POOLE Town boss Tom Killick bemoaned a lack of quality as Dolphins’ FA Cup dream gradually turned into the mother of all nightmares.

The visitors saw plenty of the ball after Salisbury took a 12th minute lead, but hesitation in key areas proved costly as the home side rattled in three goals during the last five minutes of the first half.

Things got worse on 65 minutes when Dolphins substitute Lewis Clarke saw red after a late challenge on Joshua Casey.

Jake Reid added a fifth before Poole found a late consolation from the penalty spot, Micky Hubbard netting after Carl Preston had been hauled down.

But Charles Knight completed the rout deep into injury time.

Killick said: “We feel a bit frustrated. Going forward we got into some good positions but didn’t really show enough in front of goal.

“Some of the goals we conceded were avoidable and we could have made the game a lot closer than it was.

“It’s disappointing because we wanted to stay in the game as long as possible and see how things panned out in the latter stages.

“In the end, it was too much for us. We were well beaten by the better side and had a bit of a lesson, but we didn’t do anything like as well as we could have done.”

It was a sad return to the Raymond McEnhill Stadium for Killick, the former Salisbury number two having little to celebrate after his 400th game in charge of the Dolphins.

Killick quipped: “It might be my last after that result!

“The thing that took me a little bit by surprise was the gulf in quality.

“When I played at this level nobody was full-time. There was always going to be an ability gap to make up, but the other thing was the physical element. It just makes it a big ask.

“They were strong and powerful throughout and as much as I hate to say it, the score ended up being a fair reflection of the game.

“What is important is that we don’t dwell on it. We’ve got to concentrate on what is important to us which is our league, and I’m confident that we can do well at that level.”

However, Killick did feel aggrieved with Lewis Clarke’s red card, which will see the 18-year-old Yeovil loanee banned for three matches.

“It was a bit high, but his non-tackling foot was on the ground and the ball was bouncing up, so there was only one way you can approach those tackles without getting injured.

“It’s a little bit political nowadays and referees are very hot on it.

“The referee was very good, but we feel hard done by on that decision.”

Dolphins: Hutchings, Gill, Spetch, Brooks, Walker, Howes (Cook, 82), Price (L Clarke, 53), Hubbard, Joyce (S Smith, 73), Preston, Cann. Unused subs: Skelton, S Clarke, Richardson, Jones (g/k).