ROB Small was 'chuffed' after Bowers & Pitsea booked their place in the fourth round of the Essex Senior Cup.

Bowers ran out 2-0 winners against Isthmian Premier League side Brightlingsea Regent at the Len Salmon Stadium.

Ben Sartain opened the scoring, while Ayo Odukoya wrapped up victory by notching a goal on his full debut.

Bowers boss Small said: “I was chuffed with the result.

“We made a slow start to the game, which allowed Brightlingsea to stamp their authority and control the game.

“For the first half an hour we were on the back foot, but we scored against the run of play with a great volley from Ben Sartain.

“We improved and gained the impetus. It was a really pleasing win.”

Despite going onto win the clash, Bowers started off on the backfoot and they were indebted to goalkeeper Andy Wilton, who thwarted Brightlingsea’s Harry Morgan and Rocha Fosker.

And those saves proved crucial as Bowers took the lead against the run of play thanks to Ben Sartain’s superb volley finding the back of the net via the post.

Wilton also frustrated Matt Baxter before the break.

After the interval, Lewis Clark, Tom Stephen, Odukoya and Sartain combined to present Max Harbrow with an opportunity, but his effort was kept out by James Bradbrook.

Bowers sealed the win with 10 minutes to play as Odukoya created some space for himself to fire home.