There was a bumper attendance of 580 at the Memorial Ground for the first Oakley v Harwich clash in almost six years - an excellent turnout on a cold December afternoon.
For Harwich, there was a big scoring chance in the 14th minute when Reece Harte sent over a well-directed corner kick. For seconds, the ball seemed lodged on the Acorns' goal line, with Luke Mayhew and Louie Bloom's efforts to apply the finishing touch being somehow blocked.
The first half was evenly contested with Harwich having their share of the chances, but in the closing 6 minutes the game swung very much in Little Oakley's favour.
With 40 minutes gone, an excellent long cross-field ball found Jordi Papple in space and his deft finish gave the Acorns the lead. In added time Harwich were in trouble again when Little Oakley pressed with Taylor Jacobi getting goal side of his marker to increase the Acorns' advantage to 2-0.
With Little Oakley full of confidence now and on their game, Harwich needed to score the next goal to have any chance but in the 67th minute the Acorns struck again - Josh McFaull made the scoreline 3-0 to put the result beyond doubt.
Louie Bloom worked hard for Harwich, but Little Oakley were the masters with Luke Hipkin putting the icing on the cake for them when, in the 85th minute, he netted their fourth goal.
In the final minutes, the Shrimpers did come close to scoring a consolation goal when, following a corner kick, Jack Wood shot just past the post.
Harwich team: Brad Cook, Tom Watkins, Charlie Canham, Jack Wood, Reece Harte, Tyler Sullivan, Alfie Eldridge, Luke Mayhew (captain), Louie Bloom, Tiwa Odufuye and Joe Knight. Subsititutes: Shaun Avis, Alfie Canning, Liam White, Zachary Pedro (all used) and Oakley McNair (not used).