ON PAPER it was a humiliating scoreline, but Brockenhurst boss Pete Moore was not overly embarrassed to be steamrollered out of the FA Vase by a team from a league below.

Hampshire League sensations Winchester City may be in their debut season in the competition, but Moore believes it's not beyond the realms of possibility that they could go all the way to the final at West Ham United on May 10.

He admitted: "I've said all along that a side from this area could do something in the Vase. I felt maybe Lymington and New Milton would have the best chance, but we might also have seen a side here today who could go on and win it.

"You wouldn't have thought the Vase winners could come from the Hampshire League, but you've got to say it's a bit tongue-in-cheek to call Winchester City a Hampshire League side with the sort of players they've got. They should all be playing at a higher level.

"Look at their captain Danny Smith. He left AFC Bournemouth and went to Winchester when he could have joined Havant and Waterlooville or even found himself another pro club."

One thing is for sure, the road to West Ham will be littered with far greater hazards for City than those they encountered in the Grigg Lane wastelands on Saturday.

The beleaguered Badgers are so short of help behind the scenes that they are not one hundred-per-cent confident of making it through the season.

Unless someone, somewhere steps in to replace departed chairman Dave Stansbridge and secretary Terry Simpson, it's difficult to see how the 104-year-old club are going to keep their heads above water in the Jewson Wessex League.

Moore confessed: "I don't know where we're going to go from here, but if we don't get some help soon, it'll be an impossible task. We've had so many people walk away from this club, it's unbelievable."

Brock have not had much luck on the field either and when two of their most gifted players, Richard Glennister and Kieron Hall, failed pre-match fitness tests, the writing was on the wall.

They coped well enough for the opening 20 minutes and even had a couple of chances to equalise through Andy Culliford after City's hat-trick hero Michael Jackson had headed the visitors into a 24th-minute lead.

But Brock's defensive frailties became painfully evident as Smith swept City two up in 38 minutes from Lee Webber's assist and then Kevin Brewster struck with a free kick to make it 3-0 at half-time.

Andy Forbes' deflected shot and another Jackson header piled on the misery for the Foresters, but the arrival of fresh legs from the subs' bench briefly perked Brock up and they were unlucky not to hit back through Dave Midgley and 17-year-old Luke Gorham.

But the comedy errors continued when City sub Ian Mancey finally put the ball away after Jackson's effort had run along the goal-line and hit the post and then pair combined again for former Bashley man Jackson to crown his hat-trick in the 83rd minute.

Winchester boss John Robson refused to get carried away on the crest of a Vase run, saying: "No one's name is on the cup yet and a lot of things need to go hand in hand if we're going to progress. We need the luck of the draw and to keep as many players fit as possible. If those things happen, then we stand as a good a chance as anyone of doing well."

He added proudly: "It's a pleasure to manage the players I've got here. They've shown superb strength of character and their ability speaks for itself."

Brockenhurst: Randall, Jones (Stevens, 60), Wood, Burgess, Knighton (Avery, 60), Stride, Culliford (Midgley, 46), Maloney, Gorham, White, Bailey-Pearce. Unused subs: Glennister, Hall.