WHITE Ensign are through to the third round of the FA Vase for the first time in their history.

Ensign triumphed 3-1 at May & Baker in Sunday’s second round clash, thanks to goals from Ezekiel Bademosi, Mechack Asuka and Robbie Allen.

And midfielder Joe Hunter is delighted to have made it through to the final 64 of the competition.

“It’s amazing to have this run going on,” said Hunter.

“We’re a relatively new squad and I think it’s really starting to gel together nicely on and off the pitch.

“It’s a great competition to be a part of and the first time many of us have got this far.

“It’s a national competition at the end of the day and to get this far is a great achievement.

“Hopefully we can use this confidence to keep pushing on into the later rounds.”

Ensign raced into a two goal lead against May & Baker before sealing their victory with a third goal late on.

And Hunter felt Ensign were particularly impressive during the first 45 minutes.

“I thought the game yesterday was a game of two halves really,” said Hunter.

“The first half was one of the best we’ve played all season.

“We pressed high which led to the two first half goals and were also very good in possession.

“In the second half we probably went into our shell a little bit but that’s the nature of cup football and thankfully we grabbed one with about five minutes left to see the game out.”

Ensign will now head to Walsham Le Willows in the third round at the start of December.

And Hunter is expecting another tough test.

“It’s an interesting draw if I’m honest,” said Hunter.

“They look to be in a similar position to us in the league but you can’t take anything for granted.

“From experience it’s always a tough game when you play teams from the Norfolk and Suffolk areas and they usually have very good support.

“But we seem to have risen to the bigger occasions well so far this season, so hopefully we can use this and put in a really good performance.

Before then however, Ensign will remain focused on their Essex Senior League campaign, starting with Wednesday’s clash against Halstead Town at Burroughs Park.

“It will be nice to get back to league action as it feels like the campaign has been a bit stop start,” said Hunter.

“We need to transfer the winning mentality and confidence from the cup games into the league.

“If we can put together a 90 minutes like the first half Sunday then I’m sure we can start to look upwards in the table.”

Ensign are currently 15th in the standings.