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Summary

  • 33 ties in FA Cup first round on Saturday

  • Shock watch: National League Aldershot put seven past League Two Swindon

  • Shock watch: Eighth-tier Ramsgate beat National League Woking

  • Shock watch: Sixth-tier Scarborough take Forest Green to replay

  1. Rams seeking to play the right Cardspublished at 14:40 Greenwich Mean Time 4 November 2023

    Ramsgate v Woking (15:00 GMT)

    Ramsgate v Woking is the kind of draw which was probably met with silence in both club’s bar when the balls came out of the hat.

    However after a period of reflection both teams will consider this an opportunity to progress to the rarified air of round two.

    The Rams are, along with Cray Valley Paper Mills, the only eighth-tier sides left in the competition and in hot-shot Joe Taylor have a nine-goal marksman eyeing the competition’s top-scorer’s prize.

    The Isthmian League South East Division side are 62 places below Woking and making just their third appearance at this stage, whereas the Cards have a proud pedigree in the competition and appear at this stage for the third time in four seasons.

    They were ousted by Gillingham and Oxford last season, can they go one better this year?

  2. Whitby delighted by 'lifeline' tiepublished at 14:38 Greenwich Mean Time 4 November 2023

    Bristol Rovers v Whitby (15:00 GMT)

    Bristol Rovers' Memorial StadiumImage source, Getty Images

    It's 20 years since Whitby Town last graced the first round of the FA Cup, and the wait has been worth it for their boss Nathan Haslam.

    The seventh-tier side have a long cross-country trip to League One side Bristol Rovers as their reward, but as Haslam says, there are many benefits for the Blues.

    "Bonus money is how the club looks at it," Haslam told ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Tees.

    "It allows to maybe improve the pitch, get equipment for the pitch, and certainly through the bleak months where we're not going to have much of an income with home games getting called off, it gives us that lifeline to keep operating in the way we would like,

    "At this moment in time it's money we badly need."

    Rovers will be wary of the potential banana skin which awaits them, given they recently parted company with boss Joey Barton.

    Andy Mangan has the reins for now, and a win might just lift the mood down at the Memorial Stadium.

  3. Robins seeking to pass Cambridge examinationpublished at 14:36 Greenwich Mean Time 4 November 2023

    Cambridge Utd v Bracknell (15:00 GMT)

    Bracknell manager Carl Withers arrives at groundImage source, Rex Features

    The 94 places separating Cambridge United from Bracknell make this one of the biggest mismatches of the weekend… on paper, at least.

    Mid-table in League One hosts mid-table in the Southern League Premier South, but this is the FA Cup and the Us have won only once in their last dozen games.

    Seventh-tier Bracknell are in the first round for just the third time, but they did give upwardly-mobile Ipswich a run for their money before bowing out 3-0 at this stage last season.

    Town are seeking a third win in four games and will be hoping to reach the second round for the first time ever at the expense of Mark Bonner’s men.

  4. Postpublished at 14:34 Greenwich Mean Time 4 November 2023

    #bbcfacup

    Here we go then. 33 ties on this Super Saturday.

    Teams as low as step eight are in the same bracket big clubs in Leagues One and Two.

    Let's see what we've got to look forward to as we feature some of the stand-out games.

  5. The road continuespublished at 14:30 Greenwich Mean Time 4 November 2023

    #bbcfacup

    Groundsman on tractor at Scarborough AthleticImage source, Rex Features

    The FA Cup first round proper. Proper football. Proper passion. Proper giant-killings. Proper.

    A week where volunteers tidy stands, furiously sell tickets and scarves, sort out coaches, mow and paint pitches. Pies and burgers are ordered in dozens, ovens blare out heat to cook them in time, potatoes are chipped and sunk in hot oil, ready to warm those who brave the chilly terraces.

    Lads who work on building sites, in offices, at garages, schools and warehouses, are suddenly thrust into the spotlight. It's a time when heroes are made. Beating the big boys.

    Money is a big incentive, but glory is greater. Bring it on. The elite might say 'the cup' has had it's day, but try telling the players out there today that.