FA Cup roundup: Non-league Aldershot cause major upset against League Two side, Forest Green are held to a draw while Bristol Rovers breeze into second round
SWINDON 4-7 ALDERSHOT
Aldershot manager Tommy Widdrington was in a state of disbelief last night after the National League side made FA Cup history in Swindon.
Jack Barham scored a hat-trick as the Shots found themselves in dreamland, leading 7-0 within an hour.
They became the first non-league side to score seven goals against a league opponent and Widdrington said: ‘That was barmy, unreal.’
Aldershot took the lead within a minute through Barham, added his second two minutes later and the goals just kept coming.
Josh Stokes grabbed the third, Lorent Tolaj a brace either side of a Cian Harries penalty, before Barham added Swindon’s seventh with just 58 minutes on the clock.
The first round of the FA Cup saw some major upsets as clubs in the Football League withdrew
Shocked Swindon came alive late on with a remarkable four-goal barrage, with Dan Kemp and Charlie Austin scoring two each.
“This is a score you can’t ignore,” Widdrington said. “I have nothing but praise for the boys.”
Swindon boss Michael Flynn, who famously led Newport to a series of FA Cup upsets over Leeds and Leicester, was furious after seeing his League Two side humiliated. “I didn’t see that coming,” he said. ‘We’ve given away some sloppy goals this season, but nothing like that.
‘I think there are two players who can just keep their heads up. The others weren’t nearly good enough.’
SCARBOROUGH ATHLETIC 1-1 FOREST GREEN
SCARBOROUGH were left ‘devastated’ after coming within seconds of a famous upset only to be denied by Olly Sully’s late equaliser.
Alex Wiles had taken the sixth side to a first-half lead and they repelled wave after wave of pressure in the second half, with Sully coming home for the League Two side in stoppage time.
The noisy home terraces fell silent and Scarborough boss Jonathan Greening echoed the disappointment of the home fans.
“The boys are absolutely devastated because they have made an absolute change against a team that is two leagues above us, a full-time team while we are only part-time,” said the former Manchester United midfielder.
‘We were so unlucky that we missed that last minute. A loss of concentration cost us our lives. We were fantastic all over the field for the other 92 minutes.
“They didn’t cut us open or hurt us with good football. I thought we were the better team.’
It was the first time Athletic, who emerged as a fan-owned club 16 years ago, had reached the first round of the FA Cup.
And thanks to their efforts yesterday, the National League North battlers will travel to Gloucestershire for the replay, hoping they can still make progress.
HIERFORD 0-2 GILLINGHAM
Stephen Clemence praised the character of his Gillingham side as they overcame underdog Hereford.
Jayden Clarke’s deflected goal gave the League Two side a first-half lead before Tom Nichols’ late penalty sealed their passage.
“The boys have shown great character,” Clemence said. “I didn’t feel like Hereford really opened us up.”
The hosts’ manager Paul Caddis claimed referee Ollie Yeates had made the wrong decision after the late penalty. “We just received an apology for the punishment,” he said
BRADFORD 1-2 WYCOMBE
Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield expressed his relief after their first round victory in Bradford.
He said: ‘We’ve looked a bit leggy in the last half hour, so fair to those looking into it.’
Wanderers took the lead after 19 minutes through Killian Phillips and doubled the lead when home defender Sam Stubbs headed into his own net. Managerless Bradford pulled one back through Jamie Walker to set up a thrilling finish.
Their agent Mark Trueman said: ‘We are disappointed.’
BRISTOL ROVERS 7-2 WHITBY TOWN
Rovers completed their quality win against Northern Premier League Premier Division side Whitby.
John Marquis, Luke Thomas, Jevani Brown, Antony Evans (pen), Harrison Beeden (own goal), Harvey Vale and Aaron Collins were on the scoresheet, while Junior Mondal and Connor Simpson answered for the visitors.
Whitby’s manager Nathan Haslam said: ‘You can see the gap in the class. It’s really crazy. We showed them too much respect
RAMSGATE 2-1 WOKING
Lee Martin, the former Manchester United star, scored the winner as Ramsgate came from behind in eighth place to beat Woking and reach the second round for the first time.
Dennon Lewis had given National League side Woking the lead before TJ Jadama equalised.
And the Isthmian League South East side weren’t done there yet: Martin thrilled most of the 3,000 fans by scoring the winning goal in the 76th minute.