Hednesford Town have stunned National League Gateshead by recording a 3-1 victory to reach the FA Cup first round.
Despite there being three divisions and more than 80 places between the teams in the English football pyramid, the Pitmen earned a creditable 1-1 draw in Saturday's fourth qualifying round tie that was televised by the BBC.
There was a feeling that their chance may have passed them by as they made the 180-mile trip to the North-East to face a team that had won six of their seven home matches in this season's National League.
However, despite falling behind to an early goal, Hednesford sensationally responded to post a 3-1 win at the Gateshead International Stadium, keeping them as the lowest-ranked side in the competition.
Amazing scenes at Gateshead as @Hednesford_Town win 3-1 to reach the #FACup 1st Round for the first time in 11 years.
— BBC Radio WM Sport (@sportbbcwm) October 15, 2024
The Pitmen boss Steve King spoke to us after the game... pic.twitter.com/OPpIyvVcMb
Hednesford defy fast Gateshead start
The 39-strong travelling support - housed in a small section of the main stand of the 11,800-capacity stadium - would have felt that the journey had been wasted when Owen Oseni headed home from close range in the 10th minute.
As the game approached the second quarter with Gateshead having held the majority of possession, the writing appeared on the wall for the Northern League Division One West outfit.
Instead, Dominic McHale's run and cross down the right found the awaiting Jack Bearne, who headed home from close range to bring Hednesford level against the run of play.
Having survived for the remainder of the half, Hednesford may have expected Gateshead to take over after the break, like they did at Keys Park three days ago.
Hednesford would make a mockery of that assumption, though, as they completed the turnaround 10 minutes into the second half, a well-worked corner finding Rob Stevenson who finished first time from 12 yards out.
Earlier on Tuesday, Gateshead appointed a new manager, Carl Magnay returning to the club to replace interim head coach Ben Clark, but he would have been left aghast at how Hednesford score their third.
3-1
— Hednesford Town FC (@Hednesford_Town) October 15, 2024
WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING pic.twitter.com/R6lsCeAPd6
Reality check for Magnay
After too much space was afforded to a Hednesford player down the left, the ball was pulled back for Sion Spence to clinically convert into the far corner from 12 yards to send the travelling support into delirium.
While Gateshead had their moments during the closing stages, it never felt that Hednesford would be denied a return to the first round, where they made their home during the late nineties.
Northern Premier League side Gainsborough Trinity will be their opponents on November 2 after they produced a stunning display of their own to defeat National League outfit Boston United by a 4-0 scoreline on away territory.
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