BOSS Ken Vaughan heaped praise on his back-up boys after depleted Poppies had registered a 2-1 win over Wessex Premier rivals Totton & Eling at Victoria Park.

Goals from Martin Warren and Connor Phillips saw Poppies record back-to-back league wins for only the second time this season and took them into the top half of the table.

And Poppies’ fourth victory in their past six games came in the face of adversity with Vaughan missing several key players due to injury and unavailability.

Vaughan said: “We had two players stuck up north and one on a skiing holiday. Ollie Phillipson-Masters tweaked a muscle in his back and Fawzi Saadi hurt his groin in training.

“The lads that came in did really well. They worked off their socks and adapted well. I was pleased with them and they have given me a selection dilemma for our next game.”

Karim Lammali, who provided the assist for Phillips’s goal, was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the closing stages. Steve Green’s 63rd-minute penalty reduced the arrears for the visitors.

Poppies: Jones, Lepage, Jackson, Watt, Batchelor, Hales, Lammali, Ward, Warren, Joyce, Phillips (Vaughan, 87). Unused subs: Saadi, Molyneaux, Martin.

  • Billy Puckett came off the bench to score twice as Christchurch sunk struggling Romsey 4-0 at Hurn Bridge.

Mark Smith opened the scoring from a free-kick before Brad Magookin’s header doubled Priory’s lead and broke Romsey’s resistance with Puckett netting twice late on.

Graham Kemp, who is holding the fort as Christchurch manager after stepping down last month, said: “The first half was nip and tuck but we dominated after the break. Once the second goal went in, the floodgates opened.”

Priory: Collins, Thompson, Magookin, Legg (Lloyd, 20), Crutchley, Burden (Puckett, 65), Smith, Yelland, Griffin, Cook (Osborne, 55), Cornick. Unused subs: Dand, Burt.

  • Dan Cox’s fourth goal in three games proved in vain as New Milton let slip the lead and went down 2-1 at Fawley. Cox opened the scoring after 38 minutes before the hosts hit back to claim all three points thanks to second-half goals from Stephen Hall and Matthew Vining.

Linnets: Hookway, Blackburn, Pidgley, Booker, Curtis, Barge, Proctor (Thomson, 65), Egerton, De’ath (Holloway, 61), Roberts (Donaldson, 61), Cox. Unused subs: Morris, Head.

  • Goals from Ekow Elliott, Dave Ewen and Dominic Allen earned Blackfield & Langley a 3-0 victory over Verwood.
  • Debutants Liam Edgar and Ben Hatch experienced fluctuating fortunes as Ringwood suffered a 2-1 defeat at Tadley Calleva in Wessex One.

Edgar levelled from the spot to make it 1-1 in the 32nd minute before Hatch received a straight red card for a poor tackle in the closing stages.

Ringwood: Page, Osman, Bailey (Bellows, h-t), Rolls, Pierson, Edgar, Hawkins (Thomas, 73), Steer, Hatch, Wells, Heggan.