LUKE Burbidge’s late strike fired Poole Town to the Red Insure Cup final and kept on track the club’s bid for an historic treble.

Substitute Burbidge fired home with three minutes left to play as Dolphins trumped stubborn underdogs Egham Town 3-2 in last night’s semi-final tie at Tatnam.

Southern League leaders Poole will take on the winners of the showdown between Oxfordshire outfit North Leigh and Premier Division rivals Corby Town in a two-legged final next month, with a Dorset Senior Cup semi-final against Weymouth also on the horizon.

Despite dominating the early exchanges, Tom Killick’s men fell behind on 30 minutes when static defending from a corner allowed Mitchell Gutteridge to swivel and net the opener.

But the hosts continued to boss proceedings and Portsmouth loanee Ben Close equalised at the second attempt early in the second half.

A 25-yard Exocet from Reis Stanislaus restored the Sarnies' advantage on the hour but Cherries loanee Joe Quigley levelled 10 minutes later before Burbidge settled matters with a jinking run and low shot across goal.

Killick, who brought up his 600th game in charge of the Dolphins against Egham, told the Daily Echo: “It was hard work in the end, certainly a bit harder than I had hoped.

“We dominated possession early on but lacked a cutting edge. They scored a soft goal and a wonder-strike which made life difficult for us.

“That forced us to play right to the end but we made it without picking up any injuries.

“Irrespective of the fixture list, we wanted to get into the final. Now we just have to hope we get North Leigh and not so much of a trek in the away leg.”

Meanwhile, Killick revealed injury-plagued defender Will Spetch had been withdrawn at half-time as a precaution.

“He had tightness in his hamstring so we took him off,” he added.

“Thankfully it is an unrelated problem and hopefully will not affect his recovery. It was a good 45 minutes for Will and I was pleased with his contribution.”

The two legs of the Red Insure Cup final are set to take place in the weeks commencing Monday, March 16 and Monday, March 30.

Dolphins: Marques de Salve, Tallack, Spetch (Burbidge, h-t), Walker (Dent, 83), Whisken, Davis, Dickson (Coombs, 83), Devlin, Quigley, Close, Oldham. Unused subs: Cunniffe, Hutchings (g/k).