MARVIN Brooks found a late winner as Poole Town rallied to progress to the second qualifying round of the FA Trophy.

The Dolphins forward marked his return to the side with a decisive header in stoppage time during a 2-1 victory over Frome Town at Black Gold Stadium.

Brooks, who was suspended for Poole’s heartbreaking 2-1 FA Cup defeat at Haringey Borough, landed the pivotal blow after Jez Bedford’s first-half opener had been cancelled out by an own goal from Will Spetch.

And boss Tom Killick stressed the importance of having star man Brooks back in his line-up.

He told the Daily Echo: “Whether I play him up front or in midfield he is just huge. He really demoralised Taunton a few weeks ago, who are a very good side.

“Frome couldn’t really lay a glove on him either. He is just physically very good, is confident and he has a very good mentality at the moment.

“He has developed that strong mentality, where you can rely on him to produce good things at big moments.

“We need him to be fit, keep being available and doing what he is doing. That puts you in a good position.”

After missing out on a considerable £25,000 in FA Cup prize money a week previously, Poole bounced back at the first time of asking in their clash with the Robins.

They took the lead on the stroke of half-time. Classy work from Sam Griffin allowed him to find Brooks, who teed up Bedford on the edge of the box. The former Portsmouth youngster neatly fired home.

Seven minutes after the break, Frome were level. A cross deflected off defender Spetch and squirmed in at the near post to put the tie in the balance.

But Poole found their winner when Brooks rose highest from a corner late on – earning them a place in tomorrow’s draw and £3,250.

Killick added: “After the disappointment of last week I think, however we got it, we just needed a win for morale – not just for the players but for the whole club.

“Full credit to the players for it. It would have been easy for them to start feeling sorry for themselves once the equaliser went in.

“But they battled on and it was good to see them have a positive result and an enjoyable feeling after a game, compared to the misery of the previous week.

“The Trophy is important for us. We earned decent money on Saturday but the game before was one of the biggest in our recent history.

“You can’t say they cancel each other out but all you can do is get back on track and get people in a positive frame of mind. I think the players deserve a lot of credit for doing that.”

Dolphins: Cairney, Alawode-Williams, Smeeton (Leslie-Smith, 76), Spetch, Whisken, Moore, Griffin, Devlin, Gilot (House, 54), Brooks, Bedford (Grange, 68). Unused subs: O'Connor, Davis, Gillespie.