WHEN Poole Town were this month drawn against Hayes & Yeading in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round, a few people must have recalled the match-up the two shared almost a decade ago.

One man who certainly did was captain of that Poole side, Carl Poore, who shared his recollections of one of Dolphins’ biggest games under stalwart boss Tom Killick.

Poore, who featured 124 times in red and white, told the Daily Echo about the buzz surrounding the club ahead of their David and Goliath contest at Tatnam.

“When I saw the tie, I thought ‘that brings back memories!’,” he said, speaking ahead of Saturday's showdown between the sides at SkyEX Community Stadium (3pm).

“It was a great atmosphere around the place, especially because we had quite a run – seven (cup) games in total.

“We were the lowest ranked team left in the competition. There was a bit of excitement that we could possibly have got Bournemouth, because they were still in League One at the time.”

Back then, Poole were unable to be promoted due to ground grading, meaning Poore led the side to three consecutive Wessex Premier titles.

Hayes & Yeading sat 17th in the Conference Premier, 73 places above the Dolphins in the ninth tier.

“As a non-league footballer, you always want to go up through the leagues, but the situation we had at Poole meant that the FA Cup became a priority – the money side of it mainly.

“The game itself, we gave it all we had. It was a cracking game for the neutral. Hayes & Yeading probably thought it would be a cake walk, with four divisions between us. We were in a false league with the squad we had.”

Despite the bumper home crowd of 1,219 roaring them on, Poole fell behind nine minutes before the break, when Lee Brown popped up for the visitors.

“I vividly remember going in at half-time,” said Poore. “Tommy Killick gave one of the best team talks I’ve ever witnessed. It was so encouraging and inspiring. We went out again for the second half, ready to give it even more.”

Non-league legend Taffy Richardson restored parity when he fired home from a loose ball in the box.

Poore recalled: “Hayes & Yeading’s defence was a bit lackadaisical.

“Maybe they thought it would be easy. Taffy scored and suddenly we were in a proper cup tie. They were in a sticky situation – they were being outplayed by a side four levels lower than them.

“We had a really strong shout for a penalty – 1,200 people around the ground thought it was one, but unfortunately the ref didn’t!”

Poole’s dream began to unravel in injury time when centre-half Lamin Dibba clumsily brought down Bradley Pritchard inside the box, allowing Brown to step-up and slot home. “To be honest, their lad made a meal of it,” insisted the former Dolphins skipper

“Lamin went in for it, and after the challenge had his hands up saying ‘it wasn’t me!’. After we went behind we chucked everyone and everything at it – and they caught us on the break.

“After the game, there was a lot of broken faces – it was a really salty pill to swallow.”

Since that 3-1 defeat, Dolphins have reached the final hurdle of qualification four more times – but none of their recent ties captured the magic of the cup as much as their 2010 match-up.

Poore said: “In terms of the club’s recent history, it is definitely one of the biggest games in the past decade. That season we had a really good year – we reached the semis of the FA Vase, as well as finally winning promotion.

“The heartbreak in both the Vase and Cup was worth it in the end, because it gave the club a platform to enlarge. Looking back, that’s exactly what they’ve done.”

Since retiring in 2013, Poore is a frequent visitor at Tatnam – in between previous spells as a manager at Verwood and Hamworthy.

When asked if he had any advice for the squad ahead of their own battle with Hayes & Yeading, Poore added: “It’s completely different – they’re at the same level now, with Poole above them in the league.

“All I’d say is stick to what you know and what you’ve been doing. Poole are in form and they should be favourites.

“Just enjoy it. And maybe get some redemption for us!”