5 star performance sees the Lingers progress to the next round of the cup

The Lingers started on the front foot and the deadlock was broken in the 12th minute when Marc McEvilly continued his goal-scoring form, bundling home a dangerous Dan Frith cross from the left. Olly Moore, making his Lingers debut between the posts, made a crucial save on 20 minutes when a short back pass was pounced on by the Hailsham striker but Olly was off his line quickly to smother the danger.

The lead was doubled in a quick counter attack on 24 minutes when Thomas Darko broke down the right before switching the play to Dan Frith who took one touch before firing home into the top right hand corner. The Lingers dominated the rest of the half with the main threat coming down the left with some neat interplay between TJ Stead and Dan Frith.

HT Hailsham Town 0-2 Lingfield

The Lingers carried on from where they left off after the break and they made it 3-0 when Nathan Hull carried the ball across the edge of the Hailsham penalty area before firing into the bottom left hand corner leaving the keeper with no chance. The domination by The Lingers continued throughout the second half, the only sour note being when Nathan Hull skied a penalty after David Heaton had been tripped in the box.

The Lingers rang the changes in the final 20 minutes, handing out a couple of debuts but this did not disrupt the flow of the game. Young Finlay Woods converted well after a strong run and cross from Dan Frith and the icing was on the cake when Dan Frith marked an impressive performance going on a mazy run before an accomplished finish across the keeper into the bottom corner.

The Lingers will be looking to build on the back of this performance and kick-start their league campaign away at Southwick next Saturday.

By David Heaton
FT - Hailsham 0-5 Lingfield
MOM - Dan Frith