Any club managing to play in four rounds of any one FA Cup campaign must consider their sojourn a success.

Chertsey Town managed this feat but hit a brick wall, good and hard, when they travelled to Chelmsford City in the second qualifying round.

The unbeaten at home Essex side had yet to concede even a goal at their expansive Melbourne Road stadium so expectations that visitors Chertsey Town might break that record were surely not harboured by the home support that brought the attendance to 623.

Chelmsford are well placed in Blue Square South and looked as if they would fit comfortably in the higher national division. Thus the chasm between the two sides was obvious to see and although the whole Chertsey squad did themselves proud, there was never going to be any chance of an upset one the first goal went in after just seven minutes.

Town’s rear line defence again consisted of six players with an average age of 19 years and five months and they will surely have learned a lesson from their experience of playing one of the top non league sides in the country, especially Dexter Burt who came to realise that shot stopping is not all there is to know in the art of goalkeeping.

It was a pity for the Surrey travellers that they only managed a handful of shots at goal, none on target.

Their best chance came in the last action of the very sporting, yellow card free, game when a break out left the Clarets’ defence well out numbered but Andy Crossley’s final pass just clipped the heel of a back pedalling full back. However, that final disappointment did not count for much, being as it was, a left over crumb dropped from a rich Chelmsford fruity cake who scoffed the lot!

To add height, new signing Laika Saku, another teenager, fitted in well at the back and was given a baptism of fire but he did as well as anyone in the side. In attack, Tom O’Regan caught the eye of the home support with his on the ball skills but he was unable to unlock the Chelmsford defence to any telling degree.

With a considerable breeze at their backs, Chertsey began brightly enough but without making any significant dent, but were rocked in only the seventh minute when they were caught on their heels as Sam Higgins rose high to head in a left flank corner kick. Anthony Cook made it number two off a corner that was returned into the goalmouth in the 24th, and the writing was really on the wall.

A push from the back by Simon Cox on 36 Minutes set up City’s third goal by way of the penalty spot and the boot of David Rainford, to finally quell any fanciful idea of Chertsey being able to sneak back in the tie. Meanwhile, Town managed a couple of corner kicks and promising approach work in attack but created no moment when a goal looked likely.

The inside of Burt’s upright saved further punishment as half time approached but the interval did little for Chertsey’s fortunes for within 17 minutes of the game’s resumption, Town had conceded a further four goals with Higgins collecting a hat trick, plus another as a bonus. Rainford was the player to complete the scoring sequence and with still almost a half hour remaining, it looked ominously like double figures might be recorded.

But to their credit, Chertsey kept battling away and although the home side continued to press hard for further success, Chertsey’s resolve did not break, although it was a close run thing at times. Paradoxically, it was during this last thirty minutes or so that Chertsey looked their most menacing in attack although only two good half chances were created, which might have numbered more had control of their off side positioning been more cute.

Still, all in all, although the score line was hefty enough to truly record the difference in the respective pedigrees of the two sides, Chertsey did not come away disgraced. Beaten maybe, but bowed, certainly not in generating generous applause from the home supporters as the departed from the arena.

Chertsey visit Guildford City this Wednesday and host Wembley in the league on Saturday.