Overjoyed Aldershot boss Tommy Widdrington felt his Vanarama National League high-flyers were worthy FA Cup second-round replay winners at Stockport after the visitors sealed a dramatic 1-0 victory.

The game looked to be heading towards extra-time at the home of the Sky Bet League Two leaders, only for substitute Olly Scott to slam home an 88th-minute winner from close range.

That goal booked Widdrington’s men a third-round trip to Championship outfit West Brom early in the new year.

“I’m absolutely delighted for all the lads, they’ve worked so hard for this,” beamed Widdrington. “To be honest I thought we deserved to win the game.

“Over the 90 minutes, we created some great chances and we also produced some brilliant last-ditch defending. We knew it would be tough here.

“Dave has got Stockport playing some great football and they’re up there in League Two for a reason.

“I’m delighted for everyone, though, the fans, the players and everyone at the club.

“The lads have been given an opportunity and they’ve taken it. To a man, they’ve all run themselves into the ground tonight. And that’s against a team packed with quality all over the park.

“On another day we might have scored more than the one goal, but just the one will do. Particularly coming so late, that helped us.

“It wasn’t the prettiest of finishes, but as I say, I think we deserved it overall and we’ve got another terrific day to look forward to now.”

Stockport went closest in the first half when Kyle Wootton’s first-time strike clipped the top of the crossbar early on.

However, the hosts struggled to create much of note in the second period.

Despite their lofty position in League Two, Scott’s late winner appears to have put the cap on a miserable few weeks for Stockport as they are now winless in six matches in all competitions.

Boss Dave Challinor was left furious by the result. He said: “I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for any of our players after that.

“I’ve been a manager for 14 years now, and I’ve never felt as embarrassed as I do right now.

“We were nowhere near good enough, and that’s a huge worry for me, a huge concern given the games we’ve got coming up in the next few weeks. We were absolutely miles off it all night.

“With respect, we were running over teams like this two years ago in the National League, but that’s not been the case in these two games.

“There was a lack of everything out there – a lack of willing to get on the ball, to pass the ball and to attempt to get behind their defence.

“Every single part of our game has to improve before Saturday’s game against Sutton, because that was as bad a performance I’ve endured during my time here.

“The goal at the end summed it up – the defending was shambolic.”

Vanarama National League high-flyers Aldershot booked an FA Cup third round trip to West Brom after edging to a dramatic late 1-0 replay win at Stockport.

The Sky Bet League Two leaders were sent crashing out of the competition thanks to substitute Olly Scott’s 88th-minute winner.

Stockport started well with Kyle Wootton seeing a 20-yard strike clip the top of the crossbar after 70 seconds.

Callum Camps then forced Shots’ goalkeeper Jordi van Stappershoef into a superb diving save.

At the other end, County keeper Ben Hinchliffe produced a point-blank save to deny Jack Barham.

Van Stappershoef made a decent stop to thwart Wootton as the hosts continued to press for an opener.

Aldershot threatened soon after the restart when Hinchliffe had to be alert to keep out Barham’s glancing header.

Hinchliffe then brilliantly thwarted Josh Stokes as the visitors – who sit 30 places below Stockport in the pyramid – enjoyed their best spell.

The game looked to be heading for extra-time until Scott pounced from close range after a bout of head tennis in the Stockport goalmouth.

Relieved Stevenage boss Steve Evans praised his side’s character after beating Port Vale on penalties to progress into the third round of the FA Cup.

Battling Boro overcame 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to set up a trip to minnows Maidstone.

Ben Garrity’s brace put Vale two goals to the good before late efforts from Harvey White and Kane Hemmings, in the sixth minute of stoppage time, sent the game to extra time.

Ryan Loft scored a first Vale goal in the 115th minute but Nathan Thompson forced penalties and Stevenage stopper Taye Ashby-Hammond was the shootout hero as he saved spot-kicks from scorers Garrity and Loft.

Evans reflected: “We don’t do things the easy way.

“First things first, if you’ve come to the stadium as a neutral then this is a fantastic cup tie. You must be on the edge of your seat at both ends.

