TOM Killick admitted gaining three points in Poole Town’s Southern League South play-off push had been “very precious” – even if his side had not been at their best.

Seeking to recover after a heavy defeat to top-five challengers Harrow Borough last time out, Dolphins recorded a 2-1 home victory over Beaconsfield Town.

A header from Will Spetch and a James Constable penalty rendered meaningless a second-half goal from Brendan Matthew and ensured the Dorset club remained in the top five.

They closed to four points the gap on fourth-place Metropolitan Police and maintained a two-point advantage on Harrow, who sealed a 1-0 win over leaders Taunton.

Reflecting on the triumph, boss Killick told the Daily Echo: “It’s one of those where you know you could have played better.

“Results are very precious at this stage, so you have to take it and move on. It’s another home win, which helps to build a bit more momentum.

“There were teams around us that dropped points, so we’re in a better position than we were at 2.55pm on Saturday and that’s all we can ask for.”

Dolphins got off to a flying start when Spetch nodded home a Corby Moore free-kick after six minutes. But despite controlling the first half, Poole struggled to make the scoreline fully reflect their dominance.

They were pegged back shortly after the break when Matthew headed home from a corner.

Parity did not last long, however, when a penalty was awarded to Poole in the 55th minute.

Cherries loan ace Jake Scrimshaw burst beyond the backline before being taken down from behind by Jerome Eccleston.

Confusion reigned after the challenge, with the referee and his assistant taking their time to finalise a decision.

But up stepped experienced frontman Constable to squeeze the ball past Charlie Burns in the Beaconsfield goal and mark a scoring return to the side after spending a month on the sidelines due to injury.

Killick said: “I certainly got the response I wanted after last Saturday. I think we were worth the win, mainly due to our first-half performance.

“That being said, there were still quite a few things we could have done better during the first half.

“We were somewhat lacking in the final third – we should have scored two or three goals.

“When you let teams off the hook like that, they are going to try to do something different and retain an ambition and belief.

“While we didn’t do particularly well in the second half, I was more frustrated that we should have been further ahead in the first half.

“However, I felt we were under a lot of pressure in the second half and the players did well to respond and dealt with it very well.”

Dolphins: Cairney, Moore, Leslie-Smith, Spetch, Whisken, Scrimshaw (House, 70), Griffin, Constable (Boote, 82), Brooks, Roberts (Bedford, 65), Dickson. Unused subs: Grange, Hubbard.