A thoroughly professional performance from St Ives ensured they progressed comfortably in the Emirates FA Cup with a 4-0 win over Essex Senior League side Barking.

The hosts took a little while to get their noses in front with Greg Kaziboni and Jonny Edwards going close before hat-trick hero Nabil Shariff fired home the opener in 25th minute.

The opportunity arose as skipper for the day Dylan Williams danced into the box from the left and, when the ball was taken off his toe by a defender, Shariff was on hand to pounce and fire a shot on the turn past the right hand of the diving Dev Singh Bhamra.

The visitors enjoyed a spell where they did create a couple of half chances around the half-hour mark but an excellent defensive header by Jordan Williams prevented Kenedi Dariri steering home an Elijah Worrell free-kick and a brave block by Julien Saka ensured Alessandro Wisdom’s powerful effort from just outside the box was deflected wide.

With half-time approaching Ives lifted themselves again in search of a second as Williams glanced a header wide from a Kaziboni cross only seconds before Shariff doubled the lead with a powerful header, with Kaziboni again the provider.

The same pair combined to kill the tie off six minutes after the restart as Kaziboni powered past the struggling Louis Dillon to get to the byline before picking out Shariff on the six-yard line. His first effort was blocked but he made no mistake from the follow-up, firing home left-footed to complete his second hat-trick of the season.

From that point on Ives controlled the game well, moving the ball around smoothly on the excellent quattro tech Westwood Road surface in front of a crowd of 201.

James Goff in the home goal had a generally quiet afternoon but he was called upon to make one diving save,getting down smartly to his right to deny substitute Timothy Monsheju in 75th minute.

The icing on the cake for Ives was provided four minutes from time as substitutes Enoch Andoh and Ethan Johnston combined, with the former bursting down the right before laying the ball on a plate for the latter to fire home from close range.

St Ives will visit Canvey Island in the second qualifying round on September 17, but return to action with a Southern League Premier Central trip to Ilkeston Town on Saturday, then host Leiston on Tuesday.