BOSS Tom Killick praised an “immense” Poole Town performance which boosted their hopes of National South survival.

A crucial winner from skipper Jamie Whisken earned Dolphins a priceless three points as they stunned title-chasing Dartford 1-0 in front of a crowd of 928 at Princes Park.

Victory meant the Dorset club closed to three points the gap between themselves and safety, having beaten the team with the best home record in the division.

Killick told the Daily Echo: “We felt we had got to the point where we couldn’t have got any lower after losing to Wimborne in midweek.

“But on Saturday the players, to a man, were immense. It wasn’t a smash-and-grab, it was a deserved win. We had the better chances in the game.

“Dartford are a really good side. They are not up there for no reason – it was just an immense performance from us.

“The players got the balance very well and were spot on in terms of posing a threat and also having a good shape about them out of possession.

“They had a meeting among themselves on Thursday and then we had a really good training session. I felt they came out and responded in a brilliant way.

“The position we are in hurts them badly and there is a real determination to try to put things right. We know we haven’t got a huge amount of time to do it but Saturday was an amazing start.”

After going in at the break on level terms, Poole conjured the decisive blow just past the hour mark.

Corby Moore was fouled on the edge of the area, allowing Whisken to latch on to Steve Devlin’s free-kick and strike home.

And the Dolphins boss insisted the pivotal goal had been just what his talismanic skipper deserved.

He added: “I spoke to their sponsors after the game and they were asked to give a man of the match. They wanted to give it to Whisk!

“Dartford said it had to go to a home player, so they reluctantly gave it to one of them but they said their choice would have been Whisk.

“His captaincy was very good, his defending was very good and then he scored the winning goal. To say it was a proper captain’s performance was an understatement.”

The triumph was Poole’s sixth on the road in the league this season – they have only won twice on their own patch.

“It was a lovely stadium to play in and, with more than 900 people there, it felt like a proper football match,” added Killick.

“Players do tend to respond to those circumstances but our away form has been okay. What we haven’t done so far is reproduce that at home and that is the challenge we face.”

Dolphins: Hutchings, Moore, Smeeton, Spetch, Whisken, Pettefer, Gillespie (Neale, 77), Devlin, Constable, Brooks, Bentley. Subs not used: Balmer, Otudeko, Aihevba, Rees (g/k).