Match Report: Bluebirds hold on despite Poole pressure

Poole Town were edged out of an extremely tight tie after failing to comback from an early setback in the FA Cup.

Tom Killick was forced into an unorthodox formation with the suspension of Will Spetch and the absence of Luke Burbidge, who was attending the birth of his third child.

Poole played a 3-5-1-1, with Jez Bedford and Jack Dickson operating as wing-backs in front of a back three of Whisken, Rose and Jackson.

It couldn’t have been a worse start for the Dolphins, with the away side finding themselves a goal behind after five minutes.

Luke Holmes sloppily left a trailing leg that caught the slipping Michael Elechi, before Harvey Bunker stepped up to fire a dipping effort 25-yards out towards Childs.

Unsighted, Childs was tricked by a last-minute change in direction – with the ball finding the bottom right corner.

The tie continued from where it was left off on Saturday – a pulsating contest between closely matched teams. Both sides struggled to generate opportunities outside of set pieces, with Poole coming closest via Josh Carmichael’s speculative effort from 30 yards.

Poole had the lion share of possession approaching the break, but again could not generate much of note. Jez Bedford was caught in two minds when slipped in – uncertain whether to cut it back or shoot, allowing Chippenham to send the ball out for a corner.

Dolphins made a blistering start to the second half, but much like the opening period, had little to show for it in terms of chances.

Chippenham remained a threat on the break,

The hosts found their goal under constant siege, with multiple goaline stops denying multiple Poole attackers with seven minutes to go.

Poole maintained their pressure deep into added time, but ultimately could not beat Henry.

An extremely tight tie over 180 minutes, Poole will feel like this was an opportunity missed – and Chippenham relieved to have advanced unscathed.

Dolphins: Childs (g/k), Rose, Jackson, Whisken (C), Carmichael, Moore, Lee, Dickson, Bedford, Holmes, Bartlett

Subs: Hubbard

Chippenham: Henry (g/k), Elechi, Parselle (c), Richards, D’Abadia, Gunner, Bray, Bunker, Hanks, Russe, Warwick

Subs: Keach, Jackson, Griffiths, Greenslade, Stearn, Myrie-Williams

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