Winkleigh 0, Fluxton 7 Fluxton ran riot at the Winkleigh Playing Fields this weekend, with a cup result that wouldn’t look out of place for two teams that were leagues apart, writes Rob Hart.

The class between the sides was apparent after only a couple minutes when Hayden Figures unleashed a shot which can only be described as a ‘net buster’.

Played in by Graham Hughes, the prolific Fluxton front man took the ball across his body and sent the ball on a one way ticket to the onion bag.

It wasn’t long until Hughed was on the score sheet himself, a tidy finish after being put through by Figures, whose presence was being felt by every single one of the Winkleigh back four. Matt Clothier-Smith added to the rout after tidy build up play from the midfield trio, ending with midfield stalwart Chris Sercombe threading in the winger to slot the ball past the helpless Winkleigh stopper.

An unfortunate own goal took Fluxton into half time with a 4-0 lead against a Winkleigh side that had some decent spells of possession, but just lacked imagination in the final third, and when they did come close to getting a sniff of goal, Matthew Sercombe was equal to it with some great saves.

Half-time saw a team talk given by caretaker manager Rob Hart, who noticed that after a lacklustre end to the first half, midfielder Chris Sercombe had somehow misplaced his head. After a quick word in the ear of Sercombe, who was maybe a bit harsh on himself, the Fluxton veteran went out with a new sense of belief, and from a Clothier-Smith corner the centre back turned midfield general rose like a pink salmon in the fresh waters of Alaska to nod a back post header to make in 5-0 to the clinical Flux.

The game was beyond reach for the home side, who couldn’t cope with the driving second half runs from Alex Paget and Si Durrant in the centre of the park. Chances were opening up every couple of minutes for Fluxton and it was almost a case of ‘How many?’. Hughes then added to his tally with a header from another Clothier-Smith assist, whose selflessness in the final third is working miracles for Fluxton.

Paget’s performance will surely lead to sponsorship deals from Duracell as the midfielder’s relentless work rate was finally rewarded with a goal after his first shot was parried by the keeper, he made sure the second time with a perfectly placed shot.

The talking point of the day though, came from the subs bench. Chris Bowden came on in place of Lee Chapman, whose defensive pairing with Tom Rapps was watertight throughout the game. Bowden’s cameo role remarkably earned him Man of the Match and Donkey of the Week!

As the game was almost at its end, and a lot of the players were looking forward to their hard earned chilli and chips, and maybe switched off, leaving Matthew Sercombe to pull of three remarkable saves right at the death to keep his hard earned clean sheet and an earful in the pub after from his brother Chris.

A well oiled performance from a Fluxton side oozing confidence and now in the draw for the quarter final of the Cup.

Team: M.Sercombe, Long, Chapman (Bowden ‘75), T.Rapps, Ashley, Hughes, C.Sercombe, Durrant, A.Paget, Clothier-Smith, Figures.