The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
Preliminary Round
Rookery Hill
Saturday 30 August 2008
Winning clubs will receive £1,500 from The FA
East Thurrock United beat Hatfield Town 4-2 to progress into the First Round Qualifying of The FA Cup - but know there are improvements to be made if they want to go even further in the competition.
Isthmian League Division One North side Thurrock took an early lead on two minutes though Kris Newby, only to concede a silly equaliser immediately afterwards.
Steve Harrison restored the lead just before the hour mark and Martin Touhy added another soon afterwards to deflate the Spartan South Midlands Division One outfit.
There was still time for Kirk Smith to net a fourth for The Rocks, before Hatfield grabbed a late consolation.
But Thurrock secretary Mick Stephens admits the team must do better in their next FA Cup tie, which will pit them against league rivals Hillingdon Borough.
"In the first-half we were not really up to speed and overall it was not a great game," he admitted.
"The first two goals right at the start were both sloppy and it was only when we finally started playing our own game after the break that we did better.
"We know it is going to be tough in the next round, although Hillingdon are towards the bottom of our league whereas we are so far unbeaten.
"I would like to think we can win that one and maybe even go through from the next round as well - as long as we play near our level - because there will be teams from our division still in the competition at that stage."
The Preliminary Round of The FA Cup continues on Sunday, with the winners from each of the 166 ties claiming £1,500 from The FA's Prize Fund.
Click on the link above for video action from our feature game East Thurrock United v Hatfield Town. Click here for the full list of fixtures...