The clocks have gone back, the pavements are slippy and you’re telling yourself that these are the perfect weeks for pre-Christmas exercise (without actually doing the exercise), so that can only mean one thing: the FA Cup proper is beginning.
Last weekend was the first round in which clubs in the Football League could meet non-league opposition, which makes it banana skin heaven. I wanted to spend a long weekend upset-hunting at the home of non-league sides. Four games in three days and the hope of at least one humbling. Here goes…
Game 1: Chelmsford City vs Braintree Town
It is 10.30am and I am standing in a Morrisons car park on the outskirts of Chelmsford. My mission is to spend the FA Cup first round weekend hunting for upsets and this is my first base. Over a few rows of new-build houses, I can hear Kings of Leon’s “Sex On Fire” blaring out into an athletics stadium. More like Essex on fire, am I right?
On the surface, Chelmsford City vs Braintree Town is a surprising TV pick. But these two clubs are separated by only 12 miles, there’s a fair bit of spice and the league form of the visitors is poor enough that I’m half-expecting Chelmsford to win if they score first.
Around the pitch, some are consuming pre-match cans and pints as if FA Cup days run on the same rules as airport bars: if there is a game on, you’re allowed to have a drink. Another explanation: this is a day on which to warm yourself up. The first day of November appears to have marked a distinct change in season.
The Dunmow Group Community Stadium is nobody’s idea of a non-league football haven; it is a “needs must” home. The makeshift construction behind one goal and the double running track dictates that some supporters are half a metre from the touchline (literally) and others half a mile (poetic licence).
A sellout crowd makes that not matter. They squeeze into standing spaces and hover around a hammer throw cage, bounce in the stand behind the goal and huddle by the wall of the athletics club like penguins taking it in turns to protect each other from the cold. Behind them is the smallest electronic scoreboard – in relation to the distance from which it needs to be seen – that I have ever encountered.
There are two points on my agenda: 1) I wish to see the home side win – it would still be an upset and I want to bank one as soon as possible, and 2) I could really do without extra-time as I have only three-and-a-half hours between matches and must negotiate the M25.
Both are aided by the presence of Lyle Taylor in the Chelmsford City team. Taylor joined after leaving League Two Colchester United in August. He’s 35 now, but was promoted to the Premier League with Nottingham Forest three years ago and is surely too good for this level.
The game is barely a contest. Braintree striker John Akinde causes some mischief with his sizeable frame, but the visitors haven’t won a league game since mid-September and it shows. Chelmsford score their first when 18-year-old goalkeeper Jack Thompson’s clearance is half-blocked, score again when Taylor’s shot squirms and spins impossibly after a deflection and only briefly gain a foothold when Akinde scores a penalty.
By half-time they trail 3-1 and the away fans are grateful that they can barely see the pitch. The third goal, game-clinching in hindsight, comes from debutant Jesurun Uchegbulam after a sensational counter attack involving Chelmsford’s three most attacking players. The tones of “Que sera, sera” float across the pitch, interrupted only to taunt their Essex near neighbours.
One of the glories of non-league football is that you can move your position during the game. For the second half I join the throng in the temporary stand behind the goal. Near me, a group of 20-somethings are rightly getting giddy and concluding that, yes, Newcastle United away would be the perfect third round tie. They are only too happy to concede that the game itself would be a mere ingredient in a busy weekend.
At half-time, the bumper crowd, full of refreshments, make their way to the back of the Main Stand and up a grass bank. The explanation becomes obvious: a large row of gentlemen headed for the woods to relieve the pressures of two pre-match pints. “You don’t get this at Tottenham,” one guy jokes to his mate from afar.
The tie is settled with more than 30 minutes to play. Taylor gets his second goal – this time through a well-taken finish rather than inexplicable pinball – and then Braintree captain Aidan Francis-Clarke is sent off for kicking out in frustration.
As the away supporters begging to file out, grumpy and grouchy, the biggest crowd in the history of the stadium serenade them with jeers and cheers for their own heroes.
Some around me want another winnable home tie – there will be other non-league opponents in the hat. Others are more sanguine, thinking of financial security – Bolton, Wigan, Barnsley, Blackpool or Stockport and a share of gate receipts.
“We’re going to Wembley,” is the mantra from all. Who cares if it’s not true? All that matters is that it is still possible.
Chelmsford City vs Braintree Town
Stadium: The Dunmow Group Community Stadium
Attendance: 3,502 (a stadium record)
Score: 4-1
Upset rating: 6/10 – it’s an upset on league placings, but not so much current form
Game 2: Brackley Town vs Notts County
I fight against an accident on the M1 and a biblical rainstorm that follows the majority of the 110-mile journey, but arrive at St James Park (not that one, or that one) with time to spare. The ground is already filling up, the club bar stocked with home supporters who are unforgivably watching rugby.
