Harold Wilson famously said that a week is along time in politics and this game proved that the saying can apply to football as well.  Following their deserved league defeat by Petersfield on Monday, Spurs more than turned the tables with a comfortable victory in their first-ever game in the FA Vase.
The game was relatively uneventful for the first half hour, with both sides showing some neat touches but squandering a number of decent chances.  However midway through the half, a Jon Tanfield shot was deflected to the unmarked Luke Walsh, who hammered the ball home from close range.  Quarter of an hour later, Adam Crittenden doubled the lead after a shot by Sam Knowles had been charged down, and three minutes later Walsh scored the goal of the match with a powerful left-foot drive from the edge of the box that gave stand-in keeper Phil Braithwaite no chance.
After the break, Fleet appeared to descend into complacency, but with young keeper Tom Walker making a number of good saves Town were unable to take advantage until striker Callum Coker reduced the deficit, scoring for the second time in two games when he was first to the loose ball after Walker had lost the ball in an aerial challenge. Spurs retaliated with a close-range header from Sam Knowles after a bout of head tennis in the Petersfield goalmouth.  Crittenden, whose finishing had up till then been uncharacteristically profligate, scored two close-range goals in stoppage time to give a final score line that somewhat flattered Spurs.
Player-manager Neil Baker enjoyed celebrating his thirty-first birthday with a victory.  Spurs entertain Rye United of the Sussex County League in the next round of the Vase on 18 September, whilst they return to league action on Saturday when they play host to Whitchurch United (kick-off 3.00).

 Team: Tom Walker, Ben Clisby, Jon Tanfield, Neil Baker, Adam Kennedy, Luke Walsh, George Short, Luke Thorn (sub Adam Paris 75), Stuart Tanfield, Adam Crittenden, Sam Knowles (sub Jamil Olweny 85)