Full-time: Paulton Rovers 0 Norwich City 7
Canaries boss Paul Lambert fielded a strong side to make certain that his team would not be on the end of what would have been a monumental FA Cup upset and was rewarded as the League One promotion-chasing outfit put themselves in the second round with little fuss.
Paulton started the match brightly - defender James Tyrrell forcing goalkeeper Declan Rudd into an early save before striker Rob Claridge had a header cleared off the line - but Norwich eased any nerves they may have had by claiming three goals in the opening period.
Prolific marksman Grant Holt added to his 12-goal tally for this season by finding space between two defenders to nod home a Korey Smith cross at the far post to open the scoring on 15 minutes. That one-goal lead soon became two when Chris Martin produced a clinical finish from close-range after some good trickery by Wes Hoolahan to create the opening. Holt added a third and his second of the afternoon with a powerful header to convert a Simon Lappin corner two minutes before the break.
Paulton's chances suffered a further setback just minutes earlier when skipper Dan Cleverley, who started the game just three weeks after sustaining a fractured metatarsal, had to be withdrawn after feeling the effects of the injury.
Andy Jones' Zamaretto South & West Division One side managed to contain Norwich for the best part of half-an-hour after the break - thanks mainly to some superb saves from goalkeeper Kyle Phillips - and almost pulled a goal back themselves when only an instinctive stop by Rudd denied defender Ollie Price a headed goal at the back post.
Norwich, however, managed to add to their tally with a finally taken effort by Hoolahan on 75 minutes before Martin curled in a delicious free-kick to punish the tiring Paulton players even further. He claimed his hat-trick with a tap-in from as little as two yards outt with seven minutes remaining. To watch Martin head in his fourth and Norwich's seventh was a cruel way for Paulton to end a day that will nevertheless live long in the memories of everyone associated with the Somerset village side.
Paulton Rovers (4-4-2): Phillips; Ball, Price, Tyrrell, Rich; Lacey, Jeffries, Cleverley (Waters 38), Lane (Cousins 55); Claridge, Plummer (Burborough 75). Subs: Tovey, Burborough, Hemmings, Redwood.
Norwich City: (4-4-2): Rudd; Askou, Doherty, Nelson, Drury (Wiggins 56); Lappin (Tudur Jones 68), Russell, Smith, Hoolahan; Holt (McDonald 68), Martin. Subs: Theoklitos, Cureton, Adeyemi, McVeigh.













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