Ashby Ivanhoe 3 Uttoxeter Town 0

Ashby bounced back from Saturday's Vase defeat by breezing past Uttoxeter in the Midland Football League Cup.

Ivanhoe could have been considered slight underdogs as their opponents sit in the division above, however they stamped their authority from minute one.

Peppering Uttoxeter's goal throughout the first half, Ivanhoe's only moment of concern was when Will Groocock could have been given his marching orders for a late challenge, the forward perhaps fortunate to see yellow.

Despite being on the back foot throughout the half, the visitors could have felt hard done by under the circumstances they went behind.

Minutes after Groocock's challenge, Ashby were handed a penalty after an unfortunate slip by a Uttoxeter defender caused Gabe Webster to go to ground.

Top scorer Sam Grouse, who saw his last spot kick saved, converted on this occasion to give his side a deserved lead.

Wearing the captain's armband on the night, Grouse doubled his tally before half time. Picking the ball up on the right of the penalty area, the skipper darted into the box and poked the ball into the top corner.

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The strike was his 15th of the season in what has been a remarkable campaign thus far.

The skipper played a large part in Ivanhoe's third goal on the hour mark, spraying a sublime cross field pass to Groocock, who earned a corner kick for Ashby.

Liam Donaghy's resulting set piece was flicked towards the back post by the towering Ciaran Hughes and turned home by Liam Storer for his first goal of the season.

The final 30 minutes saw manager Andy Gray make changes and give a number of youngsters an opportunity with the first team, as passage to the next round was left in no doubt.

Round two sees a trip to local rivals Ingles, who they have already defeated in the league earlier this season.

Before then however, Gray's side take the short trip to Stapenhill.

The Swans have had a stuttering start to the season, but will still provide a huge test to Ashby after beating them three times last season, including in the play-off semi fina