FA Trophy round-up | Eight NPL sides go through as Bridlington and Bourne defeat Step 3 opposition
Eight NPL sides booked their spot in the second round of the FA Trophy on Saturday afternoon.
The upsets of the round saw Step 4 Bridlington Town and Bourne Town defeat higher-level opposition.
NPL East Division side Bridlington overcame Curzon Ashton on penalties, having scored a last-gasp equaliser to take the tie to a shootout.
Ahmed Salam was the Seasiders' man of the hour, scoring both of their goals in regulation time and also the winning penalty, after Curzon's Alex Curran and Will Hayhurst had been unsuccessful with their spot-kicks.
Bridlington's progression was all the more impressive given they played the final half-hour with 10 men after Kyle Fanning was shown a straight red card.
They have now defeated NPL Premier Division opposition in each of the previous two rounds, having knocked out Whitby Town in third round qualifying.
NPL Midlands Division side Bourne put their league struggles to one side, meanwhile, to overcome Banbury United of the Southern League Premier Central.
The only goal came six minutes in, courtesy of Dan Forbes.
One NPL side not as successful against Southern League Premier Central opposition were Quorn, who fell to a heavy 6-2 defeat at Kettering Town.
Jesse Friend's early opener had given the Methodists the lead, but Kettering scored four without reply either side of half-time to put themselves in control, before two goals in the final five minutes ensured their safe passage to the next round.
Elsewhere, there were wins for Ashton United, Avro and Guiseley in the only three ties which were all-NPL Premier Division affairs.
Ashton won by a single goal at home to league leaders Redcar Athletic, while Avro had to come from behind to beat Hyde United 2-1.
Guiseley were impressive 3-1 winners at Warrington Rylands, with Ian Richards' side securing a sixth straight win in all competitions.
Bury and Leek Town picked up convincing 3-0 and 4-1 home wins respectively against Prescot Cables and Bootle of the NPL West Division.
Another NPL Premier Division side, Alfreton Town, had to come from behind against Step 4 opposition to secure safe passage.
Trailing 1-0 away at Mickleover at the break, Daniel Odunaiya hauled his side back on level terms six minutes into the second half before Riley McLachlan curled home the winner 14 minutes from time on his Alfreton debut.
One NPL side who won't be in the draw for the next round are Loughborough Students, who were beaten 2-0 at home by Step 3 Stourbridge.
The other scheduled tie of the weekend between Workington and Cleethorpes Town was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, and will now take place on Tuesday night.
The draw for the next round will be released on Monday.
All sides at Step 2 (National League North/South) will enter the competition at this stage.
All results involving Northern Premier League sides* are listed below:
Results - FA Trophy first round
Ashton United 1-0 Redcar Athletic
Avro 2-1 Hyde United
Bourne Town 1-0 Banbury United
Bridlington Town 2-2 Curzon Ashton (Bridlington Town win 4-3 on penalties)
Bury 3-0 Prescot Cables
Kettering Town 6-2 Quorn
Leek Town 4-1 Bootle
Loughborough Students 0-2 Stourbridge
Mickleover 1-2 Alfreton Town
Warrington Rylands 1-3 Guiseley
Workington P-P Cleethorpes Town
*Bold signifies Northern Premier League team