Brackley Town reached the National League for the first time in their history in May after six failed National League North play-off campaigns in seven years. This is a small, local football club that is intent upon going places. After reaching the FA Cup second round last year, the aim this year is to go one better and face a club in the top two divisions for the first time in their history.
The task promises to be mighty difficult. After a slow start to the season, Notts County are fifth in League Two and manager Martin Paterson has picked a strong team including Jodi Jones and Alassana Jatta, both amongst the best in their positions in the fourth tier. Notts County’s travelling support makes up almost half of the attendance and they immediately relax when Jones crosses for Jatta and the first shot of the match gives Notts a lead.
But then two things happen: Notts County begin to get sloppy and Brackley throw crosses into the box, and players forward. Matt Lowe equalises after goalkeeper Kelle Roos messes up a punch when he should catch the cross. Brackley have an own goal disallowed for offside that appears incorrect on the TV replays. Right-back Tyler Lyttle, son of former Premier League defender Des (oh no not another Forest reference), overlaps and causes nuisance with his crosses.
Even when Jones scores a penalty after half-time, there is an overwhelming sense that Notts County are not up for this, however many times Paterson barks instructions from pitchside. Rather than killing the game off, County are choosing to keep what they and hoping to escape up the M40 with only minor bruising.
Brackley’s hopes appear forlorn when a header crashes down off the underside of the bar, on the line and then onto the crossbar again. But then comes their chance: a negligent raising of the arms to block a cross and, suddenly, the ball placed in the hands of Cally Stewart.
Stewart has his own fairytale story. In January 2025, he turned professional at the age of 23 when Shrewsbury signed him from Leamington. Now on loan at Brackley as he develops in the professional game – something Stewart himself says has taken some getting used to – he buries his 96th-minute penalty and suddenly the upset is on.
No, it’s more than on. Notts County’s players appear haunted in extra-time as the fireworks from the Mercedes F1 base next door assault the senses and dominate the television coverage. Half of their outfielders were substituted in normal time and it leaves Notts County as a compartmentalised mess playing facing a wall of red-and-white effort and noise.
Even the penalty shootout, in front of the away support, appears slanted towards the minnows. Notts fans shine their phone torches in a desperate bid to distract their opponents, but nothing works after Jatta’s penalty hits the crossbar and careers up and out of the ground.
Zak Brown gets the moment that will be replayed on repeat. He is here because his contract at Kidderminster Harriers expired at the end of last season and they went out three rounds ago. Roos goes the right way and Brown must think that he has missed; the ball somehow slips under Notts County’s goalkeeper.
Ten minutes after full-time and the away end is empty and the home ends are full. Nobody has thought to open the exit gates and nobody else has noticed.
Manager Gavin Brown is hugging supporters and his players are exhausted. There will be time for dancing and jubilation, but for now they have given everything they have and it has been enough.
On the way out of the ground, Notts County supporters bemoan the incompetence that they have witnessed. Most say that they knew, from the moment Stewart scored the late penalty, that they were out. Brackley offered more, gave more, deserved more than their own players.
For the first time in a decade, they have lost to non-league opposition. They traipse back to their cars and coaches to the sound of fireworks and Brackley singing. At least it might not get worse than this.
Brackley Town vs Notts County
- Stadium: St James Park
- Attendance: 2,233
- Score: 2-2 (Brackley win 4-3 on penalties)
- Upset rating: 9/10
Game 3: Gainsborough Trinity vs Accrington Stanley
Gainsborough Trinity have been forced to wait for their occasion. By the time the winter sun is setting over the Carlisle Street houses, producing an impossibly beautiful vista that frames All Saints Church and the Stuart Horsley Stand, they are the lowest-ranked team left standing in the FA Cup. Maldon and Tiptree, Chatham Town and St Albans City have all fallen.
After two Saturday upsets, I’m on the hunt for a third. Gainsborough Trinity are here because they beat National League Hartlepool United, so they have pedigree. Accrington have won once away from home since April and must battle to stay in the Football League this season. They played at Anfield in the third round last season. That their next game in the competition is at The Northolme epitomises why the FA Cup is so wonderful.
This time I decide to stand at the side of the pitch with the away supporters, directly next to the bench so I can hear every word shouted by John Dooland and his assistant Ged Brannan. I am low-key obsessed with what happens on, and in front of, the benches at football matches (but not in a Richard Keys x technical areas way).
My spot also offers the perfect view of a magnificent – and magnificently full – ground, where houses kiss the back of the stand. I am a strong believer that a non-league ground at sunset remains one of the best scenes in English life and this is a top-tier example. The stadium announcer announces that “the place has never looked so good” and I’m ready to embrace him and tell him he’s never been so right.
Accrington are too good for Gainsborough – that is pretty clear before and after they score the first goal. But they also fall into the same trap as Notts County did. Doolan is constantly stressing “don’t force it”, hoping to drag semi-professional players out of position and into a lapse of concentration. But the slow pace of the game also allows the home side to build up pressure when they get the ball simply because their speed of play is quicker.
