The Blues settled into their stride from the whistle with a confident display of passing football, and could have taken the lead as early as the second minute when a series of one pass moves between Joao Carlos, Lee Flynn and Jean-Michel Sigere saw Paul Smith pull off a sharp save and for Carlos to hit the post.

The home defence were under heavy pressure as Grays moved forward in numbers and from a corner Carlos put the ball across for Sigere and Junior Baker to put the ball back to Carlos. A low cross to Sigere was hit goalwards for Smith to save but Louis Dennis followed up to slot the ball home.

Kenny Beaney was in control of midfield and moved the ball forward to find Carlos clear. His cross was placed into the path of Sigere but, again, his shot was saved, and Harry Agombar found space to make it 2 – 0 with less than fifteen minutes gone.

Whyteleafe were hardly in play during the half but a quick break by Billy Dunn surprised the away defence but his weak shot on the run was easily covered by Andy Hall. Grays were in no mood to let up as they poured forward and the home defence were looking desperate. David Cowley tried his luck with a cross only for Smith to hold the ball and another Cowley cross, as he found space, was hit by Carlos but his shot was cleared by the boot of Elliot Mitchell.

A run by Craig Pope and another cross from Cowley found Beaney clear. His hard hit shot was tipped over superbly by Smith as the ball headed into the goal. Grays were enjoying a wonderful display of control as they dominated the half as Cowley shot high, Agombar shot wide and Dennis could only find Smith with a scuffed shot as they looked to increase their lead. With seconds to go Cowley put in a cross to the far side but the angle for Sigere was too narrow as he headed the ball against the post for the last action of the first half.

Grays continued their dominance n the second half as they moved forward confidently with Pope finding space on the right to release Cowley. His passes were dissecting the home defence and Carlos was in space to find Sigere for the first chance but his shot was deflected wide. From the corner Sigere found space to shoot but again deflected.

Agombar’s corner went to Cowley and his rocket shot skimmed the bar as it went over. Dennis was finding his own space with some tricky footwork and a well hit shot was cleared off the line by Smith as the Blues looked to increase their lead. It was Sigere who assisted in the breakthrough when he put the ball to the feet of Dennis. His tenacious, twisting run through the defence ended with his shot going into the net from a tight angle to make it 3 – 0 on the hour.

This gave the bench the luxury of replacing Beaney and Agombar with Stuart Thurgood and Stanley Muguo in midfield. Slowly Whyteleafe started to get into the game with Dunn and Simpson finding space as they pushed to get on the score sheet. A free kick from Dunn went wide and Hall was equal to the task when tested from a corner. The home side were on top for a while but they could not find a way through the Blues well organised defence. Simpson shot straight at Hall and another free kick was hit wide by Brown. Baker headed the ball away several times, and Pope played the ball to feet to clear the Blues lines but try as they might Whyteleafe were frustrated by tight defending.

A late sub saw Grant Cooper come on for Bradley Thomas. A final push by Grays saw a Dennis shot tipped round the post and a shot from Baker held by Smith as the ref blew to end the one-sided contest. The Blues progress to the next round with confidence high.

Grays Athletic: - Andy Hall, Craig Pope, Bradley Thomas (Grant Cooper 85), Junior Baker, Lee Flynn, Joao Carlos, Harry Agombar (Stuart Thurgood 60), Kenny Beaney (Stanley Muguo 60), David Cowley, Jean-Michel Sigere, Louis Dennis.

Subs not used: - Jared Small, Joe Sweeney.