POOLE Town were again left to count the cost of rain as much of the non-league schedule was washed out on Saturday.

Dolphins’ fixture backlog took another turn for the worse as their Southern League Division One South & West clash at Paulton was postponed.

The waterlogged pitch meant that Poole slipped five points adrift of Hungerford Town with no fewer than five games in hand on the leaders.

Tom Killick’s men are now facing a hectic period as they play catch-up in a bid to overhaul Hungerford and live up to their billing as Division One title favourites.

Poole were not the only team left frustrated as a number of the area’s non-league clubs also saw their fixtures fall victim of the wet weather.

Hamworthy United’s game at Lymington Town was the only one to survive in the Wessex Premier, while every match in the Dorset Premier League was postponed due to waterlogged pitches as parts of the county were hit by flooding.

Non-league postponements: Southern League – Bashley v Chesham United, Paulton Rovers v Poole Town. Wessex League – Hayling United v Bournemouth Poppies, Horndean v Verwood Town, New Milton Town v Christchurch, Ringwood Town v Andover New Street.