POOLE Town suffered penalty shootout heartbreak as they crash out of the FA Trophy to Gosport Borough.

Steve Tully made four changes to his starting eleven following the 3-1 win over Plymouth Parkway with young defender Harry Thomas coming back into the side.

The game got underway with a slow-paced tempo, almost had a pre-season feel to it as the Dorset sunshine beamed down on the BlackGold Stadium.

The away side had the first big chance of the game with Kavanagh being denied at close range by a great stop from Cam Plain.

Despite dominating possession, Poole were unable to create any real chances of note as the half drifted to a goalless close for the break.

The second half got underway with slightly more free-flowing football to it.

A trio of substitutions were introduced on the hour mark with Rafa Ramos, Antonio Diaz and Tyrique Clarke all coming onto the field.

A game that was in desperate need of a goal was finally granted through Ramos on the 70th minute after good work from Tom Hewlett that Ramos capitalised on and tapped home into an empty net to give the Dolphins the lead.

Gosport responded instantly through Dan Wooden who equalised after a mix up at the back between Jamie Whisken and Cam Plain.

The game drifted out into a 1-1 draw, resulting in the game going to a penalty shootout.

Poole started the shooutout on the front foot after a great save from Plain to deny the first spot kick.

However, it was Gosport who finished on top and Tyler Forbes blazing his penalty over the bar was the final nail in the coffin with the Dolphins crashing out of the cup and the away side progressing through to the next round.

Next up for Steve Tully’s side is a trip to Winchester on Tuesday evening.