WEALDSTONE'S Vanarama National League class shone through with a 4-1 victory over Billericay Town in the Isuzu FA Trophy, despite a valiant second-half display from Gary McCann’s side.

The visiting side began like a house on fire with the opener inside the first minute courtesy of Nathan Ferguson, before Micah Obiero doubled their lead on the 33-minute mark.

It seemed as if it could have been a long night for Billericay but they reduced the arrears through Alfie Cerulli, however, two further goals from Tahvon Campbell and Sam Bowen secured their place in the next round.

This Third Round tie had been switched to New Lodge after the proposed game, which was supposed to be held at Wealdstone’s Grosvenor Vale, had been called off three times due to a waterlogged pitch.

McCann made two changes to the side that fell to a 2-1 defeat to Haringey Borough on Saturday – Bradley Stevenson and Adam Leathers were replaced by Alfie Cerulli and James Blanchfield.

With spectators barely in their seats on a blustery evening in Essex, Wealdstone took first blood through ex-Southend midfielder Ferguson.

He drove at the Billericay defence and smashed the ball past Dan Wilks in emphatic fashion.

The Blues, who sit in fifth place in the Isthmian Premier Division, were limited to few chances in the opening period but Cerulli came close to grabbing the equaliser soon after with a curling strike that failed to hit the target.

Stuart Maynard’s side had dominated the majority of the possession and deservedly got their second. Obiero with a fine piece of skill to weave his way past the Billericay backline before applying the finish to match, calmly slotting home.

Heading into the second half and Billericay had a renewed purpose as they looked to secure a trip to local rivals Chelmsford City in the next round.

Moses Emmanuel and Cerulli linked-up to good effect and the latter composed himself to find the target to give the Blues a lifeline nine minutes after the restart.

Only minutes later and the Isthmian Premier Division side should have drawn level as Emmanuel and Cerulli linked-up once more but Emmanuel’s header went wide from Cerulli’s delivery.

The next goal was set to be a crucial one with Billericay in the ascendancy but the Stones restored their two-goal advantage on the 73-minute mark.

Rochdale loanee Campbell manged to poke home from the tightest of angles to knock the stuffing out of the home side.

Ferguson nearly netted his brace and Wealdstone’s fourth with a ferocious strike which tested the reflexes of Wilks with 15 minutes remaining.

They secured their place in the next round with Bowen’s sublime curling effort which flew into the net to knock Billericay out of the FA Trophy.