Professional job by Blues in FA Vase

"A PROFESSIONAL job well done," was Andy Laskey's assessment of Sidley United's impressive 2-0 win away to United Services Portsmouth in the FA Vase on Saturday.

Brilliant solo goals from the Blues' wide-men, Callum Wooller and Jordan Wood, settled matters in this second qualifying round contest at the superbly appointed facilities of the Wessex Division Two outfit.

Sidley assistant manager Laskey said: "We went down there expecting a hard game and to be honest they weren't as strong as we thought they would be. Having said that it was a long journey and we put in a good performance."

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Despite being stuck on a coach for nearly three hours Sidley made a lightning start to the tie and could have been three or four goals to the good by half time. "We put them under a lot of pressure in the first five minutes and perhaps this knocked them out of their stride," Laskey went on.

Sidley's purple patch brought them one goal after only three minutes when Wooller picked up a pass from Jimmy Watson and set off towards the home goal, bypassing one defender before shooting against the underside of the bar and tapping home the rebound.

The goal boosted Wooller's confidence because he was a constant thorn in the US side and was unlucky not to claim a second 10 minutes later after skipping past the challenges of three defenders.

Dom Clarke might have done better from close range while Steve Morris, making his first start since completing a five week suspension, went close with a lob.

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Sidley were still much the better side in the second half but with a swirling wind causing one or two problems they needed that cushion of a second goal, and it finally arrived with a quarter of an hour remaining.

Wood broke clear from the half way line, raced past a couple of defenders and slotted his finish past the goalkeeper for a glorious goal. Late on substitute Lewis Hole was denied by a fine save as Sidley eased to an ultimately comfortable win.

"It was a professional job well done," Laskey said. "You don't want to go all that way and lose."

Sidley have been handed a home tie against Sussex Division One rivals Shoreham in the first round proper of the FA Vase, to be played on October 29.

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