POOLE Borough boss Paul Harding is determined to win the race for second place after his 10-men triumphed 3-2 at Sturminster Newton on Saturday.

Despite dominating the opening exchanges heavily, the Hornets went 1-0 down after skipper Ross Mills handballed a goal-bound Newton shot and was sent off.

Stuart Freer stepped up and converted the penalty.

But Borough hit back fast and goals from James Pinder and Ken Strong in first-half stoppage time turned things around.

Another Freer penalty shortly after the interval levelled the match, but Pinder struck a quarter of an hour from time to seal the points.

Borough could still win the Dorset Premier League title, should they win both their remaining games and Portland United take just one point from their last two.

However, Harding is realistic about his side's chances and would be delighted with the runners-up spot.

He said: "We gave up the league a month ago when we were so short of players and had injuries - it all took its toll.

"It's tight at the top but if we win our remaining two games, we'll definitely finish second.

"That would have been a great achievement this season and it's still a very strong possibility."

The Hornets looked set to mount a title challenge last season but fell by the wayside and ended up in seventh spot.

So Harding is happy with his team's progress and is confident they can go one better and land the championship next term.

He added: "We've made massive steps this year.

"I took over with about five games to go last season and we were struggling.

"Our first aim was to break into the top three and split up Ham Rec, Westland and the rest of them.

"We should do that and I really fancy us for next year, to be honest."

Elsewhere, Holt United picked up their second straight victory after a 4-1 home triumph over Wincanton Town.

Pepe Smith opened the scoring after seven minutes before Darren Facer made it two on 20 and Steve Devlin bagged the third just minutes later.

Darren White pulled one back for the Somerset outfit after 53 minutes but Facer notched his second to put the result beyond doubt.

In the day's other game, Cranborne were held to a 0-0 draw at Bridport.

  • Hamworthy United will bid to end their campaign with some silverware tonight when they travel to Shaftsbury to face Wincanton in the DPL Supplementary Cup final.