Gainsborough are also majestically direct. Goalkeeper David Robson launches the ball long. Ashley Jackson has a long throw that would make Rory Delap tumescent. Every free kick is a chance to cause panic and, no surprise, it is that route that produces a headed equaliser 15 minutes before the end. The Lancastrian accent is a perfect one for groans and grumbles and around me the full repertoire is coming out.
To my credit, I haven’t mentioned this yet: it is cold. There is a particular type of chill that you get at non-league grounds, where the wind enters over low stands and through the myriad gaps. I’m making notes on my phone with fingers that I can’t feel. I’m drinking cups of tea at a pitifully slow speed because I’m warming my hands with the cup.
As a result, Accrington go on my list. I don’t mind them winning the game, but waiting until extra-time to start playing more expansive football and win the game is unacceptable in these conditions (and most away supporters around me concur).
Charlie Caton scores the winner in the 95th minute and I’ve got neither the upset I came for nor the early night I needed. Poor form all round. At least we’ll always have that sunset.
Gainsborough Trinity vs Accrington Stanley
- Stadium: The Northolme
- Attendance: not announced
- Score: 1-2 (after cold extra-time)
- Upset rating: 5/10 – marks awarded for forcing the extra 30 minutes
Game 4: Tamworth vs Leyton Orient
I have made changes for Tamworth on a Monday night, an extra underlayer jacket that both keeps me warmer and makes me look like the Michelin man’s nephew. This is the final match of the mini odyssey and it’s important to show some self-improvement.
This tie always jumped out as the perfect upset chance. Leyton Orient almost reached the Championship last season and Tamworth are in the National League, but last season they were the team of the FA Cup, beating Huddersfield Town and Burton Albion before taking Tottenham Hotspur to extra-time on this ground.
Also: the 3G pitch helps. It is bouncy and you can see Orient’s players staring at it with a little suspicion during their warm-ups as the ball takes tiny bobbles rather than rolling true. You maximise your advantages at this level and The Lamb Ground is one of them.
Also also: the wind. Before the game, Tamworth’s goalkeeping coach seems to laugh at his attempts to launch the ball into the gusts. The scaffolded gantry above the stand looks like the least pleasant place in the county to be. If god had wanted football to be played on the floor he wouldn’t have invented wind.
One thing this weekend has reinforced to me is that the talent gap between the National League and EFL is smaller than ever before; it surely is time for at least three clubs to enter the Football League each season.
Tamworth play on the front foot in the first half and Leyton Orient barely have a chance. Kennedy Digie has a goal ruled out for offside – cue misjudged flare in the home end. Killian Cahill makes a magnificent save to deny Tamworth’s Stefan Mols shortly before the break.
The difference, as at Gainsborough on Sunday, lies in squad depth and fitness. Leyton Orient are hardly knitting together free-flowing attacks but the pitch begins to slant in one direction towards Tamworth’s goal. The assault of set pieces offers the best chance of respite, but the ball never quite bounces or breaks the right way.
Ten minutes before the end, calamity. Orient substitute Sonny Perkins whips in a cross and Haydn Hollis sees the ball roll off the back of his head and in. Hollis has won everything in the air. He will not be reassured that that statistic technically still holds.
Added time brings frantic chaos, including goalkeeper Jas Singh coming up for a corner and almost winning his header, but there is to be no Cally Stewart moment at Tamworth. Orient scored before they had even had a chance in anger and sometimes that is how it goes. I curse a little that neither Sunday nor Monday produced a glorious third upset, but what can you do? And the drive home is only 50 minutes.
Tamworth vs Leyton Orient
- Stadium: The Lamb Ground
- Attendance: 2,820
- Score: 0-1
- Upset rating: 4/10 – I really did want to believe.
My verdict
I’ve had a brilliant weekend: four games, 473 miles, 12 goals, a penalty shootout, two upsets and the major scalp in the round. The second round draw means that two sixth-tier clubs have a chance to meet a Premier League club and that would change their financial reality.
Those Chelmsford City supporters who wanted the gentler home tie got their wish: Weston-Super-Mare. Brackley will host Burton Albion and Accrington will themselves be underdogs against Mansfield Town. Orient will go to Salford and their fans will pray this one isn’t stuck on a Monday night.
You do not have to care about the FA Cup’s earlier rounds. There is no obligation to go and watch your local – or any other – non-league club. I didn’t want this to be saccharine or preachy because there is a stupid amount of available football for your eyes and brains and you can do what you want.
But at a time when elite men’s football has become so expensive to watch live beyond all decency, I wanted to talk up the experiences that likely lie within 10 miles of your house. Non-league clubs are desperate for money and their numbers are always inflated by the fleeting circus of the FA Cup, but they need you all the time.
On the drive home, I plan next year’s FA Cup trips; perhaps “winner stays on” from the extra preliminary round onwards or the lowest-ranked team at each stage. That is my favourite thing about live football: as soon as I leave I’m thinking about the next time.
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