MAGIC Marvin Brooks stole the points and the plaudits after his well-taken brace had handed Poole Town an opening-day victory over Clevedon.

Dolphins boss Tom Killick was full of praise for the dynamic midfielder as Brooks lit up a match that failed to live up to the high expectations at Tatnam .

Killick’s men, who are the bookies’ favourites for the South & West title this season, made hard work of overcoming the team that have finished second bottom of the division for the past two seasons.

But the tide finally began to turn 10 minutes before half-time when Brooks opened the scoring, peeling away from his marker to thump home a header from Steve Devlin’s corner.

Devlin rattled the crossbar with an unstoppable 25-yard free-kick before the interval, but it was Brooks who sealed the points, finding the top corner with a 20-yard snapshot following Lamin Dibba’s blocked header.

Killick, who started a four-match touchline ban on Saturday, conceded that his team had endured a tough afternoon, but was delighted with Brooks’s contribution.

He told the Daily Echo: “Marvin has been standing out for a little while now. He has huge ability and we think he is someone who can progress beyond this level – hopefully with us. His all-round play was very good and he scored two great goals.

“We probably did look a little bit laboured in the way that we attacked early on. We seemed a bit short of ideas, which is disappointing as we have worked on how we will cause trouble for teams.

“We lacked a little bit of energy and intensity but, in the end, we didn’t concede which is important when you’re having a spell like that. It gives you something to build on when you do get going.

“Fair play to James (Wood) and Taffy (Richardson) for their team talk at half-time as I wasn’t allowed in the dressing room. They did very well in improving things in the second half, as did the players. It was a good effort, although I would accept that we weren’t at the level we would have hoped for.”

Despite the win, Killick added that his search for a striker was still ongoing as Karim Benssaouda is unavailable for the next couple, while summer target George Bowerman has signed a contract with league rivals Winchester City.

Killick added: “The timing of Karim’s absence is disappointing – it has made our search slightly more desperate. George Bowerman wanted the security of a contract and I wasn’t prepared to do that at this early stage.

“It was an area I was looking to strengthen but now that has become quite imperative.”

Dolphins: Hutchings, Clarke, Spetch, Dibba, Walker, Howes (Richardson, 72), Burbidge, Devlin, Chudy (Price, 58), Preston, Brooks (Sturgess, 78). Unused subs: O’Donnell, Beasley.