Hednesford Town pull off FA Cup shock to reach first round

The Staffordshire outfit came from behind to win in the north east against a side who currently sit fourth in the National League - three divisions higher than the eighth tier Pitmen.

When Gateshead took the lead in the the 10th minute through Owen Oseni, it seemed that the Tynesiders would progress as a formality.

But Hednesford hit back 11 minutes later when Dom McHale fired home to level for the visitors.

The Pitmen were forced to defy some fierce Gateshead pressure for the remainder of the first half before managing to go in 1-1 at half-time.

But after hanging on in the first period, Hednesford came out firing in the second half.

And after some sustained pressure, the Pitmen deservedly took the lead when Rob Stevenson - the man who equalised in the first encounter on Saturday - again struck against the Tynesiders to put the visitors 2-1 up.

Shortly afterwards, the small band of hardy Hednesford followers were in Cup dreamland as Sion Spence fired them 3-1 ahead.

The Pitmen were forced to hang on in the face of more fierce home pressure with goalkeeper Jack Rose pulling off a stunning point-blank save late on to preserve their lead.

The Pitmen, the lowest ranked side in the FA Cup, now face a first round proper clash with Gainsborough Trinity, who beat Boston United 4-0 in their own replay.

Trinity currently sit 18th in the Northern Premier League - one division higher than the Pitmen.