“When we get into the game and Harvey gets a goal I think we’re totally, totally dominant.

“When it goes 2-2 we know extra time’s coming but we think there’s only one winner because we had a lot of chances.

“To have the character the group has got to come back and score again to take the game to penalties is incredible.

“For the first 60 minutes we didn’t look like we wanted to be in the FA Cup, but for the last half-hour plus extra time we did.”

Vale boss Andy Crosby insisted his side only had themselves to blame after they crashed out.

After seeing his side crumble from 2-0 and 3-2 up, Crosby admitted: “We’ve thrown the game away twice. To concede a last-minute equaliser in normal time and then exactly the same thing happens in extra time, that makes it very tough to take.

“To go 2-0 up against a team who are third or fourth in our league was pleasing, but then we lost control of the game a bit and they can do that to you.

“The game wasn’t over at full-time, there were 30 minutes left. We go back in front again and look at the clock and think ‘we need to see this out now’. We’ve got to defend our box better than we did.

“The guys have given everything but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve only got ourselves to blame.

“It takes bravery to take a penalty in any situation in a shootout. Those guys have stood up, penalties get missed. It is what it is.

“Life is tough at times, you take the hits and you have to get up again and move forward.”

New boss Matt Taylor says he is still learning about his players after Bristol Rovers endured some tricky second-half moments in a 4-2 FA Cup second-round victory at Crewe.

Taylor secured his first win in his third game since taking charge of the Pirates at the beginning of the month, but what looked like an easy canter to a third-round trip to Norwich faded in a jittery closing period at Gresty Road when the home side halved a four-goal deficit.

John Marquis, James Wilson and Anthony Evans all scored in the first half and Ryan Cooney’s own goal made it 4-0 before Elliott Nevitt and Aaron Rowe got the the League Two side back into the contest.

Taylor said: “It is not about me, but about the team winning games of football.

“I am learning about this group of players and the first 70 minutes was really positive.

“Crewe have had good home form, so to be 3-0 up at half-time was excellent. We have now got to work as hard as we did for the first 70 minutes of that game.

“I’ve watched a lot of footage and that is the best I’ve seen from us. We won the ball high up the pitch when we were able to get pressure on the opposition and we have got players of a certain talent that can put the ball in the back of the net.

“But while we were excellent in parts, we were not in other parts and a few things went against us which I was not happy with. We could have been 5-0 up and probably should have been with a penalty decision and the game would have been dead and buried.

“But they broke away and put the ball into the back of the net and we had a little bit of a stagger in the second half. There’s a little bit of learning we have to take from that, but considering Crewe got two goals back with a bit of time left I am pleased it didn’t materialise into something else.”

Crewe manager Lee Bell was frustrated with how his side started the game.

“We have too good a group of players to allow things like that to happen,” he said.

“There’s a lot to learn from as the goals we conceded were unacceptable and if we continue that trend then we are not going to be successful.

“Bristol sat deep and we got in behind a number of times in the first half, but the decisions we took were the wrong ones.

“We have got to get better and get better, but we have got players who are coming back to fitness and hopefully we’ll have a full squad to pick from in the next week or two.

“Our crowd have been brilliant and we wanted to make it as exciting as we could for them – I thought we could have pinched one more as well – and hopefully they won’t see too many performances like that or see us let goals like that in again.”

Proud Scarborough boss Jonathan Greening hailed his players’ fortitude after they pushed EFL outfit Forest Green all the way again in a third meeting of the teams in this season’s FA Cup.

The first-round tie was ordered to be replayed after Forest Green had been found guilty of failing to inform the FA they had received permission to play a loan player against the National League North outfit.

Scarborough were only denied victory in the original tie by a stoppage-time equaliser, before going down 5-2 at Forest Green in the replay.

But this latest contest – a one-off rematch in North Yorkshire – saw Scarborough take an early lead and later reduce the deficit to 3-2 courtesy of a Luca Colville effort before sub Matty Stevens wrapped up a 4-2 triumph.

Greening said: “They came up here the day before and stayed in a hotel, whereas our players were up at 7am for work this morning and only got here an hour before kick-off, so that’s the difference in preparation for the game.

