collect close range headers. Steve Russell though found some space down the left on 8 minutes and he whipped in a cross to the far post, which just alluded Ross Mills.

Borough though rode their luck on 15 minutes when the Gills engineered a quick break down the right and with the Hornets defence appealing for handball the resulting cross picked out a home striker whose shot cannoned off the post.

However following a tactical adjustment, Borough began to take the game to their opponents and on 23 minutes Sean Hebdon lifted a through ball into the path of Russell whose first time shot went just over. Within a minute Middleton latched on to a forward pass but the home keeper was out quickly to block the shot before collecting the ball at the second attempt.

The Gills came close with a firm header from a corner that went narrowly wide but Borough also had a chance when Mills just failed to get his foot to a left wing centre from Middleton with the goal at his mercy. But Borough broke the deadlock on 33 minutes when Paul Harding whipped in a free kick from wide on the right and Middleton found space in the area to steer a header out of reach of the home keeper.

Russell picked up an injury and was replaced by Karl Griffin, who almost immediately came close to doubling the lead as he stole the ball off of a home defender and placed a shot past the keeper but the ball bounced agonisingly wide. Another Borough chance on the stroke of half time saw Hebdon head a left wing corner back across goal and Mills stole in to head just over.

Half Time 0-1

Borough were forced to make a further change at half time with Harding affected by an earlier clash of heads being replaced by John Bates. With the slope in their favour, the Gills looked more purposeful and within minutes of the restart a three man move opened up the Borough defence but the final shot was well saved by Hubbard. The Borough keeper was in action again four minutes later, collecting a header following a cross from the right, but within a minute Borough had carved out an opportunity on the break as Mills found space down the right before centring to Middleton but the resulting shot went over.

However within a minute Borough were dispossessed down the left and a quick cross into the area picked out a home forward who shot was denied by Hubbard with a fingertip save. Despite continued forays forward by the Gills, Borough's rearguard held firm and Dan Young made two superb tackles in as many minutes the second hooking the ball away from a forward as he looked to have broken through.

With the Gills committed to attack there were opportunities for Borough on the break and within seconds of replacing Middleton, Ricky Mee found himself through against the keeper but the home gloveman did well to divert the shot wide. On 81 minutes a similar chance fell to Mills but a home defender got back quickly to make a fine last-ditch tackle.

The Hornets defence continued to soak up pressure and Hubbard was forced to make another fine save low down by his left hand post to deny a close range shot and Borough also survived a penalty shout in stoppage time before they were able to collect all three points.