Berkhamsted shock Southend to reach the FA Cup first round for the first time

Anyone who thinks the FA Cup has lost its magic should spend some time in Berkhamsted this week. The Southern League Premier Division South side went to Roots Hall on Saturday, fell behind, and still beat National League Southend United 2-1. It sends them into the first round proper for the first time in the club’s history.

The gap between the two clubs is enormous. Southend are the FA Trophy holders, are managed by Kieron Dyer and draw some of the biggest crowds in non-league football. Berkhamsted play at Step 3. Nobody gave them a chance.

How the Comrades turned it around

The game went to script at first. Just after the half-hour, Lewys Twamley reacted fastest to a loose ball and put Southend ahead. Most visiting teams would have crumbled from there.

Berkhamsted didn’t. Before the break, Luke Andrews got in behind the defence and finished calmly to level it. From then on the Comrades looked like they believed.

They needed Hubert Graczyk to keep it level with eight minutes left. Then, with two minutes remaining, Jeffrey Sekyere got on the end of a cross from the right and won it. Their travelling fans will be talking about it for years.

History for AFC Rushden & Diamonds too

They weren’t the only club celebrating a first. Eighth-tier AFC Rushden & Diamonds, set up in 2011 after the original club folded, beat National League North side Morecambe 2-1 at Hayden Road. James Clifton and Matty Warburton scored within four minutes of each other, and Joe Garner’s goal for the visitors came too late.

It’s the first time the AFC club has reached this stage, and it comes 16 years after the old Rushden & Diamonds last did. For a club rebuilt from scratch by its supporters, that means a great deal.

What the draw has in store

Sholing and Plymouth Parkway are also in the first round for the first time. Monday’s draw sent Berkhamsted to Plymouth Parkway, which guarantees a non-league club a place in round two. The winner also takes home £47,750 in prize money.

AFC Rushden & Diamonds were drawn away at Burton Albion. It’s the biggest game in the club’s short history, and their fans will travel in numbers.

Questions for Southend

For Southend, it’s an embarrassing afternoon. A full-time National League club losing at home to a side three divisions below them is not acceptable, and Dyer will face plenty of questions about it.