Match Preview | Poole Town

Poole Town v Tiverton Town 

Tuesday 25^th November 7:45 pm Kick off 

The BlackGold Stadium 

The Yellows came close to ending their losing run on Saturday against Gosport but ultimately fell short. They will be presented with another chance to stem the tide on Tuesday night, when they head to Dorset to take on a Poole side who have had a resurgence this season and are currently in possession of third place in the table. 

The Yellows won praise from Gosport assistant manager Mark Summerhill at the weekend, for their performance and quite a few coaches have complimented the team this season. While that is always nice to hear, the rediscovering of a winning mentality remains first prize. 

The half time substitutions of Dan Koita and Brooklyn Wilkins may point to some fitness issues ahead of this evening game or those changes could have been either tactical or precautionary. Ruled out on Saturday were Dean Moxey, Louis Jagger Cane and through suspension, new midfield signing Ryan Keates. Our management team will be hoping to include at least one of those players against the Dolphins. 

Pat Suraci and Joe Lea who coincidentally were in charge of team affairs at Gosport, before taking over at Poole during the previous campaign, are very young co-managers. Both are in their late twenties, but they have already guided their former side into the play offs. 

The acquisition of Shaquille Gwengwe from Dorset rivals Dorchester has so far proven a big success. The powerful and pacy frontman who is of Malawian descent, has hit the ground running at his new club. He leads the way in the league scoring charts, with a notable 16 goals and the ex-Worthing man has always had the tools to reach these prolific heights. 

Gwengwe has formed a lethal partnership this term with IK Hill. Hill is a livewire player, who starred for Winchester for a couple of seasons, prior to their relegation. Skillful and elusive he notched 17 goals from 37 games in this league, during the last campaign and is a dynamic performer. 

Set piece expert Charlie Davis is a cultured player. He has plenty of pedigree and experience, the much-admired midfielder played over 100 times for Weymouth and was a heavily influential player for Salisbury, Dorchester, Totton and Sholing. This is the 30-year old’s third spell with the Dolphins. 

The hardworking and fierce competitor Billy Lowes would be a welcome addition to any midfield at this level. Beginning at Poole, the combative Lowes was a Dorchester player for five seasons and was also at Weymouth earlier in his senior career. He has made well over 100 appearances for our hosts. 

There is a vast experience in the Dolphins ranks and the signing of former Swindon Supermarine captain Ryan Campbell in the close season has strengthened that further. The right sided Campbell is a strong technical player in this division with many attributes.  

His namesake Kristian Campbell is very popular with the Poole faithful. The left back has good feet and has a real sense of adventure. He has pedigree, having played further up the footballing pyramid for Eastbourne Borough, Welling, Dartford, Tonbridge Angels and Hampton & Richmond. 

Defensive midfielder Harvey Slade has established himself as a mainstay in the home sides midfield across the past few campaigns and provides an important screen for the Dolphins backline and distributes the ball well. Silky fellow midfield player Selim Saied who impressed in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, played over 100 times for Farnborough and started at Woking. A loanee in the 2024/25 season, he permanently signed for Poole this term. 

Centre back Josh Staunton has perhaps the most eye-catching CV. The 30-year-old former Yeovil captain made over 200 national League appearances. Signing pro terms with Gillingham and Charlton Athletic, he has also represented Dagenham & Redbridge, Boreham Wood, Woking and FC Halifax in what has been a stellar non-league career. 

Between the sticks is likely to be Adam Parkes. A young, highly regarded pro with Southampton, Watford and Plymouth, the talented keeper had loan spells with Barnet, Dover and Plymouth Parkway during his pro days. Signing permanently for Parkway after his release from the Pilgrims and he has since played for Taunton and Gosport Borough, becoming a Dolphin this season. 

Asa Hall and Steve Orchard found encouragement from our performance at Gosport and were happy with large aspects of that game. Hopefully we can build on that promise and battle hard for much needed points on Tuesday night.