“But I thought the lads put in another really strong performance. We deservedly took the lead and we hit the post and could have had a penalty before we had them rocking at 3-2.

“Unfortunately, one mistake meant we ended up losing 4-2. Over the course of the three games, though, we have played five really good halves of football against a strong League Two team. There was only the first half at their place when we were 3-1 down that needed to be better.”

Forest Green boss David Horseman was pleased with his team’s clinical display, having failed to net in five of their previous six games, discounting the two expunged cup contests.

“It’s no secret that we need to score more goals, so I’m delighted to get four,” he declared.

“It helped having Matty Stevens back off the bench and Callum Morton on the pitch. We know they will score goals, but they’ve just not been available to us.

“I don’t actually think we created lots of chances tonight and Scarborough have given us three really tough games, but we were clinical which is what we’ve been missing for most of the season.”

Alfreton boss Billy Heath said he was “so proud” of his players despite the non-league side bowing out of the FA Cup in a narrow 1-0 second-round replay defeat at Walsall.

Mat Sadler’s Saddlers scraped past the National League North side to nervously book a third-round trip to Southampton in January.

But Heath could not have been happier with the way his side matched up the team from 42 places above them in the English football pyramid.

He said: “We’ve had two really good games between two really honest teams.

“We gave them a real game at our place last week and in the second half tonight I actually thought we were the better team.”

Over 180 minutes of football, after last Tuesday night’s 0-0 draw, it took just one goal to separate the two sides – and Walsall got it six minutes in through Jamille Matt.

Douglas James-Taylor’s menacing run down the left opened up the non-league side’s defence, skipper Donervon Daniels’ miscued shot fell kindly and Matt kept his cool to score from close range – the injury-hit striker’s first goal of the season on only his fourth start.

“Even that one goal was a bit lucky,” said Heath. “It was just a deflection that fell kindly for them.”

But there was no further breakthrough as Alfreton keeper George Willis made solid saves to deny Brandon Comley, Tom Knowles, Ryan Stirk and a James-Taylor header, while Matt twice should have done better in one-on-ones.

In a game of 10 bookings, including one for visiting boss Heath, the visitors were starting to threaten a lot more as half-time approached. And they stepped it up after the break.

Walsall had chances to seal it a bit more comfortably as James-Taylor hit a post with a wide angled chip, while Liam Gordon went close with a left-foot shot.

But the closest either side came was a blocked shot from visiting skipper Shaun Brisley which span up over the bar – to ensure that it is the Saddlers who go to St Mary’s.

“I enjoyed it from lots and lots of perspectives,” said Walsall boss Sadler. “But especially from a team perspective.

“Those are the sort of games you really like to win when you know every player has had to contribute to get you a result.

“The work that they have had to put in to help us win the game against a very tough Alfreton team gives you a good feeling.

“And I was delighted that it was Jamille Matt who got the goal as it topped off a very good performance from him and will do him the world of good.”

Goalkeeper Taye Ashby-Hammond was the hero as Stevenage secured their place in the third round of the FA Cup with a 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory at Port Vale.

After a 1-1 draw at Boro last time, another 120 minutes could not separate the two sides in the replay at Vale Park as they drew 3-3 after extra time.

Ben Garrity scored either side of half-time to put Andy Crosby’s hosts two goals ahead.

He opened the scoring after just six minutes as he tapped home from close range before he hammered in a second after Alfie Devine nodded a cross into his path 10 minutes after the restart.

Harvey White’s unstoppable near-post strike pulled one back before Kane Hemmings sent the game to extra time in the sixth minute of additional time.

Ryan Loft’s first goal for the club, in the 114th minute, again seemingly sent Vale through before Nathan Thompson sent the game to penalties.

It was then a painful penalty shoot-out for the hosts as scorers Garrity and Loft saw their spot-kicks saved by an inspired Ashby-Hammond, either side of Luther Wildin smashing his over.

Steve Evans’ side now have a trip to non-league Maidstone, who are playing in the third round for the first time since they reformed in 1992.

