An electric first 20 minutes saw Exmouth Town secure their place in the next round of the FA Cup, beating Bridgwater United 3-1 at the Search4Local Stadium.
Early goals from Ben Steer and Ethan Slater helped Town get ahead, and an own goal helped the hosts on their way to victory.
Will Collins gave Bridgwater a lifeline in the second half, but Exmouth were able to see out the game and book their spot in the first qualifying round.
It was a fast start from both teams, with ball going end-to-end, as Alex Cairo came close with a long-range effort.
Town soon got themselves ahead in spectacular fashion, as Aarron Denny played Steer in, and he spotted the goalkeeper off his line, which enabled him to lob the ball over and into the back of the net, from 25 yards out.
It would only take two minutes for the hosts to get their second, as Slater played a one-two with Belsten, with the latter setting him up to curl the ball into the top-right corner.
Exmouth sustained this momentum, and soon found a third goal, as Belsten’s cross found Matthew Wright, and his header set up an unfortunate headed own-goal for the visitors.
Town’s proverbial foot would remain on the accelerator, as Steer’s cross was just right for Louis Morison, but his header was over the bar.
Morison and Steer would have an effort each, with neither testing Liam Kingston.
Bridgwater would start to find their feet in the game, and should have had a goal back when a free-kick found an unmarked Jacob Spence, who headed over from close range.
Harry Horton would then have a shot wide from just outside the box, as Town did a decent job preventing any more clear cut chances on goal.
Exmouth would start the second half in a similar vein to how they began the first, with Steer having a shot hit the side-netting.
They came close to a fourth as a Wright miss-kick fell in front of Denny, but his effort was straight at Kingston.
The game would begin to fizzle out, with Town slowing down and inviting more pressure from the visitors.
This would be punished, as a ball was played through to Collins, and he made no mistake with a nice finish inside the box.
Exmouth would look to be a threat on the break, and Owen Johnson came close to notching his first in Town colours, winning the ball back in his own half before getting on the end of an Ace High pass, but he was denied by Kingston.
Bridgwater would push forwards, and come close to getting a second goal, but Town were putting their bodies on the line to prevent that happening.
It was a great afternoon for Exmouth, and before the First Qualifying Round takes place on September 5th, they have a Bank-Holiday away double header against Hartpury in the FA Trophy, and Tiverton Town in the Southern League Division One South.
Women's Match Report: Hashtag United 1 Exeter City 1
