Shoreham cruised to an easy victory against Croydon, who play in the Combined Counties league, and once again showed that when a performance is needed they inevitably deliver.

Nicky Fogden, our recent signing from Burgess Hill, came into the centre of defence for his competitive debut and Scott Marshall, recently signed from Horsham YMCA on a months loan, started on the bench.

Shoreham took about ten minutes to settle into the game before completely taking over and dominating the opposition for most of the half. Agreman was allowed to run through in the fourth minute but the diminutive winger blazed his shot over and that was it for Croyden as Shoreham took over and took a stranglehold on the game. In the 6th minute Groves passed to O'Brien and and the big strikers cross was inch perfect for Richard Hudson to meet with a firm downward header which the keeper did well to save.

Hudson, who was constantly involved in the build up play, had another chance soon after but was just wide. Dean Smith, restored to a centre midfield role failed narrowly to connect with his diving header and it was starting to look that Shoreham would score. Sure enough the Musselmen went ahead when a great ball in by Hudson was headed powerfully into the back of the net by Dean Smith to give us a deserved 1-0 lead. Croydon struggled to get into the game and Shoreham continued to carve opening after opening. Shoreham were having about 70% of the possesion and Croyden were penned into their half for long periods.

Shoreham went 2-0 up in the 23rd minute when a freekick taken by Hudson was headed in at the far post by Nicky Fogden- a brilliant way for the commanding centre back to begin his Mussel career. As the half came to a close, Croydon came more into the game and put us under some pressure. Hunter was called on to make a terrific save as he turned a fierce shot over the bar. From the resulting corner Boddy had the misfortune to head the ball into his own net and reduce the deficit giving the home side some hope.

As everyone knows, you can be at your most vulnerable when you have just scored and Dean Smith, having an outstanding game, again arrived in the box within two minutes to bravely head the ball past Arnold in the Croydon goal and restore the two goal cushion that Shoreham would have hoped for at the interval. As the half finished O'Brien was unlucky to see his brilliant header saved by the keeper. The general view from the travelling support was that we could have gone in 4-5 goals clear at the interval as it would have been a fair reflection of our superiority. Half time :Croydon 1 Shoreham 3

Croydon had to try something different in the second half and they went to a 4-3-3 formation in a desperate bid to get themselves back into the game. The change seemed to work and, with Shoreham dropping a gear, it was Croydons turn to put the Shoreham defence under sustained pressure. Hunter in the Shoreham goal, was called on to make the occasional save and showed that he was back to his best form. Shoreham weathered the Croydon storm and came back into the game to win the midfield battle and creat plenty of chances. One good run by Rob Boddy saw his quality cross narrowly missed by the inrushing Bradley and Callaghan.

Croydon manged to pull a goal back in the 83rd minute when careless defending allowed Lelo Zim Zou to score giving Hunter no chance. The home side sniffed the chance of a late rally- Hunter had to pull off a smart save to again deny Zim Zou but it was Shoreham who put the game beyond Croydons reach with some smart counter attacking. Substitute Scott Marshall made it 4-2 late on when he weaved past two defenders and shot powerfully through the keeper. Croydon knew there was no way back and an own goal from Tyrone Roberts in the dying minute simply gave an overall reflection of Shorehams class and superiority.

There were outstanding performances all over the park. Hunter was back to his best while Dan Jordan again showed his outstanding leadership qualities with a sound performance at the heart of the Shoreham defence and ably supported by Groves, Fogden and Denyer. The midfield four of Boddy, Johnson, Smith and Hudson controlled the game for long periods while the front two of O'Brien and Bradley often made the Croydon defence look what they were-ponderous.

The Man of the Match award goes to Dean Smith-Shoreham's very own Mr Duracell- as he scored two outstanding headed goals and covered every blade of grass to smother the opposition attacks and produce an awesome performance. Shoreham can now look forward to a home tie in the next round against either Crawley Down or Westfield who play in the Kent league. Once again Shoreham showed they know how to celebrate a win -if a national paper was reporting the atmosphere on the coach home they would be describing some 'amazing scenes'-notably Keiths good fortune to be able to hold to his shirt.

Match Reporter - Pat Callaghan

MOM - Dean Smith