Forest Green finally saw off National League North part-timers Scarborough 4-2 in the FA Cup.

Tyrese Omotoye, Callum Morton, Sean Robertson and Matty Stevens scored the goals as the first-round tie was settled following a third contest between the two clubs.

Forest Green, who also won a home replay 5-2 last month, were found guilty of failing to inform the FA that they had permission to include a loan player in their squad.

Blackpool now await in the second round next Tuesday but Scarborough were no pushovers, taking an early lead and then reducing the deficit to 3-2 late on with a Luca Colville effort.

Scarborough took the lead just before the half-hour mark when an unchallenged Ryan Qualter’s far-post header from Finlay Barnes’ right-wing free-kick was parried away by Forest Green keeper James Belshaw only to bounce back over the line off unfortunate centre-back Darnell Johnson.

But the visitors, without a first-half away goal since March 4 prior to this contest, were level five minutes later when exposed Scarborough keeper Ryan Whitley could not prevent Morton’s downward header from Jamie Robson’s left-wing centre squeezing under his body. Omotoye claimed the goal with a final touch as the ball crossed the line.

After the break, Barnes broke clear on the away goal but was denied by Belshaw before Morton drilled in a 12-yard shot with Robson again providing the assist from the left flank.

The spirited Seadogs refused to surrender, with Lewis Maloney’s free-kick clipping an upright.

Robertson looked to have settled matters on 84 minutes when he finished confidently after charging clear on goal but Colville gave Scarborough renewed hope of an upset when he prodded in from eight yards following a Maloney cross.

Stevens, though, eventually wrapped up victory, tapping into an empty net on 89 minutes following Teddy Jenks’ square pass.

Newport head coach Graham Coughlan believes his team learned their lesson as they defeated Vanarama National League side Barnet 4-1.

After conceding late at Rodney Parade in the first game, the south Wales outfit settled the replay by netting three times in the first 25 minutes.

The Sky Bet League Two club now host Eastleigh in the third round of the FA Cup, and Coughlan was pleased with the reaction of his side.

He said: “I think we learned from the first game. We got our tactics spot on.

“So all plaudits go to the lads for what they’ve done tonight, as that was a really tough game.

“Dean Brennan has got his team playing really well and with confidence, and they pass the ball really well.

“They’ve got some dangerous players and we knew it was going to be tough. But it was emphatic in the end.

“It just takes one incident, or one lack of concentration, to flip the game on its head. So it’s very difficult to relax.”

Newport took a fifth-minute lead when Omar Bogle crossed for Lewis Payne to fire home at the far post, before the two swapped roles eight minutes later when the 30-year-old netted.

The tie looked over after 25 minutes when Danny Collinge – whose late equaliser in the first tie earned the replay – headed past goalkeeper Laurie Walker from a Nick Townsend goal-kick and into his own net.

Barnet had a lifeline when they hit back in the 37th minute, after Harry Pritchard scored from close range – although replays showed he handled the ball.

Idris Kanu hit the bar from 25 yards out in the 66th minute, the hosts’ best chance of the second half.

But the impressive Seb Palmer-Houlden made sure of victory 10 minutes later when he ran through on a long ball and finished coolly – ending any thoughts of a home-side comeback.

Barnet manager Brennan believed such a poor opening was the death knell for the chances of his side.

He said: “Our defending in the first 25 minutes was kamikaze, you can’t go three down that quickly in a game of this magnitude.

“We managed to pull a goal back, and we were reaching for the second – we hit the crossbar, but the better team won.

“We never give in, maybe it was the class of the division above that was the difference. We haven’t got enough of that class.

“Their finishing was clinical, the fourth goal was a great counter-attack from them, and the third goal was just schoolboy stuff.

“The game is about both boxes – they defended their box better than we did.”

New manager Matt Taylor savoured his first win since taking charge of Bristol Rovers as his side held off Crewe’s second-half fightback to win their FA Cup second-round replay 4-2.

John Marquis, James Wilson and Anthony Evans all scored to give the League One side a 3-0 half-time lead.

