Harry Williams and Bobbie Dale both hit hat-tricks as Cheltenham Town’s Under-18 side cruised into the second round of the FA Youth Cup with an 8-0 win over Maidenhead United.
Russ Milton’s team will now take on AFC Wimbledon or Farnborough Town in the next round.
In truth it was a comfortable evening for Cheltenham whose passage into the next round was never in doubt after Williams opened the scoring in the 17th minute.
With right-winger Zack Kotwica impressing throughout the Robins dominated the match from start to finish.
They could even afford to miss a penalty, when Joe Hanks saw his effort saved from 12-yards out. The midfielder quickly made amends for that miss netting just before the half-hour mark, while right-back Kieron Thomas was the Robins other scorer.
Forty miles down the road at the Memorial Stadium, Bristol Rovers new Academy Manager Tom Curtis watched his new protégés come from behind to knock Torquay United out of the competition.
James Washburn’s powerful header had given the Gulls a 15 minute lead but Alefe Santos levelled things up before the break, firing a curling left-footed shot beyond Conor Thomas.
Jamie Lucas’ bundled effort five minutes after the interval was enough to see Torquay progress.
Elsewhere, Doncaster Rovers edged past Morecambe 1-0, courtesy of a Josh Meade strike and will now face Gateshead, conquerors of Preston North End, later this month.
AFC Wimbledon were 2–0 winners over Farnborough, Oxford United saw off Yeovil 4-2 and Crewe Alexandra came out on top in a tight affair with Carlisle United.
Swindon ran out comfortable 6-1 winners over Sholing at home, while York City’s trip back from Chester was a good one after a 3-0 win.
Scunthorpe similarly enjoyed a happy return journey after a win at Halifax Town in a match played at Brighouse Town FC, but the shock of the night came at Brentwood Town who knocked out League Two Gillingham 2-0.
An own-goal from centre-back Ollie Lee set the tone in a match played in challenging conditions and it got worse seconds after half-time when goalkeeper Dan O’Neill was dismissed for a professional foul.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the resulting free-kick ended up in the back of the visitors net to double the home side’s advantage.
Earlier in the week, MK Dons, Bury, Stevenage, Burton Albion, Crawley Town and Port Vale all booked their places in the second round of the competition.
