The 1-0 defeat at Gosport on Saturday dropped us into the relegation zone which is not a great place to be. We are now 19^th (P28 W7 D8 L13 26 points) with 14 games left to play. We remain equal lowest scorers on 26 goals so we know where the problem lies. We have earned 16 points at home with wins over Taunton Town, Wimborne Town, Plymouth Parkway and Basingstoke.

On Saturday we welcome Tiverton Town to the Black Gold who are also in the relegation zone, in 21^st place. This therefore becomes the classic 6 pointer. With the midweek fixture at The Wyatt Homes Stadium to come this could be a pivotal week in the campaign.

We lost the reverse fixture at Ladysmead 3-1 in October. After relentless early pressure from the hosts, they took the lead on the seventh minute through Joe Parker who fired past Cam Plain despite the goalkeeper’s best efforts to prevent it. Tiverton doubled their lead on the 20^th minute as Tor Swann effortlessly placed it past the helpless Plain. Poole grew into the game as the match went on but weren’t clinical enough in the final third and effectively lacked goal threat.

We might not be scoring goals at present but neither are we conceding too many, 43 in 28 games. A lot of credit for this goes to Josh ‘Staunts’ Staunton who is our experienced centre half who has over 200 National League appearances at the age of just 28, emphasising his remarkable experience and ability as a professional.

Staunton signed for the Dolphins midway through the 2023/24 campaign and made his debut in a 2-0 defeat to Hayes and Yeading. ‘Staunts’ has been at the heart of the defence since his arrival, starting almost every league game since his arrival and scoring one goal in that time. His journey as a footballer started at Gillingham before moving to Dagenham & Redbridge in the 2016/17 season where they pushed for promotion back into the football league but fell short in the play-off semi-final. There can be no doubt that his resolute defending will go a long way to determine our fate this season.

The Yellows come into the match on the back of the 3-0 home defeat to Hungerford Town which means that they have collected 5 points from their last six games. They have won just two matches on the road, 2-1 at Frome Town in September and the 3-1 win at Basingstoke in November.

Manager Rob Dray was appointed earlier this season after not having his contract renewed at Taunton Town. He joined Taunton in 2018 and guided the Peacocks to Southern League glory before managing the side for two seasons in the National League.

 A player who continues to impress at Ladysmead is the Bristol City loanee Kai Churchley. He was born, and grew up in Cheltenham and played for Cheltenham Town at youth level before joining City at Under-16 level from Bishop’s Cleeve. A right-footed central attacking midfielder, he signed a two-year professional contract at Ashton Gate in March last year, and has been part of the successful Under-21s team the Professional Development League Two.

So, the lads will need all the support that we can give them as we enter the final and decisive last third of the season. With plenty of points still to play for we have every chance to climb to a more respectable place in the league table.

Enjoy the game

Neil Wellington