Lee Barnard
Former Chelmsford and Braintree forward on BBC Radio Essex

Slowly this game is settling down, it has been quite scrappy.

Chelmsford have got their foot on the ball, and you would say they are the team on the front foot in these early stages.

Frankie Terry, nephew of John and also another Premier League stalwart Paul Konchesky, is unsurprisingly in the thick of things at the back for the Iron.

No real pattern to the game just yet, but every loose ball is fiercely contested and the crowd are really into it.

Perhaps predictably it's been a bit of a frantic start to this one, but Chelmsford win a throw in a dangerous area, though Kian Ronan, who possesses a long throw, opts to take it shorter and the chance of a cross into the mixer is snuffed out.

Experienced EFL forward Lyle Taylor, once of Bournemouth, Wimbledon, Charlton and Nottingham Forest, among many others, might be the headline name in the Clarets XI but Angelo Harrop had a trick up his sleeve ahead of kick-off.

The signing of tricky attacker Jesurun Uchegbulam, a player Braintree boss Steve Pitt says he has known since youth football, was only announced from Eastbourne this morning and he's been handed a start in this derby in the No9 shirt.

So many storylines waiting to be written... we're under way, a few moments behind schedule, at a sun-soaked and packed Melbourne Stadium.

The magic of the FA Cup is about to begin with an Essex derby of Chelmsford v Braintree (12:00 GMT).

Before another 33 games across the day - how will your team do? Will they make it to the second round?

Extra time, penalties and late goal drama await us! Let us know your thoughts on what is happening across all the games using the methods above.

Image source, Getty Images

Today’s early kick-off is an all-Essex affair as National League South side Chelmsford host Braintree, 11 miles up the road and struggling in the division above.

Town have won only one of their past 12 National League games, though the Clarets' home form has tailed off, with no wins in their past three to sit 14th.

This will be the two sides’ first meeting in the FA Cup proper, though they certainly have history – in their last meeting in April 2024 the Iron won a dramatic National League South play-off semi-final at Chelmsford 3-2 after extra time on their way to winning promotion.

Oh, did I mention current Clarets boss Angelo Harrop was Braintree manager that day, while Town's current boss Steve Pitt was his assistant.

Town made the first round last year before going out on penalties against lower division Brackley in one of Harrop's final games in charge while Chelmsford, who made the fourth round in 1939, are seeking to make the second round for the first time in 13 years, having beaten another Essex side, Colchester, in round one that time.

Braintree have won only one of their 10 matches in the competition proper, but when they did it was in style, thumping Eastbourne Borough 7-0 nine years ago to make the second round for the only time.

Should be a tasty one, this.

From the Class of 92's Salford City stunner, to Warrington Town punching 100 places above their weight, relive some of the biggest upsets from the first-round proper from recent years.

Four minutes which are sure to get you in the mood for today's action.

Image source, Getty Images

Dark before tea time, pumpkins in the windows, the distant rumble of fireworks... for many this is the best week of the year - because it means it is time for the FA Cup first round.

While it is statistically unlikely that any of the 80 clubs in action this weekend will remain standing in the world's oldest knockout competition by the time the action moves under the Wembley arch next April, the chances are not zero.

However your league season may have started, it is time to dream big.

We have former winners locking horns, local rivalries renewed after many years, eighth-tier tiddlers hoping to make a splash against some big fish and some real 'X-factor' too.

Click here for five things to look out for in the FA Cup this weekend.

Image source, Rex Features

Saturday has a tough act to follow after Friday night, if we're honest.

League One Luton Town survived a scare to beat National League Forest Green Rovers 4-3 in an epic start to the FA Cup first round.

Gideon Kodua came off the bench to win it in stoppage time after the visitors came from 3-0 down in the second half to level the match.

Lamine Fanne and Nahki Wells had put Jack Wilshere's side in control at the break, and Wells thought he had secured victory with his second goal of the game early in the second half.

However, substitutes Tom Knowles, Kyle McAllister and Aidan Dausch pulled Robbie Savage's Rovers back into it before Kodua struck with a decisive finish on a night of high drama.

Click here to read the match report and watch the highlights from Kenilworth Road.

Image source, Getty Images

Click here for everything you need to know.

Chelmsford City v Braintree Town (12:00 GMT)

AFC Wimbledon v Gateshead

Barnsley v York City

Blackpool v Scunthorpe United

Bolton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town

Boreham Wood v Crawley Town

Bromley v Bristol Rovers

Burton Albion v St Albans City

Buxton v Chatham Town

Cambridge United v Chester

Cheltenham Town v Bradford City

Colchester United v Milton Keynes Dons

Crewe Alexandra v Doncaster Rovers

Fleetwood Town v Barnet

Grimsby Town v Ebbsfleet United

Halifax Town v Exeter City

Macclesfield v AFC Totton

Mansfield Town v Harrogate Town

Newport County v Gillingham

Oldham Athletic v Northampton Town

Peterborough United v Cardiff City

Reading v Carlisle United

Rotherham United v Swindon Town

Salford City v Lincoln City

Slough Town v Altrincham

Spennymoor Town v Barrow

Stevenage v Chesterfield

Sutton United v AFC Telford United

Tranmere Rovers v Stockport County

Wealdstone v Southend United

Weston-super-Mare v Aldershot Town

Wigan Athletic v Hemel Hempstead Town

Wycombe Wanderers v Plymouth Argyle

Brackley Town v Notts County (17:30 GMT)

Image source, Rex Features

Good morning and welcome to the Road to Wembley.

The world's oldest cup competition might have been in full swing for 92 days already, but now it's the turn of the 'big boys' to join the party, it's FA Cup first round proper weekend.

We have nine former winners, who now ply their trade in League One and Two among the 80 clubs taking part this weekend, with every tier of English football from the third to the eighth represented.

Of course some of these newly-arrived big guns will go on to become the minnows once the Christmas decorations come down and the Premier League clubs join the party, but for now many of them are giants just waiting to be slain.

There's no day quite like it in the football calendar, so without further ado let's dive in...