Having lost 3-1 to Cobham in an FA Cup replay, then 1-0 at home to Sidley, Wickers were desperate to make amends on Tuesday. But they never really got going and division-higher Whitehawk eased into the third round.

Wickers manager Dominic Shepherd said: "We gifted them all four goals with sloppy mistakes. Every goal could have been prevented, but I admit we were outclassed.

"We've got a lot of players missing, losing Dave Seago and Nick Green is a blow for us, but our new signings are good and we are aiming for a top-three finish."

The game was effectively over after 18 minutes, By then, Whitehawk had raced into a two-goal lead.

The first came on six minutes, when James Bentley tapped home the rebound after Jason Pontin's shot was saved. Then, nine minutes later, Bentley capitalised on Lee Thompson's slip and slotted home.

Whitehawk had also gone close in between the two Bentley strikes but former Worthing player, Leo Day, headed wide from Danny Turner's corner.

Southwick never really forced a sustained period of pressure, but when they did manage to mount an attack, Hawks' tight defensive unit kept them at bay.

Whitehawk put the result beyond doubt after 25 minutes. John Buggey shook off the challenge of Dean Lipscombe and calmly placed his shot into the corner.

Wickers' misery was compounded in first-half stoppage-time when Shaun Grice fired home Kevin Townsend's pass.

Southwick's second-half performance was much improved and they finally called Hawks keeper Ross Standen into action on 56 minutes. But he kept out James Wotherspoon's low drive. From the resultant corner, Standen reacted instinctively to turn over Grant Bean's header.

Whitehawk could have increased their lead, but Pontin's drive was held by Southwick keeper Nick Taylor, and then Day's shot across goal only needed a touch but drifted wide.

That was the last opportunity of the match and Wickers will look to bounce back when they face Crawley Down at home on Saturday.

SOUTHWICK: Taylor; Lipscombe, Elliott, Thompson, Donoghue; Dorrington, McNeill, Stideford, Bean; Steele, Nino. Subs: Wotherspoon, Rahaman (Steele, Stideford 45), Maltman (Nino 87), Matthews, Harrington.

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