FC CLACTON sneaked into the FA Cup preliminary round but only after a ‘horrendous’ 2-1 victory at home to London APSA.

The Seasiders raced into an early two-goal lead and appeared to be cruising.

But they became edgy after that and finished up scraping into the next round.

“It was awful and a horrendous game – one of the worst I’ve seen for a long while,” Seasiders boss David Coyle told the Gazette.

“Our job in the cup is to win as many matches as possible and make some money for the club, so from that point of view it was a case of mission accomplished.

“But that’s where the positives end because the overall standard was pretty average.

“We wanted to win comfortably and, ideally, keep a clean sheet but neither of those things happened.”

Clacton eased into a 2-0 lead inside half an hour thanks to goals from Tommy Noble and Kevin Coyle.

Noble grabbed a close-range header while Coyle’s was a well-struck effort from 20 yards.

Then Clacton hit the brakes, though, and their manager had a stern warning afterwards.

“We’ve played OK in our first two games (against Godmanchester and Brantham),” said Coyle.

“But this time we were poor and we’ve still got a long way to go before we get to where we want to be.

“If we continue playing as we are then it won’t be long before we slip up.”

HARWICH and Parkeston joint-boss Kevin Mather bemoaned the Jekyll and Hyde nature of his side after they ‘limped’ out of the FA Cup at London Colney.

The Shrimpers went down 4-1, with their late consolation coming from Sam Eldridge.

Overall, though, it was a day of very few positives and Mather told the Gazette: “You can get away with one or two players not turning up but in this instance we had five or six off the pace.

“We were absolutely awful and second-best from start to finish.

“There was a mad 15-minute spell when they scored three of their goals but overall we’ve made a very Jekyll and Hyde start.

“We played well in midweek (when losing 1-0 against Felixstowe and Walton) but this time we just weren’t at the races and limped out of the FA Cup.”

Mather admitted is was a blow to be without influential defender Ashley Howard.

But he refused to make excuses for his side’s inept performance and questioned the players’ attitudes.

He also said he and Noel Gambling are now planning to bring in reinforcements – possibly in time for tomorrow’s match with Needham Market.

“The whole team didn’t perform and we told them so,” said Mather.

“We didn’t want to have to bring other players in from elsewhere but we feel we have to, particularly in terms of midfielders and strikers.

“It was so disappointing and I’d have to question some of the players’ attitudes.

“They think they’re better than they are and are in a comfort zone, but myself and Noel won’t allow that to continue.”

WITHAM TOWN booked a home tie with London Colney in the preliminary round of the FA Cup, after seeing off Essex rivals Saffron Walden Town.

Danny Greaves’ side beat their Ridgeons League division one opponents 2-1 at the Spicer McColl Stadium, Spa Road to progress from the extra preliminary round.

Striker Kevin Hawes gave Witham an early lead in the tie.

Tom Richardson equalised for Saffron Walden midway through the second half.

But just when thoughts were turning to a possible replay, Tom Robinson netted Witham’s winner with a neat chip after the visitors had failed to deal with a long ball forward.

Boss Greaves was pleased with his side’s performance and particularly with their response to conceding a second-half equaliser.

He said: “We are very pleased.

“I don’t think we’re going to win the FA Cup but it’s nice to get through to the next round.

“It keeps the momentum going and it’s good to win football matches in any competition.

“Kevin Hawes took his chance well and it was a good team move for our first goal.

“We should have killed them off after that but we let them back into the game and we missed a few chances.

“As with any game of football while it's 1-0, there’s always a chance for a team to get back in it.”

There was also progress for Tiptree United as they beat Colney Heath 3-2 in the extra-preliminary round at Chapel Road and, like Stanway, they will face opposition from the Zamaretto League Division One Midlands with a trip to Aylesbury United.

For more non-league football, see today's Gazette.