For Hayes & Yeading United this afternoon it was a case of after the Lord Mayor's Show as they tumbled out of this season's FA Cup at the first hurdle and I suspect very few in the ground would deny that Staines deserved their victory.

Garry Haylock made one change to the side that beat Cambridge the previous weekend with Esmond James returning to action in place of Dale Binns.

United started well enough and an early chance saw Sean Canham rise to a Tom Cadmore free-kick, his header being easily dealt with by former Hayes FC keeper Louis Wells. Wells had to be sharp five minutes later when a Marien Ifura clearance was blocked by James Mulley and the ball fell nicely to Scott Fitzgerald who saw his shot pushed away by the diving Swans keeper.

Staines were soon to push United onto the back foot and a quickly taken free-kick found Simon Jackson in acres of space on the right, his low whipped cross just evading the toes of Leroy Griffiths as Simon Overland gripped the ball on the slippery surface. Two minutes later a poor Overland clearance was knicked off Adam Green by Griffiths who advanced on goal before firing wide from 18 yards.

At the midway point in the half Overland showed his agility to keep the scoresheet blank when an Andre Scarlett cross from the right side found Gareth Risbridger at the far post, his header being well blocked by the United keeper before being scrambled to safety. A couple of minutes later Sean Canham did have the ball in the Swans net when he met a Green cross, sadly a raised flag from the referee's assistant ruled out the effort for offside.

Five minutes later United were behind, Scarlett again crossing from the left, a near post flick saw the ball fall for Griffiths on the penalty spot and with his back to goal he planted a perfect overhead kick past the stunned Overland.

Buoyed by taking the lead Staines continued to press for a second while United could find very little forward motion. Howard Newton broke on the left before sliding the ball into Richard Butler's run, Overland came out to meet him and as the ball squirmed goalwards Cadmore was on hand to clear his lines. The stroke of half time saw a golden opportunity for the Swans to extend their lead, a deep corner was met at the far post by Risbridger, his headed centre being met by Ifura five yards from goal but his header cleared the United bar.

First chance of the second period fell to United when Sean Canham knocked the ball down for Mulley who tried his luck from 30 yards and only just failed to trouble Wells. Almost immediately the visitors went close to a second when Newton outpaced Green before playing the ball to Griffiths in the centre, his shot on the turn thankfully coming back into play off Overland's left upright.

Still it was the visitors looking the better side, Overland caught hold of a Butler header before a long punted clearance by Danny Gordon set substitute Ali Chaaban in a footrace against Matt Ruby, the United defender getting a last ditch touch on the ball to take it away for a corner.

With 20 minutes remaining United seemed devoid of ideas on how to break down the stubborn Swans defence and in that time just two noteworthy chances came forth. George Daly met a Toby Little cross but with little power Wells plucked the ball out of the air, the second being a shot from distance from Marc Canham that again Wells was behind.

In the final couple of minutes Staines could have doubled the advantage as Ifura's flicked header was just wide but the Blue Square South side had done enough and duly take a place in the draw for the first round proper.

Report by Kevin Watts.

Photos by Ray Peploe.

Highlights courtesy of FC Video

United Man of the Match: Marc Canham.