Poole Town boss Tom Killick lauded youngster Will Fletcher for both his performance and patience as the striker again came off the bench to help Dolphins to another three points.
The introduction of the 19 year-old paved the way for a formation change for Poole, eventually leading to a comeback from a goal behind to beat Hendon 2-1.
Whilst not on the scoresheet, Fletcher’s presence certainly occupied defenders and gave Poole a different outlet as they looked to make their way back into the game.
Speaking to All Poole Aren’t We, Killick said: “I think today, one of the difficulties today was we’ve gone a goal down, so suddenly Hendon are sitting very deep and letting us play in front of them.
“Suddenly you’re playing a team with their tails up, who were working very hard and making life difficult for us.
“I thought it was fairly obvious to bring on another forward, to give them something else to worry about.
“The only thing I was disappointed about was that I felt we took a bit too long to snap out of it.
“I thought young Will Fletcher was very good when he came on. He’s such a good character in terms of showing patience, and a willingness to improve over time.
“Some young players, they want it all too soon. They’re not really prepared to bide their time, and suddenly they’ll disappear and start playing in the Wessex League, or whatever.
“But Will is biding his time. Against Hendon, he was very effective when he came on.”
Killick also called upon his players to pick themselves up without outside encouragement after his charges had to wait until a half time pep-talk to get back into the game.
“We looked a bit sorry for ourselves after the goal went in,” continued Killick.
“We need to bounce back more quickly – we can’t let things drift on till halftime, and then come out differently in the second half.
“The players as a group need to galvanise themselves when they’ve had a set-back – I don’t think we did that very well.
“I just felt we looked a little bit brighter in the second half. The change of formation possibly helped a little bit, but to their credit, the players realised at half time that things weren’t as they needed to be.
“They were a bit better in the second half, although still not amazing.”
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