The Hawks started brightly and were rewarded inside the opening ten minutes when Reuben Austin was brought down in the area. The referee pointed straight to the spot, and Harvey Bradbury confidently stepped up to send the goalkeeper the wrong way with a penalty straight down the middle.

Bradbury almost got his second midway through the half with an ambitious long-range effort. Spotting the Tiverton keeper off his line, he let fly from 35 yards, only to see his strike beat Burton but clip the top of the net on its way over.

The Hawks didn’t have to wait long for their second, however. A defensive mix-up from Tiverton gifted Ethan Giwa-McNeil the chance to pounce. He showed great composure, rounding his man before calmly finishing to make it 2-0.

Tiverton managed to pull one back just after the half-hour mark. Koita latched onto a through ball, skipped past Ben Dudzinski, and slotted into the empty net to halve the deficit.

Going into the break, the Hawks were ahead but had been reminded that Tiverton still posed a threat going forward.

HALF TIME: HAVANT AND WATERLOOVILLE 2-1 TIVERTON TOWN

The second half began at a slower pace, with the Hawks maintaining control but struggling to create clear-cut chances. A few half opportunities tested the Tiverton defence, though their keeper was rarely troubled.

With 15 minutes left in the game, the returning Reuben Swann showed excellent determination to chase down a forward ball. He burst between two defenders, rounded the goalkeeper, and guided his finish home.

It was almost an instant response from the visitors with a superb goal. A corner came to the edge of the box, where Jagger Cane met it perfectly on the volley, firing beyond Dudzinski to make it 3-2.

However, any hopes of a Tiverton comeback were dashed when Leon Maloney—making his first start since returning from injury—found space on the edge of the box and drilled an effort past the keeper to seal a 4-2 win for the Hawks.

With this win, the Hawks will now progress through to the First Round Proper of the Isuzu FA Trophy. Next up for the Hawks it’s back to league action as they travel to Walton and Hersham on Tuesday night.

FULL TIME: HAVANT AND WATERLOOVILLE 4-2 TIVERTON TOWN

Havant and Waterlooville: Dudzinski (GK) (C), Hayden (Aston 42’), Austin (Rooney 78’), Milner-Smith, Willson, Bradbury, Pendlebury, Maloney, Giwa-McNeil (Swann 68’), Dockerill, Laidlaw

Unused Subs: Brown, Warren

Cautions: Giwa-McNeil 17′, Swann 71’

Goals: Bradbury 10’, Giwa-McNeil 26’, Swann 74’, Maloney 84’

Tiverton Town: Burton (GK), Wilkins, Wood (C), Moxey, Koerner (Jagger Cane 73’), Hall, Stephens (Down 73’), Billington (Swann 38’), Wellington, Koita (Ross (GK) 90’), Rooke

Cautions: Hall 27’, Moxey 69’, Wood 79’, Jagger Cane 79’

Goals: Koita 34’, Jagger Cane 77’

Attendance: 286

Report By: Alex McNeice