Charlie Watt netted twice as Marske United booked a date with Jarrow in the next round, though a late consolation from Seaham’s Jack Robertson made for a nervy finish.

The boss alleged his Seasiders were somewhat off the pace in the first half, offering the visitors the opportunity to play their game, which they did well.

He labelled Seaham hard-working and difficult to beat, admitting he knew the game would be tough having watched the opposition in midweek.

“I thought it was a difficult game.” He said.

“To be honest, I knew it would be. I went to watch them last week - they work hard, they’re well organised. We knew they were going to be hard to beat.

“In the first half I thought we were off the pace quite a bit. I thought we allowed Seaham to bully us and play the way they wanted to play, which was quite direct.

“The odd time we got the ball down and played, we created a few problems. We got in behind them and created a few chances playing some decent football.

“We had a chat at halftime and explained what we thought we were doing wrong. I just felt if we didn’t step it up a yard or two in the second half, then they were going to get that opportunity and score.”

Marske’s second goal came following a rare triple substitution from Paul Burton. The boss opted to change three of the attacking quartet, introducing young Dan Bean, Matty Kirokiro and Dom Joynes.

The switch injected a little extra impetus into the Seasiders’ forward play, culminating in Dan Bean slipping the ball through for Charlie Watt to net his second goal.

A mistake followed from which Seaham pulled one back through Jack Robertson. Burton conceded it made for a difficult end to the game, but reinforced that in cup football, the result is all that matters.

“We made three changes.” Paul Burton said. “The two wide lads and a central midfield player. I thought that made a difference.

“We got a great second goal. A great goal. A great team move and a great finish. We looked like we were causing a threat. I thought we were going to go on and score three or four.

“Then we made a mistake. Their lad slips a ball between the fullback and the center half. We should be tighter at the back.

“Micheal makes a save but the lad is there to nod it in. I wouldn’t say we were hanging on in the last fifteen minutes, I just thought we made it hard for ourselves.

“I think we’re a better side than that. I think we’ve shown so far this season that we can play better football than that.

“But, we’re through. That’s the most important thing. There’s only one rule in cup football, and that’s win, and we’ve done that today. We look forward to the next round.”