Three goals helped the Robins brush Seaham Red Star to one side in the opening game of their Northern League Cup group.
An early Ryan Carr header got the hosts off to a perfect start
Nick Cassidy then opened his account for the club early in the second half with a well-taken left footed effort, to double the lead.
And with the visitors down to ten men, due to injury, Gareth Bainbridge added a spectacular third goal to secure the three points.
After a scrappy opening to the game, the Robins support was not made to wait long for the first goal of the day.
In the 12th minute, following a deft Connor Campbell cross, Carr rose highest in front of goal to direct his header into the back of the net; with the keeper rooted to the spot.
Carr was at it once again in the 14th minute when he got his head onto another cross, this time from Cam Cunningham, only for the ball to fly over the crossbar.
The Robins continued their early dominance and in the 21st minute, a delightful ball from Cassidy found Cunningham in the box, only for the young winger to get his head underneath the ball, causing it to sail well over.
It took until the 28th minute for Seaham to register their first attempt at goal after Liam Gillesphey tried his luck from range. Fortunately for the Robins, he didn’t connect well with his effort and the ball dribbled wide.
Carr and Cunningham were running circles around the Seaham defence and if not for an excellent blocking tackle, Cunningham’s low cross would have found Carr at the near post .
Moments later, a fantastic flick from Campbell released Carr through on goal, only for his resulting shot to be well saved by Seaham keeper Aaron Steavens.
Shields started the second half brightly and in the 47th minute, following an excellent run from Cunningham, the ball found Cassidy outside the area. His sweetly struck left footed shot left Steavens with no chance.
Less than a minute later, Cassidy almost had his second of the game after Campbell was tripped just outside the area.
His well struck freekick forced Steavens into an acrobatic save to keep Seaham within touching distance.
Every time the Robins went forwards, they looked like they were going to score. In the 61st minute, a perfectly weighted pass from Bainbridge almost found Cunningham in the box, however, Steavens reacted quickly and smothered the ball before Cunningham could convert.
As the game approached the 70th minute, the Robins were still ploughing forwards in search of a third goal.
Fullback Chris McDonald caught the Seaham midfield napping and went on a surging run. After trading passes with Cunningham, McDonald tried his luck at the near post but Steavens once again was on hand to protect his goal.
The Robins weren’t to be denied much longer and in the 72nd minute, a long range thunderbolt from Bainbridge, following a smart pass from McDonald, proved to be too much to handle for the young Seaham keeper.
On top of being three goals down, Seaham’s fortunes took a turn for the worse when Michael Chilton was forced off with an injury, leaving the visitors with ten men; with manager Mark Collingwood having used all three substitutes already.
Despite being three goals up, the Robins were still hunting for more, with substitute Kyle Patton and Cunningham both being denied by Steavens in the 79th minute.
Patton tried his luck again minutes later but once again, Steavans was on hand to make the smart save at his near post.
With the clock running down, the Robins fashioned one last chance to add a deserved fourth goal to their tally.
Substitute Denver Morris weaved his way down the right before his looping cross was fired over from close range by Bainbridge.
