Relieved Stevenage boss Steve Evans praised his side’s character after beating Port Vale on penalties to progress into the third round of the FA Cup.
Battling Boro overcame 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to set up a trip to minnows Maidstone.
Ben Garrity’s brace put Vale two goals to the good before late efforts from Harvey White and Kane Hemmings, in the sixth minute of stoppage time, sent the game to extra time.
Ryan Loft scored a first Vale goal in the 115th minute but Nathan Thompson forced penalties and Stevenage stopper Taye Ashby-Hammond was the shootout hero as he saved spot-kicks from scorers Garrity and Loft.
Evans reflected: “We don’t do things the easy way.
“First things first, if you’ve come to the stadium as a neutral then this is a fantastic cup tie. You must be on the edge of your seat at both ends.
“When we get into the game and Harvey gets a goal I think we’re totally, totally dominant.
“When it goes 2-2 we know extra time’s coming but we think there’s only one winner because we had a lot of chances.
“To have the character the group has got to come back and score again to take the game to penalties is incredible.
“For the first 60 minutes we didn’t look like we wanted to be in the FA Cup, but for the last half-hour plus extra time we did.”
Vale boss Andy Crosby insisted his side only had themselves to blame after they crashed out.
After seeing his side crumble from 2-0 and 3-2 up, Crosby admitted: “We’ve thrown the game away twice. To concede a last-minute equaliser in normal time and then exactly the same thing happens in extra time, that makes it very tough to take.
“To go 2-0 up against a team who are third or fourth in our league was pleasing, but then we lost control of the game a bit and they can do that to you.
“The game wasn’t over at full-time, there were 30 minutes left. We go back in front again and look at the clock and think ‘we need to see this out now’. We’ve got to defend our box better than we did.
“The guys have given everything but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve only got ourselves to blame.
“It takes bravery to take a penalty in any situation in a shootout. Those guys have stood up, penalties get missed. It is what it is.
“Life is tough at times, you take the hits and you have to get up again and move forward.”
Object thrown at City striker 'Bunny' Shaw in Champions League win over Hammarby sparks UEFA investigation
UEFA has opened an investigation after Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw was hit by an object during their Women’s Champions League win against Swedish side Hammarby on Thursday.
The towering Jamaican striker scored both goals in City’s 2-1 win at the Stockholm Arena to see her side through to the quarterfinal stage.
Her animated celebration in front of the home fans after her first goal saw the 27-year-old being booked, with replays also showing an object seemingly thrown her way from the stands.
“Proceedings have been opened against Hammarby IF for throwing of objects (Article 16(2)(b) of the Disciplinary Regulations),” UEFA said in a statement.
“Manchester City player Khadija Shaw received a yellow card following her goal presentation for unsporting conduct,” the statement added.
Following the game, City captain Alex Greenwood chided match broadcaster DAZN for failing to mention the incident in a social media post.
The post on X, external said Shaw “antagonised” the home fans and received “stick” from them.
Greenwood replied, "Correction. Travel to Stockholm, score a big goal. Celebrates her goal. Gets objects thrown at her.”
Flick: Barcelona need to learn how to win without Yamal
Hansi Flick has urged Barcelona to find a way to win without the absent Lamine Yamal, as he misses a second consecutive match with an ankle injury.
The 17-year-old missed their 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad which halted Barca's seven-match winning streak in all competitions before the international break.
Yamal has only missed two LaLiga matches since the start of last season, while Barcelona have lost both games this campaign in which he has not started, after coming off the bench in a 4-2 loss to Osasuna in September.
Flick said that his players need to show that they can win without their teenage sensation.
"Tomorrow I will put the question to the team, it will be a very good question for them [if they can win without Yamal]," Flick told a press conference on Friday.
"Against Real Sociedad, we didn't play well, and it wasn't because of Lamine's absence. He is a very important player for us, but we have options to also play well without him.
"He won't be able to play tomorrow, we don't know when he will be able to go back from his injury, but what is clear for me is that we want him to be back only when he is 100% recovered."
Yamal played a big role in Spain's European Championship title win earlier this year in Germany, winning the best goal and the Young Player of the Tournament award in his breakthrough campaign.
He continued to thrive this season with five goals and seven assists to help Barca to the top of the LaLiga standings on 33 points, six ahead of rivals Real Madrid, who have a game in hand in second place.
Yamal is also the only player across Europe's big five leagues to complete 25+ dribbles (34), create 25+ chances (26), have 25+ shots (39), score 5+ goals (five) and provide 5+ assists (seven).
Flick suggested that he may have to adjust his system, as it is hard to replace a player with such a mixture of speed, technique and finishing.
"We might be a bit limited by the absence of Lamine," Flick said.
"But we have a lot of players with great quality, and they can play in different positions. We'll see what we'll need and we'll design the game plan.
"It's always important after the international break to come back strong and with confidence. That's our goal for tomorrow."
Moca FC's Baez, Correa sanctioned by Concacaf Disciplinary Committee for violent conduct in Carib Cup semis clash against Cavalier
The Concacaf Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned players Miguel Baez and Jesus Correa of Dominican Republic club Moca FC for incidents that occurred during their Concacaf Caribbean Cup second-leg semi-final match against Jamaica’s Cavalier FC on Thursday, October 30.
After considering the documentation and evidence gathered during its investigation and based on the competition regulations and the applicable disciplinary code, the Disciplinary Committee has imposed Miguel Baez a six-match suspension and Jesus Correa a three-match suspension for violent conduct.
The sanctions include the automatic one-match suspension for the on-field direct red cards given to each player during that 7-0 beating in Kingston.
Both Baez and Correa must serve their suspensions during the upcoming 2024 Concacaf Caribbean Cup third-place matches and future editions of the competition.
Moca FC is scheduled to meet Haiti's Real Hope FC in that home-and-away tie on November 26 and December 3 to determine the next Caribbean representative that will contest next year's Concacaf Champions Cup. Finalists Cavalier and Cibao FC, also of the Dominican Republic, have secured automatic berths.
Meanwhile, the Disciplinary Committee has also warned the players and the club that more severe sanctions could be taken should incidents occur during future matches.
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