TOM Killick praised his charges’ resilience as they snatched a late winner against fellow play-off hopefuls Swindon Supermarine.

In a game where the defences were on top, Poole had to wait until the last minute for their first proper chance of the game.

The hosts had managed to keep top goalscorer Tony Lee quiet, but the in-form striker needed just one opportunity to plunder his 15th of the campaign with a fine strike to seal a 1-0 win.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, Killick said: “I think when you come away from home to powerful sides like Swindon definitely are, it’s important that you’re resilient, it’s important that you’re difficult to break down.

“You have to accept sometimes that perhaps you’re not going to make chances at will. I felt in the first half we actually dominated possession, we just lacked a little bit of quality in the last third.

“Our execution was poor. We got ourselves into some good areas, we had some good opportunities to create something, we just didn’t quite execute in the final third.”

With Supermarine also failing to generate much of note it would be harsh to label Poole’s performance a smash and grab.

But most in attendance at the Webbswood Stadium would have thought the spoils would be shared come the end of the game.

“In the first half we definitely controlled possession,” continued Killick. “When you look at what Swindon created, I don’t remember an awful lot their way.

“In the second half they came into the game much more, we had to defend much more. There wasn’t an awful lot of clear-cut chances either way.

“I think against a really good side, it was a really good away performance, even if we ended up with a draw. To nick a win at the end was really good for us.”

Now on 18 points for the campaign, Poole floated up to fourth place and into the playoffs in Southern Premier South.

They are still some way off unbeaten league leaders Hayes & Yeading, who sit clear at the summit with 25 points and two games in hand.