HAMWORTHY United boss Tim Sills “couldn’t be prouder” of his side after they narrowly lost 2-1 to rivals Poole Town in the Dorset Senior Cup, believing that his charges had “rattled” the side two divisions above them in the pyramid.

Hamworthy, who currently ply their trade in the Wessex Premier League, gave Southern League Premier Poole one hell of a fight, forcing the game to extra-time through substitute Jamie Filkins’ stoppage-time equaliser.

Jack Dickson had given Poole the lead in the 25th minute, before Luke Holmes eventually decided the game with an injury-time winner at the end of extra-time.

Whilst Poole look unlikely to add any league success to their cup triumph, Hamworthy sit top of their division, with their FA Vase run still alive at the quarter-final stage.

Sills, who won the Dorset Senior Cup as a player twice with Weymouth, believes that the performance against Poole was a strong indicator of the level his side can perform at.

Speaking after the game, Sills told the Daily Echo: “I wanted to see tonight how much we could match up against a team two leagues above, much bigger budget, always been around the promotion picture, because that's going to be a good marker of where we're at for the rest of the season.

“And like I said, even with ten men, we've matched them, got ourselves back into the game, had a couple of other big chances that they're the moments that make you either win or lose, and that's what we learn from it.

“I couldn't be prouder of them. Obviously disappointed to lose in the end, but the fact we took them that far, with ten men for so long, is a great effort by everyone.”

Despite both teams having a man sent off - Harvey Wright dismissed for a foul as the last man for Hamworthy, whilst Sam Wright saw red for two bookings for Poole – the game never threatened to boil over on the pitch, despite the history between the two teams and the fact it was a final.

“I think we rattled them, that's the thing,” continued Sills.

“As much as they are a quality side with some really good players, we've given them a good game and you could see a bit of panic setting in for them. The fact that playing against two leagues lower, not dominating the game at all, even against ten men, it's great for us.

“So, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of needle at all in a game and you've got to be competitive and that's what a final is.”

Going into the game, Hamworthy hadn’t lost at home for over two years – a streak stretching back to before the pandemic, in January 2020. After 36 games, the streak was effectively ended, with Poole taking victory at the Sunseeker International County Ground.

Sills had voiced his displeasure at the fact that an appropriate neutral venue was not found, with a coin-flip deciding that Hamworthy’s home would host the showpiece.

When asked if he was disappointed that the unbeaten streak at home was over, Sills replied: “(It) doesn't bother me.

“It's a final, neutral venue for me, it's what it should be.

“It should never be played at someone's home ground in a final, should never have been done on the toss of a coin in the first place.

“So for me, it's a neutral venue, it's the DCFA’s (Dorset County FA) game tonight. It's not our game.

“If we came out tonight without losing our home streak, it would have been an even bigger achievement.

“So it doesn't bother me at all. We know we proved again we're difficult to beat at home, so, we'll start another streak and that's the least of our worries at the moment.”