Ryan Cooney’s own goal made it four before Elliott Nevitt and Aaron Rowe struck to get the League Two side back into the contest, but they could not pull off the comeback.

Marquis handed the visitors an 18th-minute lead with a superb solo strike. He intercepted a loose pass, weaved into the box, slipped past two defenders and fired into the far corner.

Rovers made the most of some poor set-piece defending by Crewe to double their lead in the 24th minute. Evans’ corner was allowed to slip through to Wilson and the centre-backhooked a low finish into the corner.

Marquis headed a good chance straight into the arms of goalkeeper Harvey Davies but Rovers soon extended their lead when former Crewe loanee Evans cut in from the right flank and drove an effort high into the far corner.

Crewe’s hopes of getting back into the tie faded soon after the interval when substitute Cooney guided Evans’ cross into his own net at the far post for Rovers’ fourth.

The Railwaymen responded spiritedly. Substitute Nevitt cut in and curled a neat finish into the far corner in the 65th minute.

And the deficit was reduced further when Rowe bundled the ball in at the far post after Joe White’s shot fell into the winger’s path.

But Rovers negotiated the remaining 17 minutes, albeit with some jitters, to book a third-round trip to Norwich.

Walsall scraped past non-league Alfreton 1-0 as they nervously booked an FA Cup third-round trip to Southampton.

The League Two side got off to a flier when they took just six minutes to score what proved to be the only goal of the game from Jamille Matt.

Douglas James-Taylor’s menacing run down the left opened up the non-league side’s defence, skipper Donervon Daniels’ miscued shot fell kindly and Matt kept his cool to score from close range.

But there was no further breakthrough as Alfreton keeper George Willis made solid saves to deny Brandon Comley, Tom Knowles, Ryan Stirk and a James-Taylor header, while Matt twice should have done better in one-on-ones.

In a first half of six bookings, including one for visiting boss Billy Heath, the visitors were starting to threaten a lot more as half-time approached. And the National League North side stepped it up after the break.

Walsall had chances to seal it a bit more comfortably as James-Taylor hit a post with a wide angled chip, while Liam Gordon went close with a left-foot shot.

But the closest either side came was a blocked shot from visiting skipper Shaun Brisley which span up over the bar – to ensure that it is Mat Sadler’s Saddlers who go to St Mary’s on January 6.

Newport scored three times in the first 25 minutes as they defeated Vanarama National League side Barnet 4-1 to book a clash with Eastleigh in the FA Cup third round.

The Sky Bet League Two outfit took a fifth-minute lead when Omar Bogle crossed for Lewis Payne to fire home at the far post, before the two swapped roles eight minutes later when the 30-year old netted.

The tie looked over after 25 minutes when Danny Collinge – whose late goal at Rodney Parade in the first tie forced the replay – headed past goalkeeper Laurie Walker from a Nick Townsend goal-kick and into his own net.

Barnet hit back in the 37th minute when Harry Pritchard hit home from close range – although replays showed he handled the ball.

Idris Kanu hit the bar from 25 yards out in the 66th minute, the hosts’ best chance of the second half.

But Seb Palmer-Houlden made sure of victory 10 minutes later when he ran through on a long ball and finished coolly – ending any thoughts of a Barnet comeback.

Alfreton boss Billy Heath believes his players can still become the first in the club’s history to reach the FA Cup third round.

The Derbyshire part-timers fought out a 0-0 home draw with League Two Walsall, with Heath arguing that his outfit were the better team against a side that ply their trade two divisions higher.

He went on to admit that a replay in the Midlands represents a tougher proposition, but feels that his “magnificent” side remain capable of progressing with Championship Southampton awaiting the victors at St Mary’s.

“It was a close game and both teams had chances, but I thought we edged it,” Heath said.

“We had a bit more goalmouth action and our two chances were the most clear-cut opportunities to score, so we are disappointed with that, but the players were magnificent and we really gave as good as we got.

“We’ve also got to remind ourselves that some of our players were at work today and some were stuck in traffic and nearly didn’t get here, so it’s fantastic what they have achieved tonight.

“Hopefully they will get more credit than we get in the league now, because we have some really good individuals with great character.

