Brackley pull off FA Cup upset by beating Notts County on penalties

Brackley Town pulled off an FA Cup shock after beating League Two Notts County on penalties following a 2-2 draw.

A lively encounter in front of the BBC cameras was decided by a shoot-out, which National League side Brackley won 3-2 to book their place in the Second Round of the FA Cup for the fifth time.

Alassana Jatta had put the visitors in front before Matt Lowe equalised for the Saints. The second half was then a tale of two penalties, as Notts County had taken the lead through Jodi Jones’ spot-kick early in the half before an injury time equaliser by Callum Stewart brought the hosts level.

With no winner in extra-time, spot-kicks determined it and with Notts County missing 2 of their 5 penalties, a Brackley side that missed 1 of their 5 held their nerve to win the match and book their place in the next round.

The tie had represented a grand occasion for the Northamptonshire-based club, who were aiming for an upset akin to their pair of victories over Gillingham in the mid-2010s in front of a national TV audience.

But with 13 minutes on the clock, Notts County broke the deadlock as Jatta headed in Jones’ cross.

Jatta would see another strike blocked by home defender Riccardo Calder, which proved to be a big moment when Brackley equalised moments later.

A floated cross into the box by Tyler Lyttle found Lowe, who got his header into the back of the net to land Brackley Town an equaliser.

Brackley then had a goal controversially disallowed, with an offside flag denying Jacob Bedeau’s own goal from standing despite replays suggesting the offside flag in the build up may have been raised incorrectly.

Shane Byrne would then be denied by Kelle Roos as the Saints ended the first half stronger, but it was Notts County who had an early chance after the break when Jonny Maxted pulled off a finger-tip save to deny Jones’ free-kick from range.

Notts County then took the lead from the penalty spot. Maxted’s foul on Conor Grant was penalised, and from the spot, Jones made it 2-1 to the visitors.

An extraordinary moment saw Morgan Roberts’ header hit the bar, bounce narrowly in front of the line, rise up to hit the bar again and bounce free without having gone into the back of the net.

But there would be even more drama right at the end, as Ollie Norburn handled a cross to give Brackley a penalty. From the spot, Stewart beat Roos to grab Brackley a 96th minute equaliser and force extra-time.

With chances being at a premium in the extra 30, that meant penalties and there was drama straight away when Jatta hit the crossbar with Notts County’s first spot-kick.

Both sides missed their third kicks, as Keanan Bennetts saw his strike denied by Maxted, before Roos kept out Brackley’s third kick.

But everyone else held their nerve, allowing Zak Brown to be the hero as his kick beat Roos to win Brackley the shootout, and allowing the Saints passage to Round Two for the second season in a row.