Sidmouth Town 4, Dolton 1 The Vikings made heavy work of booking a place in the next round of the Graddon Vending Devon Premier Cup.

On a well prepared surface Town were quickly into their stride and took a third minute lead when a Tony Cox corner was knocked into the net by Mike Stamp.

The early goal should have served to relax the Vikings and allow them to play the passing game that manager Paddy Thomas prefers.

Instead, poor decision making mixed with a lack of movement coupled with the determination of the North Devon league side, meant that it was not until midway through the half that the lead was doubled when neat approach play from Dan Churchill ended with Jake Boyland powering a header home.

Boyland then made it three, but the plucky visitors were on the score sheet themselves when a long-ball through the middle ended with confusion at the back and Dolton’s winger duly accepted the gift of an open goal.

It was clear at half-time that the first score of the second period would be so crucial.

Fortunately for the Manstone Lane faithful it was the lively Boyland who grabbed it with a well placed effort into the far corner giving him a richly deserved hat-trick.

Further efforts from Andy Isaac, Simon Hudson (twice), Boyland and Stamp could have produced a score line that would have not been a true reflection on the 90 minutes of action.

Vikings boss Paddy Thomas said: “The result was always going to be more important than the performance as we needed to find a way back to winning matches. Cup matches are one-off affairs and we shouldn’t forget we did win and are still in the competition. We looked sloppy for much of the game. Football is a simple game made difficult by players! Dolton worked hard and they gave the impression they enjoyed the facilities and hospitality on offer at Manstone.It was good to get Mike (Stamp) back playing as he brings a physical presence to the midfield. He and Mark Badcock both set a good example for the youngsters at the club. Jake (Boyland) took his goals very well and looks a threat going forward and he will get stronger as he plays more often. We need to get the basics right as too many players complicate simple tasks and whilst mistakes can happen its unforced errors that concern us as a management team.”

Tomorrow (Saturday) Town entertain high flying Appledore in a League game (3pm).