THERE was a sense of relief around the Black Gold Stadium on Saturday as Poole Town put an end to their winless run – despite the best efforts of the weather to postpone their 2-0 success over Beaconsfield Town.

The club’s Tatnam Farm base became notorious for postponements during the 2019-20 season, but extensive drainage improvements over the summer have seemed to have helped Poole’s beleaguered pitch.

That did not stop boss Tom Killick from worrying about a postponement – or his side’s form.

Killick told the Daily Echo: “I’m very pleased, because I do think in times gone by, we might have struggled to have a game, but I felt the pitch held up well – even the troublesome bits.

“I was a bit anxious this morning, the rain kept coming and coming, and I just felt it might have been in doubt.

“One thing you do know when you see conditions like that is that you’re not going to have many people watching – understandably. Therefore, the atmosphere was bit more muted. I sort of felt it was a little bit flat.

“Again, absolutely understandable, the lads that were there behind the goal did their best, but it was just a bit lower on numbers, and the vocal element a little bit lower.

“So, it was a slightly more subdued atmosphere, and I felt the game as a whole was just a little bit flat at times. It seemed like neither side really took the handbrake off, us included.”

Whilst Dolphins looked comfortable throughout, eventually taking the lead through a Tony Lee double, the hosts should have made their dominance count early on, spurning numerous gilt-edged chances in the first half hour.

“The most frustrating thing about the start was the chances we missed,” continued Killick. If we had put those away, we could have made it an easy afternoon for ourselves.

“The be-all and end-all was the result. - where we’ve had the disappointments and fallen behind a bit (in the league).

“I thought it was an adequate performance. There were elements I was disappointed with. It wasn’t terrible, but we weren’t at our best by any means.”

Poole rise to sixth place in the Southern League Premier South, one place outside of the play-offs after 10 games.

Dolphins: Childs, Rose (Bedford, 66), Genesini, Jackson, Whisken, Holmes, Carmichael, Burbidge (Wickham, 85), Lee (Fletcher, 87), Bartlett, Dickson. Unused subs: Gillespie, Butler (g/k).