The Motormen hosted Thurlow Nunn side Hadleigh United in the 2nd qualifying round of the FA Vase after receiving a bye through the first stage whilst their opponents had dispatched fellow ESL side Walthamstow in the previous round.

The first chance of the game fell to the Motormen when winger Timothy Ogunrinde ran at the Hadleigh defenders before seeing his shot easily gathered by Nick Punter in goal.

Hadleigh then had their first attack when a ball in from the right found Sam Sharp who hit the ball first time just flashing his shot wide of George Martin’s goal.

Harry Brown then came forward for Hadleigh beating Olamiji Ayoola to the ball but a heavy touch took the ball away from him and allowed Martin to come collect.

At the other end a nice ball over the top found the run of Ogunrinde who brought the ball down with a good first touch but Punter reacted quickly rushing out of his goal to prevent the Redbridge player from getting a shot in.

Shouts soon followed from the Hadleigh bench calling for a penalty after what appeared to be a push on Brown but the calls went unnoticed by the referee who waved play to continue.

The game continued to be a tight affair with chances at a premium whilst the game was slowed down due to the number of fouls being conceded by both sides.

Hadleigh looked to end the half the stronger, a corner came in finding skipper Ben Elliott who saw his goal bound header hit a Redbridge defender before being hacked away to safety. As the whistle was about to be blown the deadlock was broken all be it by Redbridge, a simple long ball up field was headed on by Ibrahim Kehinde finding the run of Abdishakur Farah who slotted home.

The second half looked to continue in the same vein as the first however Redbridge buoyed by that goal went close as Farah shot an early chance over.

A lovely ball around the back of the Hadleigh defence by Jack Chawner found Ogunrinde who tried to cross first time but a poor touch allowed the ball to go behind, a wasted opportunity which deserved much more from the pass.

Bradley Bennett then crossed into the middle finding Ogunrinde who turned and shot which needed saving as Punted palmed the ball away.

Redbridge turned to the bench as Robbie Norris came onto the field and made an immediate impact as he fizzed in what looked to be a cross from the right but it turned out to be a shot which crept in at the near post beating Palmer who was caught off guard.

Goals certainly change games and it was Redbridge who were now dominating proceedings although Hadleigh showed their intentions of still playing their part as Sharp curled an effort wide. The same player then brought a save out of Martin who watched the ball all the way and held firm.

The game was effectively over as a contest after 76 minutes when Kehinde ran onto a through ball making no mistake firing home his 9th goal of the season.

Redbridge continued to push forward, good work by Bennett on the right saw him cross into substitute Josh Sykes who turned and shot first time however his effort fell the wrong side of the upright.

One final flurry from the away side as a free kick was whipped in by substitute Mason Ransome falling just wide , it was the closest they had come this half.

The final effort belonged to Redbridge as Bennett played through Shaun Harris one on one however he was denied by Punter who made the save before the whistle was blown.

In the end a comfortable second period see the Motormen proceed into the 1st Round proper draw for the first time in three years.

report by Adam Silver