BOSS Tom Killick admitted to having had mixed feelings following Poole Town’s eventful draw with Conference South strugglers Staines Town.

Killick said he had left Wheatsheaf Park “reasonably satisfied” with the outcome, if somewhat disappointed at the nature of the goals conceded by the Dolphins.

Poole, seeking to reach the first round for the fifth time in their history and the first time since 1987, made a promising start and raced into a 2-0 lead.

But Steve Devlin’s emphatic penalty and a goal credited to Neil Martin were quickly cancelled out as the hosts hit back to score twice in 60 seconds at the end of the first half.

And although Luke Roberts netted to restore Poole’s lead midway through the second half, Ashley Lodge’s equaliser set up a replay at Tatnam tomorrow where the teams will duel for £4,000 in prize money.

Staines, currently second from bottom in the league above Poole, knocked Dolphins out of the FA Cup last season after winning 1-0 in a fourth qualifying round replay in Dorset following a 0-0 draw in Middlesex.

Killick told the Daily Echo: “I must admit, it had all looked quite straight-forward when we went 2-0 up. But in the blink of an eye, it was 2-2. It was the polar opposite to last season when we couldn’t score in 180 minutes against them.

“It was good to see us create a lot of opportunities but it was just very unlike us that the goals we conceded were terrible, all of them. I was surprised. Had we kept the 2-0 lead for a bit longer, I felt we would have been okay.

“Their first goal was route one and a lack of concentration on our part. They had a good spell then, whereas, until that point, they had looked really out of sorts.

“It was a real mixture. When we went 2-0 up, it wasn’t just the scoreline that pleased me but the manner in which we had played.

“To suddenly go from such a commanding position to one where it was 2-2 and everything was going their way, you feared for us. The third goal put us back in a good place but they equalised again and perhaps looked more likely to score towards the end.”

Killick added: “Overall, we were away and now have the opportunity of them having to travel to us and we are quite strong at home so we had to be reasonably satisfied with a draw.”

Dolphins: Hutchings, Tallack, Jermyn (Gillespie, 55), Walker, Whisken, Pettefer, Maloney, Devlin, Burbidge, Roberts (Brooks, 75), Martin (Davis, 85). Unused subs: Munday, Manley (g/k).