BOSS Tom Killick accused his Poole Town side of having a “soft underbelly” after they threw away a two-goal lead in injury time.

Dolphins seemed to have conquered their home curse in Southern League South as they cruised into the latter stages 3-1 up against Harrow Borough.

But some poor defending aided the away side to strike twice and ensure the spoils were shared.

Poole had built up a two-goal advantage in the first half via Marvin Brooks and James Constable, before conceding a sloppy goal to Harrow’s Dylan Kearney.

It appeared Dolphins had steadied the ship when Cherries loanee Jake Scrimshaw came off the bench to net a third - but a capitulation saw Poole share the points.

Maxwell Holland made it 3-2 before Kearney struck again in the third minute of added time to leave Killick’s men 11th in the table and 10 points off a play-off spot.

The boss told the Daily Echo: “Disappointment is an understatement. I thought we had the game in the palm of our hand at 2-0. We then gifted them a goal and I had been a bit concerned.

“Young Scrimshaw did brilliantly to make it 3-1 and that was the time to step up and turn the screw.

“Not by necessarily chasing another goal but playing in the right areas and getting on top of them when they were deflated from conceding.

“That to me was the key time in the game. As soon as we scored the third goal, we really needed to take the initiative and see out the game.

“I just felt we were weak mentally and physically and didn’t grasp the initiative we had been given. We threw away two points and that was very hard to take.

“We can’t keep making excuses about confidence.

“We have to have an edge and desire about us, as well as a collective determination to see these games out. We’ve just got a soft underbelly at the moment, it can’t continue.

“We’re just going to underachieve consistently unless we develop a stronger spine in terms of how we are mentally and physically.”

Despite being boosted by the best away record in the league, Poole’s struggles at Black Gold Stadium have been well-documented.

They have recorded just 10 points from 11 games on their own patch.

“We’re so close to being a very good side and consistently picking up good results,” added Killick.

“But close is not good enough. For me, it is a mental thing rather than anything else. It has to come from us – it has to come from within.

“We have to find a way, otherwise we’re just going to keep falling the wrong side of the line every time.

“I’m at a point now where I’m not really interested in the play-offs. I’m only interested in us achieving what we should be achieving game by game.”

Dolphins head to Dorchester Town on Saturday (3pm), a side who have only recorded seven points and one victory at home all season.

Dolphins: Cairney, Alowade-Williams, Leslie-Smith, Spetch, Whisken, Smeeton, Griffin, Moore, Constable (Scrimshaw, 71), Brooks, Roberts (Bedford, 86). Unused subs: House, Dickson, Boote.