POOLE TOWN | GRAND TOURAY

There was a big win on the road for the Dolphins at the weekend

With so much to play for, this time of the season often throws up unexpected results as the pressure ramps up a notch.

This was the case on Saturday at Merthyr Town, where with the home side, who are within touching distance of the Pitching In Southern League Premier South title, slipped to a rare home defeat at the hands of a Poole Town outfit who are battling for their Step 3 lives.

All appeared to be going to plan when the home side took the lead just before the half-hour mark, however an own goal ten minutes later gave the visitors a lifeline and they went on to win it with a second half strike from Ezio Touray to further enhance his glowing reputation.

It was a result which moved them out of the bottom four going into the Easter weekend.

“Saturday’s performance was good,” Touray told us. “We stuck rigidly to our game plan throughout the whole game as we knew that it was going to be tough against strong opponents who have had an excellent season.

“We know what we’re capable of and how dangerous we can be when we’re at it and I think that we were able to display that on this occasion. Not many teams go there and get anything, particularly after falling behind and in front of such a big crowd too.

“I was delighted to get my sixth goal in the last eight games. I’m feeling good, enjoying my football and relishing the challenge of getting the club away from the relegation places.

“Our confidence as a group has been gradually building and whilst we don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves, you can just sense that we have it in us to finish the season strongly. We have to stay focussed, though, and maintain these high standards because a big weekend lies ahead for us and those teams around us.

“I am looking forward to getting stuck into these games. We know that if we stick to our plan then we will be okay; there’s a lot of pressure at this stage of the season at both ends of the table and the teams who are able to deal with it the best will be the ones who are able to achieve their objectives.

“The season as a whole has been a bit of a roller-coaster; we’ve seen good days and bad, but that’s just how football is, it’s what makes it so exciting and compelling. We have the responsibility of the town on our shoulders and we’ll be doing all we can to stay at this level.

“I have been happy with the consistency of my performance levels recently and my target is to add more goals to my tally in these final games.

“This League is tough; every game brings its own difficulties and you just never know what is going to happen from one week to the next. Our result at the weekend is a perfect example going to a team unbeaten at home all season and bringing home all three points.

“I am expecting more twists and turns over these final games, but hopefully from our point of view we can get the job done without too much drama.”

A home game against Swindon Supermarine takes place on Good Friday before a local derby at Dorchester Town is on the agenda for Bank Holiday Monday. The season ends at home to Chertsey Town.

IMAGE: Poole Town FC

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