DAISY Hill moved into the quarter-finals of the Bolton Hospital Cup with a 4-0 win against Elton Vale in their first-round tie at New Sirs on Friday.

An early goal from Dean Singleton gave Daisy a half-time lead and Tom Brown added a second on the hour, before a brace from captain Connor Hughes wrapped up the win.

Afterwards Daisy manager Leighton Mills was happy with the result, but said he will be looking for improvements in the team performance in the next round of the competition.

“It was probably our worst performance in the last eight-nine weeks when we have put together a good run of results,” said Mills.

“It is a 4-0 win and another clean sheet, and defensively we were very good, but I felt we lowered our standards a little bit.

“They are a decent team, they came to win, and they didn’t come to sit behind the ball, fair play to them.

“They came here to go for it, and early in the second half had a couple of chances.

“We played into their hands a bit in the first half, although we tidied that up in the second half.

“We said at half time if we started to move the ball a bit quicker, they would have difficulty dealing with us, and that’s what happened.

“We have set high levels to hit week in, week out, and we lowered them a bit tonight.

“If we want to go on and win this competition, we can’t do that, because there are some good teams left in.”

Daisy dominated the early stages of the game, and after Singleton had a shot blocked inside the box, Bruno Severino was denied when his delicate chip shot was tipped over the bar by Elton Vale keeper Lee Hurst.

But Daisy took the lead on 21 minutes, when a Severino corner from the left was met by a glancing header from Singleton at the near post.

Elton Vale hit back and Daisy keeper Morgan Newns was tested for the first time by a George Pierce strike from the edge of the box which he gathered safely.

Daisy ended the half with Hughes and Jake O’Brien both seeing efforts saved by Hurst, but it was the visitors who started the second half on the front foot.

Wesley Brown had an effort saved by Newns in the Daisy goal and Jack Lawder blasted a shot over the bar after timing his run to get on the end of a left-wing cross, as Vale enjoyed their best spell of the game.

But on 57 minutes Daisy doubled their lead, when Hughes chased a ball down the left, cut inside and laid it into the path of Brown who curled a shot past Hurst from the edge of the box.

Six minutes later Hughes got on the scoresheet himself, when he outpaced the Vale defence to collect a pass played down the right channel, before rounding Hurst and rolling the ball into the empty net.

Cameron Lewarne fired a shot over the bar and Lee Hill had an effort saved by Hurst as Daisy pushed forward, but the fourth goal arrived in unexpected fashion seven minutes from time.

Vale keeper Hurst attempted a quickly taken free-kick from the six-yard line but scuffed his clearance straight to Hughes who comfortably tucked the ball away to round off a good evening for Daisy.