To Grays Ath fans of a certain vintage, the FA Trophy will always be THE Trophy. None of us who were there will ever forget those barely unbelievable days at Villa Park and Upton Park in 2005 and 2006, when we wrote our name into footballing history. (And don’t forget we only lost in extra time of the semi-final the following year as well !)

But that is now in the past, and today the Blues were the only previous FA Trophy winners playing in the preliminary round. Those fans demand the team shows up on Trophy days in recognition of that heritage - and today the squad had read the script as Blues secured their passage into the next round with a comfortable 4-0 win away at competition debutants, Brantham Athletic.

The early exchanges were quite nervy but it was Grays who settled before their hosts and started to dominate possession. The first Blues chance came from a long clearance by Callum Fitzer. Luke Hirst beat the defence to the ball and forced a good low save at the near post by home keeper, Dion Henry. Casey Nolan-Samuels’ long throws were also proving a real handful for Brantham’s back line, creating a series of chances for Grays.

It was half way through the first 45 minutes before Brantham exerted any real pressure on the Grays defence but at the other end it seemed just a matter of time before the breakthrough would come. And after 25 minutes, Hirst intercepted a loose pass in the Brantham midfield and broke clear, rounding the keeper and finishing smartly for 1-0 lead.

And it was 2-0 to Grays shortly after when referee Mr Harvey awarded a penalty for George Chennery’s clumsy challenge on Kye Jude, which Callum Fitzer converted readily.

Then just before the break, another Nolan-Samuels long throw fell to Oscar Shelvey-Negus whose header hit the post.

Half time : Brantham 0 v 2 Grays Athletic

The second half was more of the same, with Blues dominant for long periods, And Grays made the tie safe on 52 minutes when man-of-the-match Luke Hirst produced some fine work down the right wing and his cross was met by Aron Gordon with an unstoppable volley, for a 3-0 lead.

Both sides made changes and former Grays man, Nidal Berri produced Brantham’s best work of the afternoon, as Blues looked to close out the match with the defence leaving nothing to chance and giving keeper George Marsh a very comfortable afternoon between the sticks.

One of Grays’ young subs, Elton Gjionbali almost got his name on the scoresheet but his header went just the wrong side of the crossbar. Then in added time, a quickly-taken corner by Joe Paxman was met perfectly at the back post by the head of skipper, Lewis Clark, to make it 4-0 and complete a near-perfect afternoon for Grays.

After the game, Blues manager, Darren Manning, expressed his delight with his side’s overall performance and professionalism, keeping a clean sheet and sharing four goals round the team. In truth, Blues will have sterner tests ahead but this was a job well done. The next round in two weeks time, sees Blues with a home tie against Milton Keynes Irish of the Southern League Midland Division.

A quick turnaround sees Grays back in league action on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon against our old adversaries from Witham Town.

Final Score : Brantham 0 v 4 Grays Athletic

Grays Ath : Marsh, Jude, Joynes, Walker, L Clark, Nolan-Samuels, Gordon (70, Strugurian), Shelvey-Negus (80, Romer), Hirst (64, Gjionbala), Paxman, Fitzer (60, Silcott-Brown)

Sub not used : Drew