Two-goal hero Freddie Sears says Colchester United showed a ruthless streak in thrashing Gosport Borough 6-3 to progress in the FA Cup.

Sears bagged his tenth and 11th goals of the season to help the U’s see off their Conference South opponents at Privett Park and book their place in tonight’s second round draw.

Sears said: “We’ve created a lot of chances this season and our aim is to be more ruthless and to take more of our chances.

“We’ve got six which is good in any game and we could have maybe had even more.

“We had to expect the unexpected, as Gosport were in the FA Cup (first round) for the first time.

“They caused us problems at times and in the end, it was a job well done.

“We made a good start – an early goal settled us down and then we managed to get three more before half-time.

“These teams don’t have anything to lose and they kept going.

“Even at 3-0 they got a goal back but once we got a fourth goal, it settled it down.”

For four pages of coverage of the U's FA Cup tie at Gosport Borough, see Monday's Daily Gazette.