POOLE Town recovered from their Dorset Senior Cup disappointment in resounding style as they thumped drop zone dwellers Downton.

Having been knocked out of the cup on Tuesday night by underdogs Portland United, Downton provided another potential banana skin for Tom Killick's title chasers.

But Dolphins made no mistake this time as they rattled seven goals past the Sydenhams Wessex Premier Division whipping boys.

"Downton are having a bit of a struggle and, to be blunt, you can see why," Killick told the Daily Echo.

"It was nice to have a game where, from fairly early on, the result wasn't in doubt and the players could relax a bit."

Stuart Brown, who netted twice for the Tatnam outfit, earned the praise of Killick.

"Stuart gives us an extra dimension," said the Poole boss.

"When he plays up front he leads the line well and he got a couple of goals."

Poole are handily placed in third position, just two points behind leaders AFC Totton, who they visit next weekend.

"If we win that game it would make the league table look very favourable from our point of view," said Killick.

"I think possibly the team that wins it might only drop four points from now until the end of the season."

And the Poole boss believes having veteran Taffy Richardson back from injury would boost their title hopes.

He said: "If we had him for the run-in it would give us a huge boost and enhance our chances."

Meanwhile, Killick has bolstered his squad with the signing of full-back Tom Roberts from Eastleigh.

Poole Town: Arthur, Whitley, I Richardson, Hogan, Cann, T Smith (Ayres, 50), Gill, Skelton (A Culliford, 60), Holmes, Brown (Osborne, 60), S Smith. Unused subs: Tong, Ayley.