SWINDON Supermarine enjoyed a serene passage through to the quarter-finals of the Wiltshire Premier Shield on Tuesday night following a 6-1 victory away at Bemerton Heath Harlequins.

After making four changes to the side which demolished Dartford in the FA Trophy on Saturday, Marine almost went behind early on to their Wessex League opponents.

Marine stopper Liam Armstrong kept out an initial shot but parried the ball into a dangerous area, and Sam Turl was forced to head over his own bar.

But the Swindon side soon found their stride and went in front in the seventh minute. Joe Tumelty’s free-kick was headed down by Mat Liddiard, and Zack Kotwica flicked home from close range.

With Lee Spalding’s men unable to find a second goal as the first half ticked on, Bemerton grew into the match and caused the visitors to pick up a couple of silly yellow cards.

Eventually, Marine did manage to nab a second goal prior to the break. Conor McDonagh slipped a pass into Henry Spalding, and the winger shifted the ball onto his left before curling into the far corner.

Bemerton wasted no time in replying in the preliminary moments of the second half, taking advantage of some slack defending as Reece Rusher emphatically slammed home.

But from that point on, the Southern League Premier South club put the handbrake down and sped off. Kotwica intercepted high up the pitch and set a third goal up on a plate for Spalding to grab his second shortly after.

Ryan Campbell’s run and cross was bundled over the line by McDonagh in the 57th minute, and eight minutes later Bemerton were reduced to 10 after a high tackle cost Justin Bennett his place in the game via a straight red card.

Campbell finished neatly at the near post inside the final 20 minutes to put Marine 5-1 ahead, and Kotwica grabbed his second of the game late on courtesy of a simple finish into the corner as progress was emphatically assured.