Diaper on St Mary's, Poole and all things sphere shaped
on 13/03/09 by Andy Starmore
VT had a superb victory on Tuesday night as they knocked Brockenhurst out of the Hampshire Senior Cup to book their place in the showpiece St Mary’s final against Fleet Town on April 30.

Two goals from Warren Hunt plus goals from Ryan Ashford, Kevin Gibbens and Kevin Brewster made up the impressive 5-0 scoreline at Grigg Lane, a result that VT boss Dave Diaper was naturally delighted with.

Talking to Pitchside Diaper said, “It was a brilliant win, absolutely superb.

“It was a tough game to be fair, Brockenhurst were on top in the first half.

“We were good in the second half and as soon as the second goal went in we bossed the game really.

“We could have scored more to be fair.

“They gave a very good account of themselves in the first half.

“They had a lot of possession but without any real penetration though.

“I had a word at half time and we came out all guns blazing in the second half and got into our normal game.

“That’s always been the biggest carrot of all now the final’s been changed from Dean Court to St Mary’s.

“It’s the icing on the cake for us. Obviously it’s been well documented about what a great season Poole Town are having but we’ve only lost one game and that was against them when we had a weakened team out.

“So the lads really deserve to get to St Mary’s.”

And what of VT’s Hampshire Senior Cup final opponents Fleet?

Diaper said, “We played against Fleet in pre-season and we drew 1-1 with them. We took the lead and they equalised with about 10 minutes to go.

“They’re a decent outfit and Andy Sinton (Fleet manager) has got them playing some good football.

“The final will be a good one because both teams like to play good football.

“It was a great pre-season game up there. We’ll be going into the game as underdogs but having beaten Havant & Waterlooville and Basingstoke, the holders, we’ll give them one hell of a game.

“The final everybody wanted including myself was Eastleigh and us because of the local interest but hopefully we’ll get a good backing from Southampton in general.

“With it being on a Thursday night we’re hoping for a decent crowd to cheer the boys on.

“We want to try and get it publicised as much as we can to get the local interest and it should be a good evening.”

It’s been a fantastic season for VT and the Hampshire Senior Cup final and the opportunity to play on St Mary’s luscious surface is a prize they fully deserve, but there’s also a little matter of a league tussle with Poole Town to settle.

Any other season VT would have been walking away with the league given the enormous amount of goals they’ve scored thus far – 110 in 29 games – the most any team in the entire country has scored.

But this is no ordinary season. Poole have been in amazingly consistent form throughout the whole campaign and have dropped two points from a possible 96, but Diaper is confident his troops are still in with a good shout of winning the league.

Diaper continued, “I feel the pressure is on Poole more than us really.

“All we can do is keep on doing what we’ve been doing all season, winning games of football.

“Against Wimborne (in the Dorset Senior Cup) Poole were 2-1 down in injury time and managed to turn it around which is a mark of a good team.

“We’re no different. If we get into trouble we tend to go up another gear.

“Providing it’s not too late in the game you can get back on level terms and then turn the game around.

“I really feel for the lads because last year we were playing catch up with Totton. We ended the season with 103 points and this year we’re going to surpass that.

“It’s frightening really because we could be in a situation where we score 140 goals this season.”

So how have goals come so seemingly easy for VT?

“It’s the style of play we’ve got and all the lads know exactly what their jobs are.

“They’re really enjoying their football and it’s reflecting in the results.

“You don’t get many semi-finals against good opposition with a 5-0 scoreline.

“There’s one thing I said in pre-season that we’ve got to be more clinical in front of goal and to be fair to the lads they worked hard during the close season and now we’re getting the benefits of that.

“We want to win every game and there’s a possibility of meeting Poole in the Wessex League Cup final as well.

“We’ve got to be a little bit careful now because we’re playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday and so on.

“We’ve got Horndean this Saturday (March 14) and out of respect to Hamble I won’t be fielding an extra weakened team.

“I might rest a couple of players but I don’t think it would be right to rest too many because obviously Hamble are bottom of the league and if it comes down to goal difference it wouldn’t be fair to them.

“We’ve had some tough matches and I looked at the fixtures the other week and thought that’s a hell of a run but, we’ve beaten everyone that’s come our way.

“We made Bemerton look like a poor team but you ask anyone to go to Bemerton and get a result, it’s not easy.”

The game against Poole Town at Tatnam on April 11 is a game not to be missed. It promises much and it’s a game that could go either way.

The only certainty is that both teams will be full of confidence and both teams will go into the match keen to prove they are the best side in the Wessex League.

Diaper can’t wait. He said, “I’m looking forward to the Poole game and I just hope that both teams have got everyone available for it.

“We owe them one but I’ve got great admiration for Tommy Killick and his squad of players. They’ve been tremendous but I do feel there was a bit of an unfair advantage the day they beat us with the injuries we had.

“It will be a hell of a game for a neutral to come and watch because both clubs will be going at it hammer and tongues.

“It’s probably two different styles of play between the two of us. They can play football, don’t get me wrong, but they also get the ball into the box for Charlie Austin, probably no different to what we do with Paul Sales to be fair, but no it’s going to be a great spectacle.

“There’s a lot of respect between the two teams and if you look at our records going back probably five or six years the two clubs have always been close.

“That’s why it hurts to be beaten 5-1 to them at our own place.

“The first game which was abandoned it probably got abandoned at the right time for Poole because we were bossing the game (1-1 at the time).

“We’ve got some difficult games coming up. We’ve got Fareham away and between us and Fareham it’s nearly always a draw.

“There’s a few games we’ve got to be careful with.

“Fareham are a good outfit and now they’ve got Matt Parr in charge they’ll do well. I’ve got a lot of respect for the guy.

“He’ll get them playing and they’ve got a good work rate.

“They’re punching below their weight really.

“Poole have got some tough matches to come as well. They’ve got to play Wimborne and Hamworthy and we all know the rivalries there.

“There’s still a few twists and turns yet this season.

“All we can do is beat whoever comes around and the lads have to be congratulated for what they’ve done so far.”