The pitch forkers were out in action before the game but it was the half time team talk which put holes in the Shortwood United defence, allowing Poole Town to grab the three points.

Goals from Marvin Brooks, Carl Preston and Steve Devlin in the second half allowed the Dolphins go six points clear in Evo Stik South & West Division One table with a 3-0 win. 

The first half failed to ignite the shivering crowd as the away side looked like they were going to park the bus and settle for a draw.

Those intentions were only enhanced by Poole, as they failed to show any threat and quick tempo to their play.
The home side could only manage to shoot outside the area with efforts from Adam Kelly and Zououai ‘Karim’ Lammali going straight down the throat of the opposition goalkeeper.

A Tom Killick grilling must have sparked something in their performance as they came out a different team.

More emphasis going down the wings and more dominance in midfield allowed a high tempo to dictate the Gloucestershire side.

The pressure finally paid off when Marvin Brooks scored his fifth goal of the season to take the lead.
A throw in from the right and good play by Kelly, allowed a deep cross to come in and Brooks to score a powerful header.

The opening goal seemed to deflate the opposition and it wasn’t long for the league leaders doubled their lead.
A counter attack move, resulting from a Shortwood corner, gave Preston a one-on-one with the remaining defence.
As soon as the left winger picked up the ball, the result was predictable, he beat the last man and a low shot beat Tom King at his near post.

After a slow start, the ex-Bournemouth youth player, has now scored six goals in his last three games.
During a rare attack which wasn’t faulted by an offside, Shortwood threatened to get back into the game but was matched by a determined and resilient Keith Emmerson.
Unfortunately for the defender, he came off worse taking a knock on his shin tarnishing the second half performance.

Midfielder Devlin struck a curling shot from a Steve Richardson cross to highlight the dominance and talent on show in the second half.

If the second 45 is to keep on continuing then it won’t be long before the gap at the top of the table to improve.