East Thurrock United 5, Hashtag United 0

IN the absence of a competitive league or cup fixture, a satisfactory afternoon, marred only by a couple injuries picked up by Matt price and Danny Harris, saw East Thurrock give game time to several players – and there were encouraging signs for the future with the introduction of two 16-year-olds.

Hastag, managed by former Rocks assistant manager Jay Devereux, are having a good season as they chase promotion from the Essex Senior League and for the first half at least they were on a par with their hosts from two steps up the non-league pyramid.

The deadlock was broken on 20 minutes when a fine move ended with Price forcing the ball home from close range, but it remained nip and tuck to the break.

And Price's goal was all that separated the sides until the hour mark when Frankie Merrifield blasted home from the edge of the box.

That knocked the stuffing out of Hashtag and as both sides introduced a wave of substitutes Rocks got a third when youngster Jack Coventry-James, grandson of Rocks boss John Coventry, grabbed his first goal with a well-placed shot from 18 yards.

Coventry-James was joined by his former Rocks under 17s colleague Matt Juson, making his senior debut, and the home side moved through the gears in the closing stages, dominating the game with Alex Clark netting twice, first from the spot on 74 minutes after the industrious Mitch Gilbey was brought down and then going on a solo run a couple of minutes later to produce a good finish.