A Conor McDonagh double was enough to sink the dolphins at Bulpit Lane

Joe Shepherd returned from suspension to replace the injured Sam de st Croix but was an otherwise unchanged Hungerford side to face Poole. Danny Robinson looking for a reaction from the team that let slip a three goal advantage the previous match

The first half was an evenly matched affair with clear cut chances few and far between. The closest Hungerford came to scoring was via Adulai Sambu after 10 minutes, he had a looping effort from a wide angle which beat former Hungerford keeper, Max Evans, but was hooked off the line by Dec Rose for Poole. With a midfield battle ensuing it took another 25 minutes for a clear chance this time form Poole’s Tony Lee whose shot was beaten away by Ryan Clarke to keep the game goalless at halftime

Hungerford always look a more dangerous side attacking down the slope in the second half and so this proved to be. Conor McDonagh had a shot across the six yard box in the first minute of the half which Sambu sliding in at he far post just failed to divert into the net. The a couple of minutes later Brad Hooper put a through ball into the box for Sambu but he fired over the bar.

On 53 minutes Poole thought they had taken the lead when Will Fletcher turned in a Murray cross but Fletcher was offside. It was a warning signal to Hungerford though despite their good start to the half Poole were dangerous. On the hour though it was Poole who were a danger to themselves when an under hit back pass to Evans and a hasty kick from him was deflected in by the willing McDonagh who guided in to the empty net to give Hungerford the lead. A few minutes later Sambu almost doubled the lead but his shot flashed wide of the far post.

With 20 minutes to go Poole almost equalised when a Fletcher header crashed off the crossbar and Hungerford managed to scramble the ricochet away. The Crusaders lead was eventually doubled with 10 minutes to go however when a header on by Joe Shepherd found McDonagh in the clear and his finish was lethal to make it 2-0 to the hosts. There was still time for some home fan nerves in injury time when Poole got a goal back through Ojo but it was the last kick of the match and the three points were secured. Hungerford continues to enjoy home comforts.

Team : Clarke, Tyler (c), Medford-Smith, Berry-Hargreaves, Wright, Alexander, Hooper, Shepherd, Watts (Carnell), McDonagh (Moore), Sambu (Spasov)
Subs Not Used : Softley, Stanley
Attendance : 271
Star Man : Conor McDonagh