GRACIOUS-in-defeat Tiverton boss Mark Saunders is tipping Poole Town to gain back-to-back promotions – providing they can silence Gosport goal machine Justin Bennett.

Saunders, who made more than 250 Football League appearances, was on the receiving end as the Dolphins secured their Division One South & West play-off place on Saturday.

Scott Joyce’s first-half goal at Tivvy’s Ladysmead earned Poole a 10th win in 12 and saw them book their place in the shake up with two games remaining.

And former Plymouth and Gillingham midfielder Saunders is convinced the battle for a place in the Premier Division will be a two-horse race between Tom Killick’s Poole and Alex Pike’s Gosport.

Saunders told the Daily Echo: “Poole and Gosport are the two best teams we have played. If Poole were to meet Gosport and they could keep Bennett quiet, my money would be on them.

“They came out of the blocks really quickly against us and played with a high tempo. For the first 20 minutes, I thought it was going to be a cricket score but our goalkeeper kept us in it.

“Poole are a threat going forward and are big, strong and well organised. They are more than capable of winning the play-offs and have done really well to get there considering they only came up this season.

“We thumped Gosport 4-2 and it could have been six or seven. Their main threat is Justin Bennett because he scores lots of goals.

“Gosport and Poole are both strong outfits but Poole are a good all-round team. I was disappointed we didn’t test their goalkeeper at all and we played into the hands of their big lumps.”

Poole were rewarded for their blistering start when Joyce netted the only goal after 22 minutes, a lead the visitors defended to record their 13th clean sheet in their past 27 league games.

Boss Killick said: “We are delighted to have clinched a place in the play-offs and the players deserve a lot of praise. Not many clubs come into a new league and challenge at the top end in their first season. We could still end up finishing second and that would be a big achievement.

“It is not just the players though, it is also about the people behind the scenes who constantly try to drive the club forward. The directors and the supporters deserve a great deal of credit as well. It has been a good effort to get this far but we are aware it will mean nothing if we don’t win the play-offs.”

Poole will now be hoping to secure home advantage in their semi-final by finishing either second or third. Second hosts fifth and third entertains fourth, with the highest placed team in the league also having home advantage in the final. The semi-finals are due to take place during week commencing Monday, April 30 with the final scheduled for Monday, May 7.

Dolphins: Hutchings, Tallack, Walker, Spetch, Emmerson, Preston, Brooks, Devlin, Gill, Joyce, Baldacchino (Smith, 65). Unused subs: Best, Bayston, Clarke.