Horsham 5 Rocks 1 FT

The scoreline doesn't do justice to the chances Bognor created in the first half. Horsham's second - a controversial penalty - was probably the turning point and there was no way back for the Rocks.

It won't worry the management too much - this league cup was never their top or even their second priority this season or even this week - but they will have been disappointed to ship four goals in the second period.

Duncan Jupp and Toby Pointing made their first starts of the campaign while Guy Rutherford, Matt Wood, Richie Hudson and Luke Nightingale also came into the starting line-up with a number of players who featured against Dulwich Hamlet rested.

The Rocks had an early chance to take the lead when a third-minute Hudson corner was dropped by the keeper. Nightingale fired it goalwards but the shot was saved.

Soon after that John Marzetti's long ball into the box was fumbled by the keeper, giving Rutherford a chance of a shot into an unguarded net. But his attempt was blocked.

Hudson conceded a free-kick on the edge of his own box and when it was taken it needed a superb save from Craig Stoner to keep it 0-0.

But Horsham took the lead midway through the first half. An attack down the left led to a cross which was put away on the six-yard line by Steven Davis.

The Rocks almost hit straight back when Dan Royce and Nightingale teed up Dean Maynard but his shot was deflected into the arms of the keeper.

There were around 60 Rocks fans there - but not too many home fans had ventured out for a competition which few teams seem to be attaching too much importance to.

The travelling fans were seeing their side do plenty of attacking.

Maynard broke free and laid a pass to Nightingale but he fired just over.

They felt their team should have had a spot-kick for a challenge in the area on Maynard after Royce's cross was struck goalwards by Nightingale and came back out to the striker. But the referee thought otherwise.

Next it was Ben Johnson's turn to threaten the home side with a cross, but the danger it caused was cleared.

Hudson should have levelled but his free header from sixyards was off target following Royce's cross.

A deep cross by Hudson was brilliantly tipped away by the keeper.

HT Horsham 1 Rocks 0

The second half began with another clanger from Horsham's keeper. He dropped a long ball, but was reprived when the referee awarded him a free-kick for an apparent foul by Nightingale.

The ref further angered the Rocks by awarding Horsham a penalty for handball against Rutherford when a ball was hit hard against him from close range. Ant Storey scored the free-kick.

Similar incidents in the first half, with the ball hitting Horsham players' arms, had gone unpunished.

Horsham made the game safe with a third soon after the penalty. Horsham broke again and Alan Tait weaved through the defence to shoot home from 20 yards.

Hudson found Royce in the box as the Rocks looked for a way back into it, but his header couldn't find a team-mate.

The hosts were now comfortably in the next round and Tait got a second when a ball into the box was headed over Stoner for the striker to sidefoot into an empty net.

Maynard gave the scoreline a little more respectability in the dying minutes when a short corner was played to him and he jinked past a defender before rifling home a shot from outside the box.

But any muted celebrations were soon cut short when a Horsham cross fell for Tony Nwachukwu to slot past a despairing Stoner.

The Rocks made three changes in the second half with Tim Bond, JJ Fraser and Charlie Marshall replacing Jupp, Rutherford and Nightingale.

Rocks: Stoner, Johnson, Jupp, Pointing, Marzetti, Royce, Wood, Rutherford, Hudson, Nightingale, Maynard. Subs: Birmingham, Bond, Axten, Fraser, Turner, Marshall.

Report from Ian Guppy