Evesham United 1-1 Poole Town
Sunday 5th April 2026
Pitching In Southern League Premier South

Match Report by Simon Purfield

Evesham United welcomed Poole Town on Good Friday for a crucial fixture, with both teams having plenty at stake. Evesham were eager to avoid slipping into the bottom four, while Poole sought to consolidate their position in the play-off places.

With the benefit of a strong wind at their backs, Evesham started brightly. Ethan Dunbar was the first to threaten, forcing Poole’s goalkeeper Adam Parkes into a smart save, turning the shot around the post. The early exchanges saw both sides probing and testing each other, but neither team managed to seize the initiative or dictate the tempo.

The breakthrough came in the 28th minute for the home side. Josh McConnell found Andre Wright, whose superb through ball released Dunbar. Dunbar kept his composure and finished confidently from around eight yards, giving Evesham the lead.

Poole immediately responded. Shaquille Gwengwe played in Ayo, who found himself in a promising position but could not keep his shot down. Shortly after, Gwengwe was fouled just outside the box but the resulting free kick was blocked by the Evesham wall. As the half drew to a close, Wright and Dunbar combined once again, only for Dunbar’s effort to be thwarted by Poole’s defenders.

Early in the second half, Wright was presented with an opportunity from a ball into the area, but he was unable to make the necessary connection, and the chance went begging.

Then in the 50th minute, to the astonishment of the crowd, the referee awarded a controversial penalty where the Evesham defender Jyrel Bojang was blatantly pushed in the back by the striker and in the process his arm touched the ball. The division’s top scorer Shaquille Gwengwe put the resultant penalty away with aplomb to level up the score.

The wind continued to influence proceedings, making it difficult for either side to create clear-cut chances. With five minutes remaining, Poole substitute Antonio Diaz squared an excellent ball to Harvey Slade on the edge of the area, but Slade fired his shot well over the bar. Deep into injury time, Slade thought he had snatched victory for Poole when he found the net, but the goal was ruled out for handball.

The match finished in a hard-fought 1-1 draw, witnessed by a crowd of 503.

The result left Evesham four places and five points above the relegation zone, with four matches remaining in the season.

ROBINS STARTING X1:
1 Alex Harris (GK), 2 Liam Hutt, 3 Owen Foye (21′ 8 Jac Lee Poffley), 4 Josh Barlow, 5 Josh McConnell (81′ 10 Amer Awadh), 6 Ioan Richards, 11 Brandon Liggett, 12 Andre Wright (C), 15 Jyrel Bojang, 17 Ethan Dunbar 28′ (78′ 20 Kai Churchley), 19 Cameron Walters

ROBINS UNUSED SUBSTITUTES:
14 Brendan Beard

ATTENDANCE: 503