WITH 30 minutes of this attritional contest to play, Tom Killick liked what he had seen.

He would confirm as much after the match: “I think you learn more about your team and players in a situation like that – when the conditions are difficult and you face a dogged, determined team – than you do when you are playing Truro, spraying the ball about and having things your own way,” said the Poole Town boss.

When he mentioned conditions at Oxford’s Marsh Lane home, Killick was referring to a bone-dry, craggy playing surface.

And the hosts were, indeed, physical, awkward and intent on completing a National South double over Dolphins, having won 3-1 at the Black Gold Stadium five months ago.

Four days after despatching Truro with all the comfort the manager’s words suggested, Killick would have been perfectly entitled to take his point here and refocus for another day.

But that would not have sat right with a boss who is a “winner” – captain Jamie Whisken’s description. Killick dragged Abdulai Baggie out to the left, where Luke Roberts had hitherto been deployed. Roberts joined auxiliary striker Will Spetch in a two-man attack.

On 77 minutes, Baggie, whose influence in the middle had been waning prior to his positional switch, received the ball from Corby Moore.

He knocked it back to the brilliant Steve Devlin and hared down the wing. Quickly realising he was heading up a blind alley, Baggie span on his heels to make himself available for the return pass.

When it came, the former Tranmere man chopped back on his right foot and sent a cross to the far post, where Roberts was primed to pounce.

The forward’s header was perfect, guided across Craig Hill before nestling snugly inside the home goalkeeper’s right-hand post.

Killick immediately got busy, making changes to his personnel and tactics.

His team then stood up to a "bombardment" to claim three precious points – Moore’s late goal-line clearance from Oxford substitute Kaiman Anderson the closest the hosts came to snatching a draw.

“The most pleasing thing for me was how we managed after we scored the goal,” said Killick.

“We faced a bit of a bombardment. Their midfielder had a long throw and they had the big lad (Jefferson Louis) up top, so we had to defend a lot of stuff coming into our box.

“I could see, from one to 11, there was no way we wanted to let a goal in.

“That sounds an obvious thing to say but I have been a manager for a long time and you do not always look on the pitch and see that.”

Things had actually started rather inauspiciously for Dolphins. Home striker Ezra Forde slalomed his way through the visitors' rearguard and slipped a shot beyond keeper Nick Hutchings – but not Jake Smeeton, covering superbly to divert the ball behind his own goal.

Oxford captain Lee Henderson headed over from a right-wing free-kick delivered by Scott Davies – he of the long throw – before Poole emerged as an attacking force.

Spetch, forced into his striker’s role with Marvin Brooks sidelined by a neck injury, latched onto Carl Pettefer’s pass and slammed a terrific ball across the six-yard box.

There were no takers, though, and when Spetch was subsequently sent cantering clear by Devlin’s pass over the top he went it alone, bearing down on goal and firing a shot which Hill finger-tipped to his left.

Hutchings beat away Reece Fleet’s long-range effort shortly after the break, before, at the other end, a little trick took Roberts beyond Henderson to fire a shot which Hill turned around his post.

Amongst all this, Poole were handling Louis magnificently, never allowing the peripatetic, towering striker a minute’s peace.

In fact, Whisken and Smeeton’s duel with Louis made for a fascinating show within a show.

The bigger picture, according to popular opinion after the final whistle, was not pretty. But with the size of the prize Poole were playing for – they opened up a five-point gap on Hungerford outside the play-off spots with this victory – it really was a compelling spectacle.

Admittedly, Davies and Baggie’s respective, wildly high shots shortly before Dolphins’ breakthrough were pretty ugly.

Roberts’ goal was anything but.

On this particular day Killick could have been talking about any of his players as he stood in the tunnel post-match and dissected Whisken’s performance.

“If I was writing a list of marks for players, I could give Jamie Whisken an eight before the game started and I’d know it would not be lower,” said Killick.

“He is just such a consistent, proper player. He is the captain and a leader of men.”

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?