POOLE Town boss Tom Killick watched his side beat league champions Bideford and insisted promotion was well within their grasp.

Goals from Dan Cann and Carl Preston, either side of Steve Orchard’s strike for Bideford, gave Dolphins the lead on Saturday, before a Richard Groves own goal made the game safe.

The result ensured the Dorset side would finish second in the Southern League Division One South & West standings – crucially handing them home advantage in the play-off shake-up.

Killick’s men will now host Hungerford Town in the semi-final tomorrow (7.45pm) before a potential showdown with either Gosport Borough or Sholing on Bank Holiday Monday, May 7.

Asked if he felt his charges could finish the job after securing home advantage for both stages of the one-legged play-offs, Killick said: “Yes, I hope so – I think we’ve shown how strong we are now.

“I think if this group of players had been together at the start of the season we would have been challenging strongly for automatic promotion.

“The most important thing is going into the play-offs with good momentum and high confidence. Home advantage is brilliant, but we already had that for the first game and finishing second only gives us the benefit if we get through.”

Reflecting on Saturday’s match, Killick added: “I was reasonably happy with the display in the second half. I was a little bit disappointed that the game got a little bit flat for periods of the first half, but we had no injuries, no bookings and no issues, so it’s all good.

“You have nightmares about losing three of your most crucial players which would be horrendous, so I’m really relieved that we’ll have everyone ready to go.”

Looking ahead, Killick said that he may travel to watch tonight’s semi-final between Gosport and Sholing, but maintained that the tie would be too tight to call.

He added: “It’s a tricky one. Gosport are very strong at home, but Sholing are a good side with a lot of experienced players.

“It’s very hard to pick a winner, but Gosport’s home advantage may give them a bit of an edge.”