MANAGER Tom Killick was highly critical of his Poole Town side after they failed to fire in a forgettable Wessex League Cup final.

The Premier Division champions saw their hopes of a double ended by an organised Bemerton side, who clinched the silverware in a showpiece which failed to capture the imagination at Hurn Bridge.

With both teams direct in their approach, there was little by the way of free-flowing football for a crowd of 442 to enjoy.

And the two moments of genuine quality earned Heath Harlequins the trophy, with two excellent finishes giving Poole keeper Nic Jones no chance with either goal.

Joe Sanger and Nic Eastham, both with stinging right-foot volleys, put paid to Killick’s men and the Tatnam chief pulled no punches in his frank assessment of a disappointing clash.

He told the Echo: “It was a terrible game. We just smashed the ball from one end of the field to the other. There didn’t seem to be any sort of atmosphere – it was like a village fete.

“There was nothing really to the game. We had one passing move and it was in the 90th minute.

“Bemerton had a spirit about them and they were dogged and resilient. I felt, even playing as badly as we did, perhaps just a couple of chances in the first half came back to haunt us.”

Killick highlighted an excellent opportunity which his team failed to capitalise on when former Cherries trainee Carl Preston found himself clean through, but the winger opted to try to round keeper Grant Porter, who bravely blocked, before defender Paul Lucas did likewise on the goal-line.

And once Sanger had opened the scoring just before the interval, Dolphins appeared to lack ideas as they sought a route back into the contest.

Preston saw a chipped effort crash back off the woodwork on 79 minutes but that was the best Poole had to offer.

A brilliant Jones save denied Sanger as Dolphins hung on, but Bemerton ensured there would be no late comeback when Eastham finished emphatically with five minutes remaining.

Killick added: “Ultimately, I thought Bemerton deserved to win because they had that little bit more edge and spirit to them.

“It was just such a shame that we saved probably one of our worst performances of the season for one of our biggest games.”