Summary

  • National League sides Boreham Wood, Brackley Carlisle and Gateshead all beat EFL opposition

  • Brackley beat League Two side Notts County 4-3 on penalties after 2-2 draw

  • Carlisle come from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at League One Reading, Gateshead beat AFC Wimbledon 2-0 at Plough Lane

  • Boreham Wood ease to 3-0 win over League Two side Crawley Town

  • Chelmsford thrash Braintree in Essex derby in day's first game

  • Luton beat Forest Green in seven-goal thriller on Friday

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  1. 'Chelmsford on the front-foot'published at 12:09 GMT 1 November

    Chelmsford 0-0 Braintree

    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.

  2. Postpublished at 8 mins

    Chelmsford 0-0 Braintree

    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.

  3. Postpublished at 4 mins

    Chelmsford 0-0 Braintree

    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.

  4. KICK-OFFpublished at 1 min

    Chelmsford 0-0 Braintree

    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.

  5. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 11:59 GMT 1 November

    Use button at top of page, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

    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.

  6. The Only Way is Essexpublished at 11:58 GMT 1 November

    Chelmsford v Braintree (12:00 GMT)

    Steve PittImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Braintree boss Steve Pitt is hoping to avoid an upset against a manager he knows very well

    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.

  7. WATCH: 'The FA Cup is at it again!' - First-round shockspublished at 11:56 GMT 1 November

    #bbcfootball

    Media caption,

    'The FA Cup is at it again!' - First-round shocks

    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.

  8. The Road to Wembley kicks into first gearpublished at 11:54 GMT 1 November

    #bbcfootball

    The FA CupImage 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.

  9. About last night...published at 11:52 GMT 1 November

    FT: Luton Town 4-3 Forest Green Rovers

    Robbie Savage and Jack Wilshere hugImage 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.

  10. Today's FA Cup first round fixturespublished at 11:47 GMT 1 November

    All games kick-off at 15:00 GMT unless stated

    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)

  11. The most magical day of the year is here...published at 11:45 GMT 1 November

    #bbcfootball

    Forest Green fans with a tin foil FA Cup cutoutImage 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...