Words Ben Edwards Pictures Jonathan Moore

Altrincham 2 Notts County 2 (2-3 on penalties)

In front of an almost sold-out J.Davidson Stadium and the BBC and TNT Sport cameras, Alty put on a cup tie for the ages, taking League One outfit Notts County to extra-time before losing out on penalties.

An even first half started with five minutes of Notts pressure, during which their best chance fell the way of Daniel Kanu, but he headed wide following a cross from the right.

Alty then had a couple of chances themselves as the first corner of the game, taken by Aidan Barlow, hung at the back post. After an almighty scramble, Jake Cooper's volley forced James Belshaw into a smart stop at the near post.

A minute later, Sam Taylor's cross found opposite wing-back Lewis Banks at the back post, who headed wide under pressure.

Harry Isted stood up to be counted on two occasions, producing monumental saves to keep the score goalless. The first came from a corner when Lucas Ness' volley from 10 yards forced the shot stopper into an outstanding reflex save.

Just minutes after, he was on hand again as Callum Roberts danced from the right into the penalty area, forcing Isted into another brilliant stop.

Both sides' strikers had big opportunities to open the scoring, with the Magpies' Luka Smyth running beyond Cooper but dragging his effort wide of the right post.

Then it was Lucas Weaver's turn, getting past Ness but his left-footed effort at a narrow angle went agonisingly wide.

Notts' opener came after 28 minutes, when Jacob Bedeau latched onto a cross from the right, peeling away from his marker and heading into the bottom left corner.

Alty were unfazed by going behind and looked more determined than ever. Otis Khan and Banks saw efforts from range fail to trouble Belshaw.

Six minutes from half time, makeshift strike pairing Matty Kosylo and Weaver linked up well, the former playing a perfect ball through the lines. Weaver latched onto it and stayed the calmest man inside the packed J.Davidson Stadium. He took his time before producing a composed yet powerful finish into the bottom left corner.

Notts started the second half in a similar manner to the first, as within a minute of the restart, a handball shout was waved away but the ball found Bedeau in the penalty area. He fired over from the left-hand side of the penalty area. 

Smyth then drifted beyond Taylor and his effort from 20 yards was collected by Isted low to his left. A couple of minutes later, a corner found the outstreched Ness at the back post, who volleyed wide from close range.

Despite the visitors' chances, it was Alty who took the lead for the first time. Terrific footwork from Taylor on halfway and he played in Kosylo. His cross to the back post picked out Banks, whose initial header was saved but the defender was quickly on hand to tap home the rebound on the goalline before wheeling away in celebration in front of the Citation Gold Road End.

Isted's heroics in the opening 45 minutes were more than matched just past the hour mark as he somehow clawed away substitute Hindolo Mustapha's effort looking destined for the bottom right corner, before getting up to claim Roberts' effort.

With the fog coming in, Notts equalised in the 84th minute, breaking down the right before finding Roberts on the edge of the penalty area, whose first time finish nestled into the bottom right corner.

The visitors had a flurry of late chances but once more Isted was equal to them, the most impressive coming at point-blank range against Kanu.

During the final of five minutes added at the end of the 90, Kian Breckin won possession deep into the Notts half. He fed in Weaver down the left who drove into the penalty area but drove it straight at Belshaw, as the sides couldn't be separated after a thrilling 90 minutes.

Throughout limited visibility, chances were few and far between during extra time but a golden opportunity came the way of the hosts. Taylor found the overlapping run of Eddy Jones, who then played the ball across back to Taylor, but his effort was well saved by Belshaw.

Taylor looked to turn creator, feeding in Kristian Dennis, but he fired straight at Belshaw one-on-one.

An Emirates FA Cup classic had to be decided with a shootout, and despite Isted making two brilliant saves, Alty lost out 3-2 on penalties.

Man Of The Match Harry Isted

Altrincham Isted; Banks, Cooper, Khan (Dennis 106'), Barlow, Kosylo (Breckin 89'), Taylor, Weaver (Reddin 105+2'), Lopata-White, Crawford (c) (Hinchy 98'), Barnes (Jones 89'). Subs not used: Firth, Raymond, Brown, Acquah.

Notts County Belshaw; McDonald (c), Bedeau, Roberts (Longelo 60'), Kanu (Palmer 95'), Ness (Gibbons 60'), Smyth (Sanders 60'), Robertson, Tsaroulla (Mustapha 60'), Samuels-Smith, Finneran (Ndolvu 79'). Subs not used: Lipsuic, Evans, Campbell.

HT 1-1

Goals Weaver 39', Banks 59' | Bedeau 28', Roberts 84'

Yellows Banks 69' | Robertson 34', Gibbons 80', Sanders 98'

Reds None | None

Attendance 4,419 (690 away)

Referee David Rock

Next Up

Once more we're at the J.Davidson Stadium, with attention switching to the Cheshire Senior Cup for the first round visit of Warrington Town on Tuesday 10th November, 7:45pm kick off - tickets available here.