Romsey Town put up a brave performance but were no match for Winchester and four-goal hero Jamie Laidlaw.

The in-form striker grabbed his second four-goal haul of the season to take his season's tally to 32 and is fast assuming the mantle of destroyer of defences.

Romsey were penned in for long periods and City keeper Simon Arthur was virtually a spectator throughout.

City's reward is a quarter-final tie at Stockbridge on February 5th.

A resolute Romsey defence held firm for half an hour before the pressure finally told.

During this time Romsey forced a couple of efforts on the break, Greg King seeing his header from a Simon Woodley free kick saved by Arthur, while Woodley also tested the keeper with a 25-yard free kick.

The breakthrough came when Bicknell's pass into the path of Rogers saw him lay the ball back for Laidlaw to delicately chip the ball over Town keeper Mike Hookway.

Three minutes before the interval City added a second when Dyke put Lloyd Webber through and the City skipper steadied himself before planting the ball under the advancing Hookway.

City almost added a third in stoppage time but Woodley was on the spot to clear a Goss header off the line, on to the bar and then away to safety.

The second half started at a slower pace and Romsey held possession for some time. But the killer blow arrived on fifty-eight minutes when Dyke left three defenders in his wake before crossing for Laidlaw to turn the ball home from close range.

An ugly clash after 73 minutes between Romsey's Greg King and City's Toby Redwood saw referee Martin Bloor produce red cards for both players. Neither player is any stranger to suspension - Redwood is about to start an 84-day ban for an incident at Wimborne last month!

With twelve minutes remaining, Laidlaw claimed his hat-trick after substitute Mark Smith had laid the ball into his path. Six minutes later, Smith had a shot blocked by a Romsey defender, but the ball fell just right for Laidlaw to loft it over Hookway for his fourth goal of the afternoon.