BOURNEMOUTH Poppies boss Shaun Brooks blasted the Victoria Park pitch after his side were forced to struggle to an uninspiring 0-0 draw with Hamworthy United.

The two sides met in the FA Vase at the end of September when Dan Banfield's strike was enough to put Poppies through.

But neither side could make the breakthrough in a game of few clear chances and Brooks was in no doubt as to the crucial factor behind the lack of quality in the game.

He raged: "Our pitch is an embarrassment to the club. For the Wessex League, it's a disgrace.

"We have a great spirit here and we want to try and play the game the right way but we are being held back by the surface.

"You simply can't get any rhythm or tempo going on it. We didn't have a home game for a month and yet the council hasn't touched it in that time.

"With a better pitch, I honestly believe we would be six to nine points better off.

"All the other clubs in the league who had bad pitches have all made a real effort this season but nothing has happened with ours."

And given the circumstances, the Poppies manager believes the draw was the only likely outcome.

Brooks added: "The draw was probably the fair result. It was a dire game but after beating them in the Vase before, I suppose we're a little disappointed not to win this one."

Both Brooks and his opposite number Alex Pike would have been pleased with their teams' defensive displays and Poppies were probably happier with a point after Sammy Bryning was sent off on the hour for two bookable defences.

Pike said: "We maintained possession for long periods without really testing their goalkeeper. It was a combination of woeful finishing and good defending.

"Because of the pitch, we had to rethink our tactics at half-time and got the ball forward quicker. I thought we did enough to win the game but it still took a brilliant save from Nick Hutchins at the death to earn us the point.

"I thought their sending-off was maybe a bit harsh but then Danny Neville looked to have elbowed Scott Bedward only a few minutes into the game and got away with just a yellow card."

Bournemouth Poppies: Harvell, Chengadu, Crutcher, Neville, Briscoe, Jones, Cuglietta, Brown, Till (Roberts 70), L Dibba, Bryning. Unused subs: Moore, Wilkes.

Hamworthy United: Hutchins, Bartlett, B Williams, Gilbert, Gill, Bedward, Lucas, Edwards, Tilley, Rossiter, Middleton (Baguley 82). Unused subs: Blythe, K Williams,