POOLE Town were the victims of daylight robbery as Vase holders Whitley Bay hit them hard with two late goals to steal a 2-1 triumph at Tatnam today.

The Wessex League champions led 1-0 through a brilliant Carl Preston first-half solo strike as the game headed into the 90th minute.

Then Whitley Bay stunned the home fans in a bumper crowd of 1,652 with a dramatic brace.

Damon Robson turned in Paul Chow’s low cross from close range to level.

Then, deep into stoppage time, Lee Kerr curled a sweet 25-yard free-kick beyond Dolphins goalkeeper Nick Hutchings to bag the winner.

It leaves Poole, who dominated this absorbing semi-final first leg encounter for all but the opening 20 minutes and the last five, with a mountain to climb if they are to reach the Wembley final.

They travel to Whitley Bay for next Saturday’s second leg as underdogs instead of protecting a precious one-goal lead they’d fully deserved.

Preston’s goal was worthy of winning any semi-final clash.

He glided through Whitley Bay’s defence as his fast feet sliced it open and then picked his spot from 14 yards to beat goalkeeper Kyle Hayes with an angled drive from 14 yards.

It was Hayes, with several spectacular saves, who kept Whitley Bay’s deficit down, the highlight which was turning Dave Sturgess’ low second-half effort, which would have made it 2-0, onto a post.

Sturgess had also narrowly missed the target from close range following a flowing late first-half move involving Mickey Hubbard, Dan Cann and Preston.

Up until Whitley Bay’s goals, Hutchings had only been called into real action twice; such was Poole’s dominance.

The Dorset side, who started slowly, could have been 2-0 down inside 10 minutes, but Paul Robinson and Chow both blazed wildly over from good positions for Whitley Bay.

Chow wasted another good chance before Taffy Richardson, Dolphins’ wily midfielder, finally got his side going with a header that fell narrowly wide of the far post after he’d connected with Cann’s teasing cross.

Preston’s slick skills fired Poole in front several minutes later. Then Lamin Dibba diverted his header wide from Hubbard’s cross.

On another day, Sturgess’ close-range effort, after he’d made up plenty of ground to get on the end of Preston’s low cross from the left, might have ended up in the back of Hayes’ net two minutes before the break.

But it didn’t, the Northern League champions received a big let off, and they might even have equalised just before half-time when Craig McFarlane blazed wildly over from deep inside Poole’s box.

Dolphins dominated the second period, but just couldn’t get the second goal their territorial advantage deserved.

Hutchings was forced to make his first save in the 55th minute, diving low to hold on to Chow’s stooping header.

Hayes turned Sturgess’ fine volley onto the post and safety five minutes later as the Dorset side went agonisingly close to doubling their advantage.

With 20 minutes to go, striker Chow, back defending for Whitley Bay, cleared Sturgess’ half volley off his own goal line.

Cann’s fierce 20-yard drive stung Hayes’ fingers in the 75th minute and when the veteran Richardson was substituted straight after, Poole could have been three or four up.

Hutchings bravely dived low to scoop Kerr’s well struck free-kick, only the Dolphins’ goalkeeper’s second save of the game.

A second Sturgess volley stung Hayes’ fingers again in the 89th minute before Robson and Kerr both struck late to dramatically turn this first leg on its head and give Whitley Bay a precious 2-1 lead going into the return.

Dolphins: Hutchings, Poore, Spetch, Dibba, Walker, Richardson (Skelton 75), Gill, Hubbard, Sturgess, Preston, Cann (Smith 83). Unused: Roberts, Cook, Jones.

Whitley Bay: Hayes, McFarlane, Pounder (Fawcett 66), Timmons (Rowe 78), Smith, Williams, Ormston, Robson, Kerr, Chow, Robinson (Coulson 60). Unused subs: Burke, Gibson.