WIMBORNE Town were struck by an injury crisis of a different kind ahead of their relegation battle with Staines Town – with manager Matty Holmes forced out of the match, WRITES JACK TANNER.

Holmes did not make the trip to Staines after spraining his knee, which meant he ended up in Bournemouth Hospital until the early hours of Saturday.

Assistant Danny Holmes and coach Shane Traynor took charge instead, masterminding a 4-2 win after Wimborne had twice fallen behind.

Billy Maybury struck a wonderful free-kick to cancel out Luca Valentine’s opener, before Wimborne were pegged back again three minutes later.

Undeterred, Magpies levelled through Matty Oldring and then went ahead for the first time thanks to substitute Luke Burbidge.

Maybury was dismissed for a debatable second caution but Wimborne saw the game out courtesy of a Toby Holmes strike three minutes from time.

Traynor told the Daily Echo: “Missing Matty had an impact on the lads. He is a big influence on the squad but was under doctor’s orders to stay at home and rest up.

“We started brightly but missed a few chances, which allowed Staines to get their tails up.

“Despite their league position, they are a good side and they hit us on the counter. Give them credit, they are well structured and I think that their league position is a bit false.”

Traynor felt Maybury had been harshly dealt with over his dismissal.

The coach said: “Billy won the ball fair and square – it was right in front of the dugouts and even their manager said it wasn’t a foul.

“I spoke to the referee after the game and he said it was for a late challenge.

“We did very well to see the game off and get the fourth goal. It was definitely the killer goal – they had shown they were a threat on the break, so getting the fourth put the game out of sight.”

Victory saw Magpies rise to 12th in Southern League South, putting them level on points with Poole Town having played three games fewer.

Traynor said: “It’s a very tight league – it seems like one loss and you’re down in the relegation zone, and one win takes you into the top half. Our main priority is survival.”

Wimborne are next in action against top-of-the-table Taunton at Cuthbury on Saturday.

Magpies: Benfield, Penny, Maybury, Davidson, Oldring, Pettefer, Stokoe, Clarke (Burbidge, 62), T Holmes, Young, L Holmes (Lee, 90). Unused subs: Francis, Owen, Collins (g/k).

Meanwhile, Poole Town have another fixture to catch up on after their Southern League South clash with Walton Casuals was postponed due to wet weather.

Dolphins have played the joint-fewest games in the league, with Weymouth also having contested just 23 fixtures.