Chelmsford City 6, Worthing 0
(FA Cup, second qualifying round)
MICHAEL Cheek ran riot with a clinical hat-trick as Chelmsford eased past Ryman League side Worthing 6-0 to progress into the FA Cup, third qualifying round in front of watching ex- Spurs star Steffen Freund.
Cheek opened the scoring against the lower league visitors with a 21st minute penalty before Evans Kouassi also scored from the spot three minutes later – his first goal for the club.
The Clarets lost the striker to injury, who had looked bright , though before the end of the first half. His replacement Luke Callander teed up Cheek for his second in the last action of the first half.
It was 4-0 seven minutes into the second half when a blocked Joe Ward shot fell perfectly for City skipper Mark Hughes to smash home and mark his 50th appearance for the club in style.
Cheek then completed his hat-trick with a close range effort on 70 minutes.
The rout was sealed on 89 minutes when City substitute Sam Gregory slotted home from close range.
The Clarets displayed their determination to progress to the next round and grab the £4,500 prize pot on offer, by naming the same side that beat Weston-super-Mare the previous Saturday in the Vanarama Conference South.
All the pre-match buzz surrounded City goalkeeper Niklas Freund getting his chance between the sticks, in the absence of the suspended Nicky Eyre, and the young stopper's father, former Spurs and Germany star Steffen, watching on from the sidelines.
The Clarets' Ryman League Division One South opponents came into the match having dispatched Dulwich Hamlet 3-0 away from home in the previous round, so were definitely aiming for an upset.
However, their hosts were clearly up for it from the start, and an early bit of head tennis in the Worthing box ended with a Ward header falling comfortably into the visiting goalkeeper Jack Fagan's arms.
Kouassi had a chance to open the scoring soon after when he stole on to a loose ball, but his scuffed shot was grabbed by the sprawling Fagan.
The lower league visitors carved out a couple of opportunities for themselves. First, Omar Bugiel worked himself some space to get away a shot, but Freund held it well.
Two minutes later, the ball was in the Chelmsford net from Trevor McCreadie's shot, but the assistant was flagging for offside, much to the chagrin of the visiting fans.
On 17 minutes, Lee Sawyer saw his header in the box fall back at his feet, and as it bounced up he drilled a volley inches over the crossbar.
The first goal arrived four minutes later. Michael Cheek was brought down in the box and dusted himself off to slot the resulting penalty kick into the bottom right corner.
It was 2-0 on 24 minutes from another spot kick. Sawyer was tripped just inside the left-hand side of the area by Worthing midfielder George Hayward. This time Kouassi placed the ball on the spot and fired home the penalty kick, again into the bottom right corner.
Kouassi and Worthing's James Nicholls both went down injured after an aerial collision just over a minute later. The City striker was able to continue after treatment, but the Worthing defender needed to come off, replaced by Matt Piper.
Cheek should have doubled his tally when Fagan spilled the ball jumping for a corner, but he blasted the loose ball into the side-netting.
Kouassi needed to come off on 38 minutes, not from his earlier head injury, but because of what seemed like a hamstring strain. Luke Callander came off the bench to renew his partnership with Cheek.
The third goal came in the fifth and final minute of added time at the end of the first half. Sawyer played a delightful reverse ball in to Callander, who squared for Cheek to bury his second of the game.
Ward broke clear down the right, two minutes into the second half, but his shot from a tight angle was batted away by the Worthing goalkeeper.
Hughes netted the fourth on 52 minutes, crashing a powerful strike home from Ward's blocked shot.
At the other end, after a heavy challenge from Mark Haines brought a yellow card, Worthing right-back Will Hendon touched the ball just over from the resulting swung-in free-kick.
Harry Morgan entered the fray, replacing Sawyer on 68 minutes.
Callander then saw his shot from a tight angle blocked by the Worthing keeper after a jinking run into the left-hand side of the box.
Another run by Callander led to his strike being deflected into the path of Cheek to hook home his third goal on the slide.
He departed the action moments later to a great ovation from the crowd, replaced by Sam Gregory.
Gregory almost inadvertently scored soon after coming on. A driving run by Ward culminated in a low ball across the six yard box which was kicked by a Worthing defender on to Gregory and over the bar.
Gregory got his goal on 89 minutes. City right-back James Love roamed down the right and whipped in a delightful ball that the substitute touched home coolly.
Hughes could have made it 7-0 late on as he surged clear, but his shot was deflected over the bar by Fagan.
The final whistle blew soon after, signalling the Clarets progress into the next round.
CHELMSFORD CITY: Freund, Love, Redwood, Hughes, Haines, Mambo, Sawyer (Morgan 68), Ward, Kouassi (Callander 38), Cheek (Gregory 73), Nicolau. Subs not used: Gordon, Smith, Ekpiteta, Girdlestone. Att: 547.