Hastings on the march in FA Cup

The visitors did threaten to get back into the preliminary round tie at one stage but Carl Rook's second goal of the game six minutes from time made sure it was Hastings who would entertain Sussex Division Two strugglers Mile Oak on September 18.

Hastings manager Steve Lovell said: "Sometimes it's hard when the opposition bring you down to their level and I think that's what happened in the first half. They were poor and the first 10 minutes we had three or four chances and if a couple of those had gone we would have gone on to win by five or six.

"But we started a lot brighter, played some good football at times and scored three goals so I can't really argue with that."

For the third home Saturday in a row kick-off for a first team match had to be delayed after the Croydon coach was held up by a couple of accidents on the notorious A21.

The tie finally got going some 25 minutes behind schedule and Hastings almost took an instant lead when Chris Honey beat Croydon goalkeeper John Odlum to a Russell Eldridge cross but his header looped onto the roof of the net.

Ryan Peters was also desperately unlucky not to open the scoring, his well-struck volley cannoning off the face of the crossbar. Soon after Odlum did well to scoop out an Alan Tutton effort from under his own crossbar and then Peters was denied by a last gasp defensive clearance.

Croydon also went close early on when Danny Knowles was called upon to save well from Abdul Awadh who should really have scored.

The goal Hastings had been threatening finally arrive three minutes before half time courtesy of a speculative long range drive from Peters which the keeper completely misjudged.

Former St Leonards stopper Odlum seemed to take the mistake very badly because he spent the majority of what was left of the half lying flat on his back, but it later transpired that he was suffering from a migraine which forced him to be replaced in goal by midfielder Ryan Hackett.

Hastings were also forced into a substitution early in the second half when the influential Peters took a whack to his knee but just a couple of minutes after the change the home side had doubled their advantage. An Eldridge free kick picked out Honey and his header across goal found Rook who nodded home inside the upright.

Rook should have made it three a couple of minutes later and Croydon took advantage of the let off by halving the deficit on 69 minutes after Sean Ray was penalised for a push in the Hastings box. Visiting captain Warren Burton made no mistake from the penalty spot and suddenly the tie was back on.

Shane Sinclair wasted a glorious chance to equalise when he shot across goal but Rook finally settled matters with another precise header from a Steve Hafner centre.