TOM Killick was forced to look on from the stand as Poole Town went down 2-1 at Welling United – only their second National South defeat of 2017, reports Jack Tanner.

Manager Killick was banished from the technical area 13 minutes from time after remonstrating with referee Elliot Kaye.

Both teams had been aggrieved at the official’s performance, with Killick’s frustrations reaching boiling point during the closing stages.

He was particularly irked when Will Spetch was shown a 10th yellow card of the season – which will trigger a two-match ban – with the boss convinced it had been a case of mistaken identity.

Killick told the Daily Echo: “We would have to send 27 videos from 28 different angles, with 54 affidavits as to why it was wrong, only to be told by the FA that it’s another match added on to the ban so we won’t be appealing.”

An own goal credited to goalkeeper Nick Hutchings and a Harry Crawford penalty after 24 minutes gifted Welling a strong foothold.

Killick added: “We have based a lot of our success on our ability to stay in games and not be easily broken down and, in turn, wear down teams and wait for our opportunities.

“When you are away from home and you go behind early on, it is always very difficult.

“To their credit, they started better than us. When you have had a fortnight off, you either look invigorated or lethargic and we were lethargic at the start. The early goal gave them more confidence, while we looked even shakier.”

Lewis Tallack was judged to have tripped Rhys Murrel-Williamson, with Crawford stepping up to send Hutchings the wrong way from the spot to make it 2-0.

“I can’t comment on whether it was a clear penalty, but we had a big opportunity to clear the ball and get out of a dangerous area,” said Killick.

“We failed to take it and paid the price. Suddenly, we were 2-0 behind and were staring down a barrel.”

Poole were much-improved in the second half and finally put the Wings under pressure, with goalkeeper Chris Lewington making some fine stops to keep the visitors at bay.

He twice denied Luke Roberts with his feet before pulling off a top-drawer save to keep out a Marvin Brooks effort.

Lewington was eventually beaten by Steve Devlin after a fortuitous penalty had been awarded for a shove in the box.

Devlin converted his fourth spot-kick in three games to ignite hopes of a comeback but Poole failed to seriously threaten during seven minutes of added time and left Kent empty handed.

Killick added: “The fact their goalkeeper won man of the match tells its own story. We came up short at the end but we only had our first-half performance to blame.”

Dolphins: Hutchings, Tallack, Moore, Spetch, Whisken, Pettefer (Cooper, 65), Burbidge, Devlin, Roberts, Brooks, Baggie. Unused subs: Gillespie, Askew, Rees (g/k).