BOSS Tom Killick praised the mentality of his Poole Town players after securing three points on an “uncomfortable afternoon” against North Leigh.

The Dolphins bounced back from last week’s horror show at Shortwood thanks to Marvin Brooks’s early strike. But the hosts were made to hang on against the team that won the reverse fixture 4-0 at Eynsham Park in October.

And Killick, whose side have not lost back-to-back matches in any competition this season, was delighted with the way his side ground out a victory that keeps them on the coat-tails of leaders Hungerford Town.

The Tatnam boss told the Daily Echo: “It was an uncomfortable afternoon. North Leigh were probably the better side in many aspects of the game.

“They passed the ball well but, in fairness, they didn’t create too many chances. There were some goalmouth scrambles and important blocks but that was pleasing because, when you’re not playing well, you have to show that resilience.

“Last week (at Shortwood), we were quite fragile and conceded some poor goals and, while we didn’t play that well this week, our attitude was much better and it allowed us to come through a tough test.

“We need to improve on recent displays and do more when we have the ball. We know that, but I felt the character and spirit shown by the lads was tremendous and enabled us to win the game without performing as well as we know we can.

“I have always felt we have a good mindset in this group. There is a toughness about them and I have faith in the mentality of this team. I have been around a lot of squads over the years and I have to say in terms of resolve this is a pretty impressive bunch.”

The match was ultimately settled by Brooks’s fifth-minute effort, the midfielder controlling a deep ball from the left and cutting inside his marker to rifle into the roof of the net with Killick hailing the youngster’s moment of quality.

He added: “Marv came back into the side and had a point to prove after being left out. He worked very hard.

“We deliberately played him on the right because he is goal threat. He often finds himself against full-backs who aren’t as powerful as he is, particularly in the air, and it worked for us. He took the ball down well and it was a very good finish.”

On the victory, Killick said: “The pressure was on after losing last week. If we had lost this one, the next two games (away to Paulton Rovers and Merthyr Town) would have been very difficult.

“The win was absolutely vital. Defeats in isolation don’t kill you but we cannot afford a run of defeat.”

Dolphins: Hutchings, Baggridge, Spetch, Clarke, Walker, Howes, Brooks, Devlin, Byerley (Burbidge, 55), Preston, Charles (Kelly, 75). Unused subs: Dibba, Richardson, S Brown.

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