BASILDON United crashed out of the FA Cup last night, after falling to a thumping 6-1 defeat at the hands of Wingate and Finchley in a Second Qualifying Round replay at the Core Refurbishments Stadium, reports Leon Imber.

The two sides drew 1-1 in London on Saturday, with home advantage on their side, the Bees would have been eyeing up a spot in the Third Qualifying Round.

But, just four minutes into the replay, Wingate and Finchley opened the scoring through a Sam Hatton penalty.

The home side equalised six minutes later as Fahad Nyanja found the target, however a quick-fire double mid-way into the first half saw the Blues race into a two-goal lead going into half-time, courtesy of strikes by Ibrahim Meite and Darnell Goather-Braithwaite.

Three second half goals put Basildon to the sword, Meite bagging his second whilst Alphanso Kennedy and Bilal Sayoud worked their way onto the scoresheet to compound the hosts to a shocking defeat.

The result came just 10 days after John Guyton’s side took a 7-0 beating against Grays Athletic in the Isthmian North, highlighting defensive issues within the side.

In a slightly less one-sided affair, Canvey Island were also eliminated from the competition as they were defeated 3-2 by Bedford Town at Park Lane.

Mark Bentley’s side suffered last minute heartbreak as they conceded in the 91st minute, Rene Howe heading home to deny the Gulls an opportunity to recreate their impressive cup run of last season.

Howe opened the scoring for the away side to which Canvey replied early in the second half with Matt Price on target.

Bedford took the lead once again in the tie on the 69th minute as Charley Sanders powered home a strike from the edge of the box following a corner., and two minutes later, Bentley’s side equalised yet again.

Price grabbed his second goal of the match, dispatching a penalty after a handball in the box.

The hosts showed plenty of character to twice work themselves back into the match, but they couldn’t find a reply to Howe’s late goal, thus seeing the Gulls eliminated from the FA Cup at the second hurdle.