REPORT | Wealdstone 4-0 Hendon (played at Silver Jubilee Park)
Wealdstone confirmed their place in the quarter finals of the FA Trophy with a 4-0 win over Hendon on Tuesday night at their Silver Jubilee Park ground.
Goals from Alex Dyer, two from Tarryn Allarakhia and an Aaron Henry free-kick secured the win against local rivals.
Skipper Jack Cook made his way back into the starting eleven following suspension, alongside Dyer who made his first start back from injury. Max Kretzschmar also returned from injury onto the bench.
It didn't take long for the Stones to settle in, with Dyer picking up the ball outside the box and placing it into the back of the net after only six minutes.
It was almost deja vu a couple of minutes later when the ball fell to Dyer again outside the box from a corner but his volley went just over the bar.
A mistake from Hendon's 'keeper let Corie Andrews square the ball to Allarakhia who expertly weaved his way through the Hendon defence and slotted it in to double the advantage.
Hendon's first real chance came half way into the first half, with Jaydn Mundle-Smith pulling off a crucial block to deny Richard Pingling.
Marcus Dewhurst was also called into action, having been forced to make a diving save by Hamza Semakula who hit a rocket shot at goal that was tipped over the bar.
The start of the second half saw chances for either side, with an impressive Cook block denying Samuel Adenola a goal. Then, in the matter of three minutes, Nathan Ferguson twice found space in the box, but twice saw both shots go wide.
Allarakhia found his second goal 61 minutes into the game, when Andrews again found him in the area and a great finish put the Stones 3-0 up after a spell of Hendon pressure.
Only two minutes later, an expertly placed free-kick taken by Aaron Henry slotted perfectly into the top corner of the goal to make it 4-0 to the 'home' side.
The Dons put up a great fight but couldn't find their way back from a 4-0 deficit and the Stones secured themselves a place in the quarter finals, where we will play Solihull Moors at The Vale on Saturday 9th March.
Next up for the Stones is an away game to Woking on Saturday at 3pm back in the National League.
WEALDSTONE: Dewhurst, Cook (c), Barker, Mundle-Smith, Mason, Dyer (Bowen 70), Ferguson (Kretzschmar 70), Henry, Obiero (Phillips 76), Allarakhia, Andrews.
Subs not used: Bull, Woodman, Seaman, Bartolo.
Attendance: 711
Report by Libby McElhinney