STEVE Devlin is adamant Poole Town can finally forget the painful memory of their agonising promotion near-miss – by avoiding the same fate this season.

The midfielder fired Dolphins one step closer to a place in the Southern Premier when his 49th-minute penalty sealed a 1-0 win over Bishops Cleeve at Tatnam yesterday.

Victory – Poole’s fifth on the spin – saw them enhance their status as clear favourites to claim the Division One South & West title.

Ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Sholing (3pm), Tom Killick’s men are seven points clear of Hungerford with three games in hand, with Swindon Supermarine a further six adrift, although they have two games in hand and are yet to play Poole home and away.

Former Dorchester Town playmaker Devlin was part of the Poole team which was dramatically defeated by Gosport Borough in the play-off final last term.

And he revealed that was providing all the extra motivation required during the run-in.

Devlin told the Daily Echo: “That is what is driving us on. It is always going to be in the back of our minds.

“Put it this way, we aren’t going through that again this season – never.”

Devlin’s coolly-taken spot kick was one of the few highlights of Poole’s latest success.

One spectator summed up much of the first-half offering by shouting ‘get it on the ground’.

Although Dolphins were rarely troubled by second-bottom Cleeve, they were also guilty of failing to retain possession and lacked a cutting edge.

Carl Preston was the hosts’ most dangerous attacking player all afternoon and his fine run and cutback deserved a finish, but visiting keeper James Nortei denied Dan Cann with a fine save.

Just before the break, Preston again broke clear on the left to deliver an excellent cross, which Michael Charles somehow managed to slice wide with the goal gaping.

Dolphins got the only goal of the game four minutes after the interval when Devlin slotted home after referee Gary Parsons had pointed to the spot following Michael Davis’s challenge on Adam Kelly.

And the scrappy manner of the victory was of little concern for Devlin.

He added: “The fans want to see pretty football but, at this stage of the season, legs are tired.

“Sholing will be tough tomorrow but we will go there with the same attitude and we have just got to keep going.

“I don’t care if we win 1-0 from now until the end of the season. I would take that.”

Dolphins: Hutchings, Clarke, Spetch, Walker, Emmerson, Burbidge (Kelly, h-t), Brooks, Devlin, Preston, Charles (Cane, 75), Cann (Byerley, 70). Unused subs: Dibba, Richardson.