Mickey Parsons and Jack Jones had given Hengrove a two goal lead at half time and within five minutes of the restart, two further strikes from Danny Lock & an extraordinary Luke Crewe free kick proved decisive. Dhani Golding pulled a goal back with twelve minutes to go but Ellis McDonald completed the scoring in the final moments to seal Grove's first win of the campaign.
After an enforced break from action at the weekend, Hengrove boss Jamie Hillman had the rare luxury of being able to name an unchanged starting XI from that which had taken a good point at league leaders Oldland Abbotonians last Wednesday night. He was also able to welcome back defenders Aidan Jones and Minas Constantinou to the bench as the Grove looked to build on their recent improvement in form.
The early exchanges belonged to the home side with Mickey Parsons looking threatening on the attack, missing two half chances inside the first ten minutes. Luke Crewe also placed a shot wide and Danny Lock's free kick was dealt with by visiting gloveman Ben Payter.
The opening goal came on eighteen minutes and unsurprisingly, Parsons was again involved. A break down the left led to Simon Knight squaring for Parsons to finish clinically into the corner of the net. It sparked a bit of life into the Phones going forward and Ali Boyer's left foot rising shot wasn't too far away, nor was a long range effort from Lewis Bond-Kendall at the other end. Dhani Golding and Luke Banfield also had sighters of goal as Phones pushed to level matters but with six minutes till the break, Hengrove doubled their lead through Jack Jones' smart finish.
As the spectators filed out of the clubhouse after half time, the Phones were hit by a double whammy. A free kick on 46 minutes was deflected for a corner and Craig White's perfect delivery was met with an unstoppable bullet header from Danny Lock. Three minutes later and it was 4-0 with the goal of the game. Luke Crewe struck a free kick from inside his own half and the ball went clean through everyone in the box and nestled in the net, sparking celebrations from the home side.
Ellis McDonald came on around the hour mark and was immediately set up by Regan Burton but his shot rolled wide of the far post; Grove weren't prepared to sit on their lead, they wanted more goals. They were given a warning though when sub Ben Griffiths' shot smacked against the face of the post on 76 minutes and two minutes later, Dhani Golding glanced in a free kick to give his side a slim hope of rescuing an unlikely result.
Banfield had a goal disallowed on 83 minutes for offside which would have made for a nervy last few minutes but any hopes Phones had of a comeback were nailed down when McDonald completed the scoring after rounding the keeper and keeping cool, slotting home.
A good win for the Grove then, their first since Good Friday's win at Brislington. After the game, the First Round draw was made and Hengrove were paired at home with Shepton Mallet. That tie will take place on Wednesday 30th October with a 7.30pm kickoff at Paprika Park.