FA Cup round-up: Gateshead and Carlisle provide shocks

Regan Linney is Carlisle's top scorer this season with 14 goals

National League sides Carlisle and Gateshead dumped out League One opponents on the road in the first round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

Mark Hughes' Blues staged a remarkable comeback to sink Reading in new manager Leam Richardson's first game in charge, while the Heed knocked out AFC Wimbledon.

National League South side Hemel Hempstead pushed 10-man Wigan Athletic all the way before the 2012-13 winners came through on penalties.

In all, 11 non-league clubs made it into the hat for round two, including five sixth-tier sides.

Linney the hero as non-league sides stun EFL opponents

Reading were heading for the second round at 2-0 up with only stoppage time remaining, but Regan Linney scored twice for Carlisle before stunning the hosts with an extra-time winner.

"I thought it was exceptional," manager Hughes told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"We were unlucky, I didn't think they deserved to be 2-0 down, but we made the changes and I always felt if we got one goal that would have the potential to change the outcome.

"There was always the sense that we could get back on level terms and once we did I thought we were the only team looking likely to win the tie."

Carlisle United boss Mark Hughes lifted the FA Cup four times as a player with Manchester United and Chelsea

AFC Wimbledon, who famously lifted the cup in their Crazy Gang days in 1988, sit sixth in League One and 57 places above Gateshead.

But the visitors sealed their first win over Football League opposition since 2000 thanks to goals from Kain Adom and Fenton John.

"It is huge, I don't think people understand what this club went through in the summer," said Gateshead manager Alun Armstrong.

"Saying we are running on a skeleton staff is probably an understatement. There are four members of staff running the football side of things at this moment in time, and that is it.

"I am so pleased for the fans because they have been through the mill in the summer and you heard them, they never shut up from the first minute."

In the late kick-off, National League Brackley Town knocked out Notts County on penalties after Callum Stewart's injury time equaliser had earned them a 2-2 draw inside 90 minutes.

League Two Notts County took the lead through Alassana Jatta only for Matt Lowe to level matters. Jodi Jones restored the Magpies lead but just as they thought a berth in the second had been secured, Stewart denied them in the 97th minute.

In the shootout, Zak Brown drilled home the winning spot-kick for Brackley.

Boreham Wood made it a quartet of non-league victories over EFL opponents, but theirs was less of a shock with just five places between them and League Two strugglers Crawley Town.

York went close to making it a hat-trick of National League wins over League One sides as they took the lead away to Barnsley.

After Davis Keillor-Dunn's double had put the Tykes in front, Mark Kitching equalised at 2-2 with just three minutes to go, but Marc Robert's last-gasp winner denied the visitors extra time.

Five minnows in the draw

Five teams from the sixth tier of English football booked their places in the draw for the second round with National League South (NLS) side Slough Town turning the tables on perennial FA Cup giantkillers Altrincham, from the division above, through goals from Ansu Janneh, on his debut, and Wiktor Makowski in a 2-1 win.

Chelmsford City, also from NLS bridged a 17-place gap in league status by seeing off Braintree Town 4-1 in the early kick-off.

Lyle Taylor scored twice to guide them into the second round for the first time since 2012-13.

Weston-super-Mare reached the second round for the first time in 22 years by overcoming Aldershot Town 2-1, and National League North side Macclesfield marked their first game in the FA Cup proper since re-forming in 2020 by beating AFC Totton 6-3 as Danny Elliott scored a first-half hat-trick.

Buxton make up the complement of National League regional sides to go through, beating Isthmian League Premier Division side Chatham Town, playing their first FA Cup proper tie since 1928, 2-1 after extra time.

Mellon shines as League Two sides create shocks

Oldham Athletic's on-loan Burnley striker Michael Mellon fired his dad Micky's team into the second round with a hat-trick against Northampton Town at Boundary Park.

Mellon scored twice in the first six minutes, including a spectacular overhead kick, against a Cobblers side 26 places above them in the league standings, and added another before Cameron McGeehan netted a consolation.

League One high-fliers Stevenage were also brought down to earth as Lee Bonis tucked away a penalty for Chesterfield, lying seventh in League Two.

Another third-tier side with eyes on promotion also came a cropper as Lincoln City were beaten on penalties by Salford City.

Kelly N'mai scored an equaliser in added time for Salford, with keeper Mark Howard then saving from Conor McGrandles to set up the shootout victory.

The Steve Cotterill-led revival at Cheltenham Town continues with Isaac Hutchinson's early header guiding the League Two club past League One automatic promotion contenders Bradford.

Since returning to the club in late September, the Robins have lost just once across seven games in all competitions.

Swindon Town were one of five all-EFL upsets by winning 2-1 away at Rotherham United after extra time, despite having Aaron Drinan sent off for throwing a punch at Dan Gore.

Darren Oldaker settled the tie late in the extra period.