Without doubt the most eagerly anticipated fixture of the season will be the Boxing Day clash with local rivals Dorchester Town.
The fixture will mark the first return of Tommy Killick since his move to The Avenue. He will bring his team to the Black Gold Stadium in fine form (P21 W8 D10 L3 34 points) and occupying a cherished play-off place after the 5-0 home win against Tiverton on Saturday.
The Magpies have not performed too well on the road though winning just once, at Sholing, but they have only lost two matches at Basingstoke and Swindon. This means that they have drawn an incredible seven games away from The Avenue.
Their recent form puts them in 5th place, P6 W2 D4 L0, thanks in no small way to striker Olaf Konszela who has scored 10 goals this season.
Winner of the November player of the month award was the Magpies No 1, Gerard Benfield who has been a near ever-present between the sticks this season, and impressed supporters with his performances including several key saves over recent weeks, which includes a penalty save in the Magpies recent away draw at Wimborne.
Benfield returned to The Avenue on loan from Weymouth for a second spell, three years after his Magpies debut having made 16 appearances for the club during the 21/22 campaign, and has also previously featured for Salisbury and Wimborne Town. He played the majority of Weymouth’s games last season, chalking up 30 appearances in all competitions. However, the goalkeeper position was tinkered with on numerous occasions by previous manager Bobby Wilkinson. He brought in Brighton’s Hugo Fisher and Jared Thompson for short spells before Christmas and ended the campaign with Bristol City loanee Harvey Wiles-Richards. So, a season long loan to Dorchester was no surprise.
The Dolphins come into the match on the back of a disappointing trip to Somerset where the first half dismissal of keeper Cameron Plain played a big part in the 2-0 reverse. This leaves us in 15th place in the league (P20 W6 D5 L9 23 points) and needing to pick up valuable points to keep away from the lower half of the table. Even with ten men Poole piled much pressure on the home team in the second half and could easily have taken something from the game.
The traditional Boxing Day match was played at The Avenue last year when we ran out 2-1 winners. This went some way to make up for the 2-1 home defeat earlier in the season.
Much planning has gone into this match to ensure that everyone can enjoy what we hope will be a classic local derby played in the true spirit of non-league football.
Enjoy the game
Neil Wellington.
