7:57pm Sunday 8th November 2009
By Neil Perrett
WESSEX League aficionado Graham Kemp has taunted faltering Poole and Wimborne by telling the Dorset big guns: “You’re not the teams to catch any more.”
And Kemp, whose comments are sure to ruffle a few feathers at Tatnam and Cuthbury, has received the backing of an unlikely ally – Poole boss Tom Killick.
Christchurch manager Kemp has already masterminded a league double over the Magpies, although his charges were on the receiving end of a 3-0 defeat by Poole in August.
However, with both Poole and Wimborne continuing to implode, Kemp, who won the title four times as a player, believes the pendulum has swung in the battle for the championship.
Another black Saturday for the Dolphins and the Magpies saw them both unexpectedly drop points to struggling opponents, with Poole beaten 1-0 at Brading and Wimborne held 1-1 at home by Alton.
And their respective slips allowed the chasing pack to gather further ground with Poppies closing the gap on Poole to a solitary point after a 5-0 thrashing of Laverstock & Ford, while Kemp’s Priory leapfrogged Wimborne with victory at Blackfield & Langley thanks to Ben Osborne’s late winner.
Kemp, whose charges staged a stirring second-half fight-back to claim a 3-2 triumph at Gang Warily, said: “Realistically, I don’t think we are title contenders.
“Everybody says Poppies and Bemerton can push Poole and Wimborne all the way but, maybe now, it could be coming to the stage where Poole and Wimborne could be pushing Poppies and Bemerton all the way. The facts are there for everyone to see and the two form teams at the moment are Poppies and Bemerton.”
Poole’s latest defeat on the Isle of Wight was their third in seven league games, the Dolphins having already dropped more points this season than they did throughout the whole of last season when they romped away with the silverware.
Dolphins boss Killick said: “People say the league has improved this season but I don’t really accept that. I just think we’ve been a lot worse than we were last season and VT have gone up.
“There are a few teams that will fancy their chances and rightly so, especially when you consider our current form and Wimborne’s current form. It’s frustrating because if we’d applied ourselves reasonably well up to this point, we’d probably be uncatchable.”
At Blackfield, Christchurch displayed their bouncebackability in more ways than one because, having lost in midweek to Poppies, they were again staring down the barrel after goals from Shaun Hughes and Neil Williamson had put the hosts in front at the break.
But a double from Osborne – his 11th and 12th of the season and his fifth and six in their past four games – and a Tom Jeffes strike saw them return to winning ways.
Kemp said: “We were lucky to only be 2-0 down at half-time but our second-half performance was exemplary and we ran out deserved winners.”
Priory: Kearn, Costello, Dan Taylor (Legg, h-t), Crutchley, Lucas, Lawrence, Smith, Burden (Rideout, 80), Osborne, Jeffes, Price. Unused subs: Fairborther, Keates, Linpow.
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