BOSS Tom Killick resisted the temptation to use mitigating circumstances as an excuse after Poole Town had suffered only their second Southern League defeat of the season.

Defender Dan Webb’s last-gasp winner saw Premier Division rivals Hitchin Town lower injury-ravaged Poole’s colours on an emotive day for the Hertfordshire-based outfit.

A crowd of more than 1,600 packed in to their Top Field headquarters following a march through the town to protest at plans to sell the ground to a supermarket chain and relocate the club.

Spectators had been offered free entry and asked to make a donation to the club with Hitchin resident and Sky Sports broadcaster Guillem Balague addressing the crowd before the march set off.

Poole had headed east without injured trio Marvin Brooks, Richard Gillespie and Will Spetch, while loan star Jack Maloney withdrew from the squad on the morning of the match due to illness.

Killick, who named Luke Burbidge on the bench even though he was not fully fit, told the Daily Echo: “I don’t think the events of the day had a huge bearing on the outcome.

“It helped them insofar as they had 1,600 people there who were quite vociferous and supportive whereas, in normal circumstances, the atmosphere would have been very different. It probably made life a little more difficult for us but it was quite an even game.

“I always felt it would either end in a draw or someone would nick it because there wasn’t much in the game.

“It was a case of who would have the edge in both penalty areas and a matter of trying to convert one of the few opportunities and being resilient defensively. We just got it the wrong way round and missed two or three reasonable opportunities and were a little lax in defending a set-piece.

“In terms of player availability and the occasion, unusually, I would have been reasonably satisfied with a draw but it was taken away from us at the end.”

Dolphins: Hutchings, Tallack, Jermyn, Walker, Whisken, Pettefer, Gilkes, Devlin (Davis, 79), Dibba (Munday, 55), Roberts, Martin (Dickson, 58). Unused subs: Burbidge, Manley (g/k).