I arrived at the ground around 2.30 and wandered over to the usual spot on the terrace. By 3.00 the ground was fairly busy as Poole had brought a number of supporters up from Dorset. They didn't have long to wait to start celebrating. Bemerton lost the ball from kick off and it was worked out to the right wing channel and a Poole player got to the ball, evaded a challenge and put a superb cross into the box. The finish was equally as good, an effort with pace from 8 yards out from Preston that gave the keeper no chance.
It took Bemerton around ten minutes to settle down and create some chances. The first came on 9 minutes when a clever dribble set up a less than clever shot that flew wide. A couple of minutes later and a good cross into the box found an unmarked Bemerton player but he blazed his shot well over the crossbar. Before the game a couple of spectators near me stated that the referee was a stickler for the rules and he did seem a bit over officious when booking a Bemerton player for throwing the ball to (not away from!) a Poole player to let them take a freekick.
Now the game was ebbing and flowing from end to end. Bemerton hit another shot over the bar and almost over the mature conifer trees! Poole's 10 looked in pain as he overstretched for a ball and he stayed down for a minute or so while play continued. By not moving, he was in a good position to block a defender when the ball was played back over to the side nearest to us but the referee ignored the protests after the ball was cleared.
In the 25th minute Bemerton's keeper kept them in the game with a great low dive to deflect a header wide of the post. Bemerton created more chances but too often the final effort was taken in a hurry and flew well wide or over the frame of the goal. As it started to rain Bemerton gave the ball away in midfield and Poole were quick to try and take advantage. The midfielder ran into the box unchallenged but his shot was well saved by the Bemerton keeper. In the 40th minute a shot from outside the Bemerton box looked to be going in until the keeper managed to get his hands to the ball and pushed it wide for a corner.
While this corner was cleared, the keeper's luck changed in the 43rd minute. Poole had been playing some great through balls into channels for players to run into and a long ball was flicked into the area. It was picked up by a Poole player who volleyed the ball with pace into the top right corner, giving the keeper no chance again to make a save. Bemerton had a good opportunity before the break to pull a goal back when Sanger flicked his boot out and deflected a cross just wide.
There was even time for a Poole goal to be disallowed in injury time when the goalkeeper came out and grabbed the ball at the feet of a forward. The forward kicked the ball out of his hands and put it into the net but the referee decided that the ball had been under the keeper's control. From my angle this looked like the right call but it infuriated one Poole supporter who marched along the touchline and screamed in frustration at the referee that his assistant on the near side who had a better view hadn't waved for a foul.
As the teams came out for the second half the rain began to get heavier. If Poole had been aggrieved by the lack of a flag from an assistant at the end of the first half, they would have been consoled by a flag in the 51st minute that gave them a penalty. A Bemerton player was running with the ball towards his goal and played a backpass while in the area. As the keeper went to clear the ball, a Poole player who had been running behind the Bemerton player was brought down. It was hard to tell from where I was stood whether this was an accidental collision or whether it was preventing a goal scoring opportunity as the ball was with the keeper. The referee didn't give anything at first but the assistant then waved his flag to indicate a penalty and the referee pointed to the spot.
To make matters worse for Bemerton, the referee then consulted with his linesman and decided to send off the Bemerton defender. After the protests had died down, Poole took the penalty and ball was hit to the keeper's left. He guessed the right way and although he dived too far, he was able to bring his foot up and clear the ball to a team mate who booted the ball upfield.
Bemerton moved to a 3-4-2 formation and the loss of a man didn't seem to affect their play. In the 60th minute Poole had a shot marginally past the right post but less than a minute later Bemerton almost pulled a goal back. Sanger won the ball from the goalkick and broke into the box. He passed the ball back to Rowe in the centre rather than take a shot from the angle, only to see Rowe miskick and send his shot spinning wide.
The referee caused some confusion in the 64th minute when he overruled his assistant and gave a throw-in to Poole rather than Bemerton. As the Bemerton players protested, Poole took a quick throw in and three players charged towards the penalty area. The referee then whistled to bring play back which annoyed the Poole bench who couldn't see what the issue was in taking the quick throw in.
Bemerton were not seeing the opportunities to play the ball quickly and tended to dwell on the ball, allowing Poole time to get back in numbers defensively. Their shooting was also poor and off target as they allowed Poole to put pressure on them.The Bemerton keeper remained alert at the other end and made yet another save in the 68th minute by spreading himself wide to save another on target Poole shot. Both teams made substitutions to freshen up their lineups.
Poole won a corner in the 78th minute and when the ball was played into the area, a strong header looked to have beaten the keeper when inexplicably a Poole player tried to flick the ball on and ended up putting the ball over the bar from a yard out. This mistake looked to be costly as Bemerton increased the pressure on the Poole back line in the last ten minutes. In the 84th minute they had their best chance of the game when Rowe hit a great low shot on target that Poole's keeper did well to push wide. One of the Bemerton subs was in quickly to try and force the rebound past the keeper from a tight angle but the ball was deflected out for a corner.
Poole were hit on the counterattack after they lost posession from a corner in the 85th minute. The ball was played through to the same Bemerton sub who had almost scored and this time he made no mistake when curling a shot past the Poole keeper from close in to make the score 1.2
The game was now all about Bemerton and they came really close to snatching a draw that had seemed unlikely for most of the second half. The first chance came in the 90th minute when the ball was crossed into the Poole box and a close range header was on target but straight at the keeper. Poole tried to run the ball into the corners to waste time but this tactic wasn't effective and Bemerton had time for one more break. The ball was played long upfield and Joe Sanger was able to turn his marker and head for the goal from the middle of the Poole half. As he approached the keeper his touch appeared to be too heavy but he managed to toepoke the ball past the onrushing keeper. As the home supporters took a deep intake of breath, the ball bobbled to the right of the post and wide by what seemed to be no more than a centimetre.
An exciting end to a good game that felt more like a cuptie than a league match. For the second week in a row I found myself thinking that the man of the match was the goalkeeper of the team that had lost!
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