Well, qualifying for the FA Cup has concluded, and Yeovil are one of many that find themselves in the hat! With a fabulous 2-0 win over a talented Southend United side, let’s have a look at how the other NLS sides fared in their ties, as well as taking a look at the three league fixtures that took place yesterday.
We start in Essex, where last week’s visitors Aveley took on National League challengers Barnet. The hosts found themselves 2-0 down within twenty minutes (much like last week!) before getting a goal back before half time. They grabbed a 90th minute equaliser courtesy of Jon Benton, but not before going down to nine men, the 2-2 score line leading to a replay on Tuesday 17th October. Another tie between an NLS and National League side was Boreham Wood hosting Welling United. The visitors gave it their all, but ultimately fell short of making the first round for the first time since 2015/16.
Another replay for a NLS side will be played out by Braintree Town, who played out a 0-0 stalemate with Chesham United. In a not-so-southern section tie, Chelmsford City face a 9 hour round trip on Tuesday to Whitby Town, as they played out a 2-2 draw, coming from 2 goals down to prevent an upset. Dover Athletic weren’t so lucky, falling to a 1-0 defeat away to National League side Eastleigh, while two more replays were set up, with National League side Ebbsfleet United finding themselves in a replay with Slough Town. The NLS side took the lead twice, but Rohan Luthra scored 2 own goals to cut his own side’s lead and set up the replay, while Hemel Hempstead played out a 0-0 draw to set up a replay with ex-Glovers manager Darren Sarll’s Woking.
Our first all-NLS tie comes in the shape of Torquay United hosting Maidstone, replaying their league fixture from last week. The visitors left victorious once again, thanks to September’s NLS Player of the Month, Levi Amantchi’s double. Weston-super-mare struggled at home to National League opposition, as Maidenhead United coasted to a 3-0 victory. The second all-NLS tie was another mouth-watering tie, with Worthing hosting Bath City. It was the hosts who would take the tie, a quickfire Danny Cashman double booking their place in the first round.
There were three National League South fixtures to look at, and we’ll start with the obvious candidate for the best of the three. Hampton & Richmond played out a classic with Dartford, a 92nd minute winner from ex-Glover Jake Gray handing the hosts a 4-3 victory to kick-start their season. Farnborough would seal their first win without their top goalscorer Alfie Pavey since his move to Woking, as they defeated St Albans at home, winning 2-1. And in the final match of the day, W*ymouth and Tonbridge Angels stuttered to a 1-1 win, a result that doesn’t benefit either side.
As mentioned above, replays will take place on Tuesday 17th October, while the 1st Round draw will take place today (Sunday 15th October) on ITV at 2:30pm – League 1 and League 2 sides enter the competition, posing opportunities for even more shocks!
FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round results (NLS teams in bold)
Aveley 2-2 Barnet
Boreham Wood 1-0 Welling United
Braintree Town 0-0 Chesham United
Chelmsford City 2-2 Whitby Town
Eastleigh 1-0 Dover Athletic
Ebbsfleet United 2-2 Slough Town
Hemel Hempstead Town 0-0 Woking
Torquay United 0-2 Maidstone United
Weston-super-mare 0-3 Maidenhead United
Worthing 2-0 Bath City
National League South results – in full
Farnborough Town 2-1 St Albans City
Hampton & Richmond Borough 4-3 Dartford
W*ymouth 1-1 Tonbridge Angels