Hungerford Town fell to a second away defeat in the space of a week as Poole Town’s quality in the final third proved decisive, a result that also nudged the Crusaders back into the relegation places.

New signing Josh Marcon was handed a debut in the starting XI, but Hungerford were without the influential Charlie Austin, and their attacking threat suffered as a result.

The hosts began with real intent, pinning Hungerford deep and probing around Luke Cairney’s penalty area. They came close inside ten minutes when Lowes’ deflected strike looked destined for the corner, only for Cairney to produce a superb reaction save.
Hungerford’s response was limited to long‑range efforts from Carter Bowdery and Marcon, both comfortably gathered by Poole goalkeeper Parkes. Beyond that, the visitors struggled to impose themselves, content to sit off and absorb pressure.

Poole’s breakthrough arrived just before the half‑hour mark. Dan Carr split the defence with a moment of outstanding vision, releasing Gwengwe, who finished clinically past Cairney. Carr almost doubled the lead on the stroke of half‑time, his delicate chip beating the keeper but drifting agonisingly wide.

Hungerford introduced Kyle Tooze at the interval in search of greater energy up front, and the change nearly paid off immediately. Tooze spun sharply on the edge of the box and fired just over.

But Poole weathered the brief resurgence and struck again ten minutes later. A deep cross from Diaz found Gwengwe unmarked, and the striker powered home a free header for his second of the afternoon. Hungerford protested an apparent foul in the build‑up, but the defending left far too much space for a forward of Gwengwe’s calibre.

The Dolphins put the contest beyond reach with a stunning third. Harvey Slade unleashed a thunderous effort from distance that arrowed into the top‑right corner, leaving Cairney with no chance.

To their credit, Hungerford continued to push forward. Joe Shepherd and Bowdery both fired over before the visitors finally found a reward with twenty minutes remaining. Substitute Andrio Brandao closed down Parkes, whose mistimed clearance fell straight to Bowdery. The young midfielder showed admirable composure to slot home.

Moments later, Hungerford might have had another, but Tooze chose to shoot from a tight angle rather than square to better‑placed teammates.

Bowdery forced Parkes into a fingertip save in the final minute after another clever pass from Brandao, but Poole saw out the closing stages comfortably.

While Hungerford showed spirit late on, the damage had long been done. Their fight for survival will not hinge on results against high‑flying sides like Poole, but on taking points from the teams around them in the table. With the relegation zone tightening, those fixtures are becoming increasingly crucial.

Team : Cairney, McGrory, Medford-Smith, Berry-Hargreaves, Duffus, Smith, Shepherd (Luke), Squires (Tooze), Bowdery, Macron, Lynch (Brandao)
Subs Not used : Blackford, Gyebi
Attendance 532
Star Man : Carter Bowdery