Colin McBride was once again forced to juggle his players around with Purdie moving to centre half to replace the injured Richard Goddard and Mark Goodfellow restored to his normal position of right back. Tresor Kandol was also restored to the starting line up in place of the unlucky Kris Lee, with Adam Parker still deputising for the suspended midfield dynamo Steve Heffer

Thurrock dominated from start to finish against an inexperienced Hayes side suffering with injuries and suspensions. Fleet were quick out of the blocks with Simon Martin and Tresor Kandol playing well up front together, the latter going close with a header early on. The first goal came after ten minutes. Martin’s shot was blocked but fell to Glenn Poole twelve yards out and he coolly slotted home. The lead was doubled not long after and once again it was Poole who scored. Kandol played a lovely reverse ball into Martin, whose layoff found Poole and the winger rifled a shot home from 15 yards. Two more chances fell to Thurrock before the half hour. Firstly, Martin’s shot was well saved by Davies in the Hayes goal, and secondly Kandol took the ball round Davies only to see Hayes captain Matt Gray block his shot on the line. Kieran Knight had only Hayes’ only chance of the first half, but Andy Woodman was more than equal to it.

Early in the second half Kandol was unlucky when his 20 yard shot went just wide after he had run from the halfway line. He was not to be denied a goal and it came on the hour. Ryan Kirby’s through ball fell to Martin, whose drilled shot was parried by Davies leaving Kandol with the simplest of tasks to slot into the open goal. Kandol had two shots well blocked as well as a header tipped over in the next ten minutes as Hayes looked incapable of handling him. Hayes did pull a goal back in injury time when substitute Ryan Lee was adjudged to have handled in the box and Kieran Knight scored the penalty.

Woodman, Goodfellow, Collis, Purdie, McFarlane (Capt), Poole (Davidson), Hodges , Parker, Kirby, Martin (Ryan Lee), Kandol (Fletcher)