Ely City 4 Felixstowe & Walton United 0

ANDREW Claydon fired a brace against his old club as Ely sauntered to a comfortable win against Felixstowe.

After a frustrating opening 20 minutes, the Robins took control of the game and never looked back as they outclassed their opponents, a goal apiece for centre-backs Adam Murray and Darren Coe and a double for Claydon sealing the win.

The three points moved Alan Alsop’s men up into 15th place in the Thurlow Nunn Premier Division, with a trip to rock-bottom FC Clacton due on Saturday.

A well-organised Felixstowe side competed manfully in the opening 20 minutes as Ely probed but their lack of a threat going forward made it difficult for them to keep Ely out of possession for long.

The inevitable opening goal came just after the 20-minute mark as defender Coe found himself well-placed at the back post to smash home a corner that evaded the visiting defence.

City made it 2-0 just minutes later when a super move involving Richard Chadwick and Murray saw the latter maraud his way from the half-way line and into the box, collecting a return pass from Chadwick to smash low and hard past the goalkeeper.

Claydon made the points safe a few minutes short of half-time as he added a simple finish from six yards after Felixstowe again failed to clear their lines.

Ely’s momentum carried out into the second half and, after Chris Sterecki had rattled the cross bar with a shot from near 40 yards, Claydon collected his second of the match, pick-pocketing a defender before slotting past the stranded goalkeeper.

In the latter stages of the match, Lee Pacey was called upon to keep Ely’s clean sheet in tact as Jordan Matthews and James Buckle had efforts on goal.

Luke Parkinson also had to be alert to scramble a headed effort off the line.