FC Clacton 0, Dereham Town 3: Dereham Town boss Matt Henman paid tribute to his players after they cruised to an emphatic win over FC Clacton on Saturday.

FC Clacton 0, Dereham Town 3

Dereham Town boss Matt Henman paid tribute to his players after they cruised to an emphatic win over FC Clacton on Saturday.

The Magpies have made an excellent start to the season and goals from Steve Harley, Kenny Reeves and Adam Smith saw off the challenge of the Essex side.

Henman hailed a good all-round team performance and hopes his side can carry on their good form for the visit of Ely on Tuesday evening.

“It could have been a really tough game for us,” said Henman.

“They have got a really good record at home and we were expecting a really tough battle.

“I thought we were excellent from start to finish. It's difficult to single anyone out because there were excellent performances throughout the team but Ian Morgan stood out for us in particular.

“He was asked to come in at centre half and he didn't let anyone down.”

Henman believes that once he has the luxury of picking a settled side then there could be even more to come.

“We've struggled to put a settled side out due to injuries and other factors but we've made a very good start - we're very pleased.

“The lads have really knuckled down and it's paid off so far. We had a disastrous start last season so it was really important we didn't do the same this year and fortunately we haven't.

“Once we are able to get a settled side together then I think there could be even more to come for us.”

Dereham made the faster start and could have gone in front early on but Clacton goalkeeper Paul Rutherford was smartly off his line to thwart Danny Beaumont.

The Magpies were on top but had to wait until the 36th minute to open the scoring when Harley reacted quickest inside a crowded penalty area to drill home with his left foot.

Dereham doubled their lead within 10 minutes of the restart when Reeves latched onto Smith's cross to finish well.

Matt Waters saw Shaun Marshall tip his effort over in the 57th minute as Clacton tried to gain a foothold in the contest.

But Dereham made the game safe shortly afterwards when Smith was on hand for a tap-in. Beaumont could have put even more gloss on the scoreline late on but Clacton goalkeeper Paul Rutherford parried his effort over the bar.