FC Clacton progressed to the semi-final of the First Division Knockout Cup with a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Saffron Walden. Two early goals knocked the stuffing out of the visitors and made it a generally comfortable night’s work for the Seasiders.

Clacton got off to the perfect start taking the lead after just four minutes. A long Dan Smith throw from the left was not cleared and dropped at the near post. James Dunkley attempted to beat his marker to the ball and under pressure from the Clacton striker defender Alex Riches could only bundle the ball into his own net.

Seven minutes later, Clacton doubled their lead with a goal of great quality. There seemed little danger as Dunkley picked the ball up 30 yards from goal but he let fly from long range with an effort that arrowed into the top corner to put the home side firmly in the ascendancy. Clacton were dominant and could have increased their lead still further with Dunkley and Chris Ribchester having further efforts saved by Yates before the game was twenty minutes old.

Saffron Walden recovered from their early set-backs to keep Clacton honest but were struggling to create chances up front. The closest they came was just before the half hour mark when Darren Gould had to be at full stretch to tip away a swinging cross that looked to be dipping into his far corner.

The start of the second half nearly saw Clacton gift Saffron Walden a way back into the tie as Gould spilled a harmless looking cross as it bounced up to him and was relieved to see the ball squirt past the post for a corner.

However, Clacton remained the team most likely to score and Saffron Walden had Yates in goal to thank for keeping their hopes alive. A spell of Clacton pressure around the hour mark saw Kevin Coyle shoot just wide, closely followed by a Dan Smith header that was well saved by Yates before the follow up effort was scrambled clear off the line. Just a minute later Matt Waters beat his man but saw his shot turned away for a corner and from the set play Yates was on hand again to turn a James Dunkley header smartly over the bar.

Clacton did finally score a third goal on seventy-three minutes when Mark White reacted first to a loose ball in the area and hit a shot which Yates could only half stop. As the ball spun goalward several players converged but could not stop the ball creeping over the line to put the result beyond doubt.

Saffron Walden did gain a consolation goal in injury time when Brad Green hit an excellent twenty five yard effort into Gould’s top corner but it was not enough to take the gloss off a very accomplished Clacton performance.