“They have shown that in this tie and we are still in it, which is the main thing. It will be even more difficult at their place but we won’t be going there to go out with a whimper and still think we can win the tie.”

Walsall boss Mat Sadler was subjected to chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” by unimpressed away fans, who have seen their team win just once in nine contests – against Isthmian League minnows Sheppey United in the previous round.

The Saddlers have also failed to net in three successive matches, but an under-pressure Sadler declared that he was pleased with the manner in which his team did not buckle in the face of repeated long throws into their box from home midfielder Adam Lund.

“You have to respect whatever the supporters are saying, but we have had a tough spell with injuries and I’m pleased with how incredibly hard the team we put out worked tonight,” Sadler insisted.

“We had some good moments and controlled long parts of the game, so there were plenty of positives but we didn’t quite have that bit at the end, which is not happening for us at the moment.

“It will come and sometimes you just need a goal to go off somebody’s backside, earlobe or whatever. But we also showed great resilience to deal with their long throw, which is a hell of a weapon.

“Fair play to them – they use it well and use it from everywhere, but we stood up to that and it was a very competitive cup tie.”

Alfreton’s hopes of reaching the FA Cup third round for the first time in their history remain alive following a battling 0-0 home draw with Walsall.

There was little to choose between the National League North hosts and the Saddlers, who ply their trade two divisions higher.

The Derbyshire part-timers will travel to the Midlands for the replay still optimistic that they can land a trip to Championship Southampton, who await the winners.

Walsall were controversially denied a third-minute opener when Alfreton keeper George Willis was awarded a free-kick, even though he did not appear to have been impeded as he helped an inswinging Ryan Stirk corner into his own net.

At the other end, Adam Lund’s long throws caused issues for the Saddlers’ defence with Jackson Smith making a flying save to keep out Dwayne Wiley’s header after the home midfielder had hurled the ball into the box.

The visitors squandered an excellent opportunity to forge in front early in the second period when an unopposed Isaac Hutchinson fired wastefully over from eight yards.

But Alfreton midfielder Harrison Perritt twice went close to winning the tie for Town – his first attempt bouncing just wide and the second forcing a smart parry by Smith.

Ben Smith insists he is proud of Ramsgate’s FA Cup run despite elimination following a 5-0 defeat against AFC Wimbledon at Plough Lane.

Iraq international Ali Al-Hamadi scored twice for the Dons, with Jake Reeves, Josh Neufville and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans also finding the net.

The Rams started the evening as the lowest-ranked team left in this season’s competition, but the five-goal defeat means they miss out on a home clash with Championship high-flyers Ipswich.

However, Smith was delighted to see his side stick to their style of play against EFL opposition.

“I am proud of the boys, I thought they gave it their all,” he said.

“I can’t say a player didn’t give me everything, they went to the last minute, and we did it in bucket loads.

“I think at times we did show some composure, and we did move the ball well, I just think we came up against a much better and stronger level of opposition than we are used to.

“They pressed the life out of us at times, we just didn’t have the answers in terms of forward passes.

“I would liked to have seen us score a goal, we had a couple of chances and their keeper pulled off a great save in the first half.

“It was just not to be, but I am proud of the players, it is not about tonight it is about the journey.

“You can see from the support at the end there, it was incredible.

“We move forward, it is about the league now, and this club needs to be higher than it is, that is our job, and we will use this as a springboard.”

Johnnie Jackson believes the Tractor Boys will provide a tough test when they travel to south London in the third round.

He said: “They are a top side and they are doing a great job there.

“They are doing some great stuff, and they have a chance of going up to the Premier League this year with what they are doing in the Championship.

“It will be a really tough game, but we know that, but we have been excellent here of late.

“That is five on the bounce now at home, so we feel like we can match teams, especially here.

“It will be the other way round, we will be looking to cause the shock and they will be looking to get the job done.

“The Ramsgate fans were class, they really added to the atmosphere of the game and they will probably be a bit disappointed that they did not see their team score.

“Credit to them, credit to Ben and his team, they have done themselves proud.”