BOSS Tom Killick admitted Poole Town had not been at their best during their 2-2 draw with National South new boys Bognor Regis Town on Tuesday.

A late strike from Bognor’s Jimmy Muitt rocked the Dolphins, who had earlier come from behind to lead thanks to goals from Shaun Cooper and Tony Lee at the Black Gold Stadium.

Nevertheless, with an unbeaten opening intact having won at Weston-super-Mare in their season opener, Killick was left content by his team’s start to the campaign.

He told the Daily Echo: “It was a disappointing night but we have acquired four points from our opening two games and, in this league, that’s a very satisfactory return, so I am not going to be too hard on the players.

“Thankfully, it’s not something I have to say too often when we play at home but Bognor were the better side.

“They dominated possession and created the better opportunities to an extent, so we have to reflect on that. A lot of that was down to how good Bognor were but some of it was down to inadequacies on our part.

“People get too carried away. They look at the game and think ‘well Bognor are a much better side than Poole’ well, no. Bognor are a good side but they were better than us on the night.”

He added: “I am confident in what my group of players will do over the course of the season, against Bognor we didn’t have a very good night.

“The players weren’t at their best but they still came very close to winning the game and I think that speaks volumes.”

The Rocks went ahead from their first attacking spell when Ollie Pearce's corner found Corey Heath, who powered a header home on nine minutes – despite Killick believing defender Jake Smeeton had been blocked in the build-up.

Poole did not seem at the races for the opening quarter of the contest, but got their leveller on 24 minutes through a moment of quality from Cooper.

The former Cherries man, deployed in a more advanced role on the night, picked up the ball on the edge of the box and bent it into the bottom corner after shifting it on to his left foot.

Despite the visitors creating more opportunities, it was Poole who had the best chance to go ahead before the break. Lee held up the ball for Luke Burbidge, who failed to convert after going one-on-one with goalkeeper Dan Lincoln.

But just 17 seconds after the interval, a moment of magic from Lee put the home side ahead. The former Eastleigh striker let fly with a right-footed strike from all of 35 yards, which flew into the corner past Lincoln.

The visitors were not finished, however, as they thwarted Poole's plans for back-to-back wins with a goal six minutes from time. Muitt drove forward and smashed the ball into the bottom corner to make it 2-2.

Dolphins: Hutchings, Moore, Dickson, Spetch, Whisken, Smeeton, Burbidge, Devlin, Lee (Oxlade-Chamberlain, 65) Cooper, Baggie (Bedford, 75). Unused subs: Neale, Balmer, Rees (g/k).