Serie A leaders Inter Milan ensured they would remain top of the table for another week with a 2-1 victory over Atalanta under heavy rain at Gewiss Stadium.

Though the hosts had the better early chances, it was Hakan Calhanoglu’s spot-kick that ultimately broke the deadlock for the league leaders, his 36th goal in the Italian top flight enough bring him level with Sukru Gulesin as Turkey’s all-time top scorer in the league.

Inter captain Lautaro Martinez extended his side’s advantage after the break before Gianluca Scamacca swiftly pulled one back.

Atalanta substitute Rafael Toloi was sent off for a second yellow late on.

Marten de Roon had a chance to level with a late header, but the visitors walked away with all three points.

A largely uneventful start picked up after the 20-minute mark when Davide Zappacosta sent a cross into the 18-yard box, narrowly missing the outstretched leg of Teun Koopmeiners trying poke past Inter keeper Yann Sommer.

Berat Djimsiti missed a free header before both Ademola Lookman and Koopmeiners  rose to meet Zappacosta’s cross in an aerial battle bravely defended by Benjamin Pavard, who was forced off with what appeared to be an ankle injury after coming down awkwardly from the challenge.

It was his substitute, Matteo Darmian, who found himself involved in the build-up to Inter’s opener just seven minutes after his 33rd-minute introduction as he latched on to a Calhanoglu through ball and Atalanta goalkeeper Juan Musso came out for a late challenge.

A penalty was upheld following a VAR review and was expertly taken by Calhanoglu, who finished into the bottom-left corner.

Sommer was only properly tested in the first half through Giorgio Scalvini’s weak stoppage-time header. 

Federico Dimarco came inches away from extending Inter’s lead after the break before Martinez had the ball in the back of the net but saw his header chalked off for offside.

There was no question about the skipper’s next attempt, Martinez giving Musso no chance as he curled past the keeper on 57 minutes for his 12th goal in 11 league games.

It took just four minutes for the hosts to claw one back when Lookman beat Dimarco on the edge of the area and squared to Scamacca for a straightforward finish from near the penalty spot.

The hosts pushed for an equaliser, Lookman coming close when he skipped an effort towards the Inter net to force Sommer into a low stretched save, the Swiss international later evading danger after first punching away Charles De Ketelaere’s cross, then smothering Scamacca’s effort from the rebound.

Musso kept his side in the contest with a low block to deny Nicolo Barella in the final 10 minutes, but the hosts were down to 10 men after substitute Toloi was sent off in the second of six minutes of added time.

Anthony Gordon’s controversial second-half winner clinched Newcastle a 1-0 win against Arsenal, whose unbeaten Premier League start was halted at St James’ Park.

Gordon’s close-range finish was confirmed as a goal after a triple VAR check and was all that separated the two sides in an attritional encounter of few chances.

The Gunners slipped to their first defeat in 11 league games this season, while victory for Newcastle was affirmation that they can continue to mix it with the big guns.

Arsenal remain third in the table, two points behind new leaders Manchester City, with Newcastle four points adrift in sixth.

After a scrappy opening 15 minutes, Arsenal began to build momentum, but after forcing a series of corners had only Jorginho’s skied volley and William Saliba’s wayward header to show for their efforts.

Newcastle had barely threatened before Callum Wilson blazed Dan Burns’ knockdown over the crossbar from in front of goal in the 29th minute.

An intense physical first half was low on quality and littered with full-blooded challenges, one of which raised the home fans to fever pitch as Kai Havertz’s late lunge sent Sean Longstaff sprawling.

That sparked a players’ melee that took referee Stuart Atwell some time to control, with Havertz, Longstaff and Anthony Gordon eventually shown yellow cards.

Furious Newcastle assistant Jason Tindall made clear to the Arsenal bench what he thought of Havertz’s mis-timed challenge.

A third Newcastle player, Fabian Schar, was booked soon after to the wrath of Magpies fans.

Arsenal threatened to on the stroke of half-time, but Gabriel Martinelli’s fierce drive was comfortably held by Nick Pope.

Gordon lifted the home fans soon after the restart as he ran across the edge of Arsenal’s box looking to make space for a shot, but he was crowded out.

Declan Rice became more influential for the Gunners and he headed wide before Newcastle broke the deadlock in the 64th minute.

Both substitutes had hand in the goal soon after entering the action as Jacob Murphy’s shot span wide and was kept in play by Joe Willock, whose cross was headed down by Joelinton for Gordon to turn home.

There then followed a lengthy delay before the goal was confirmed as VAR checked whether the ball had gone out of play before Willock’s cross, whether Joelinton had fouled Arsenal defender Gabriel and if Gordon had been offside.

Newcastle were dealt an injury blow when Murphy popped the same shoulder which had kept him of recent games and was replaced by Matt Ritchie.

The Gunners probed for an equaliser, but their front line continued to mis-fire, creating no further chances on a disappointing afternoon for the north Londoners.

Wayne Rooney accused some of his substitutes of falling short after Birmingham surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 against high-flying Ipswich at St. Andrew’s.

Rooney picked up his first point since becoming City manager but was denied his first win after substitute Marcus Harness’ late brace extended Ipswich’s unbeaten league run to 11 games.

Jay Stansfield’s fifth goal of the season gave City a 13th-minute lead and it was followed by a Cameron Burgess own goal after 51 minutes.

Ipswich were a different proposition after the break though and substitute Harness replied in the 79th and 89th minutes.

Ipswich made four substitutions in the 72nd minute and three of them combined for Harness’s first goal.

“Their subs made the difference and I felt ours didn’t,” said Rooney.

“Some of the lads who came on didn’t do enough. The lads worked extremely hard to put us in the position we were in, and when you’re coming off the bench you need to be better than a few of them were.

“When you make changes and bring players into the game, you have to pick that (intensity) up, especially as Ipswich were starting to get a bit of control, so we needed them to give us that energy to continue what we were doing.

“I just felt there were a couple of players who didn’t do that for us. That’s something for us to improve on.”

Rooney admitted City are trying to improve players’ fitness so they can maintain their intensity for longer.

“The way I want them to play is different – it’s more front-footed and it takes a lot more energy to do that,” he said.

“We’re constantly trying to build that up so they can get to a level where they can do it for 90 minutes.

“But as we started tiring, Ipswich started to get control and pushed us back and we couldn’t hold them.

“Ideally I want to be making changes for tactical reasons, not necessarily for physical reasons.”

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna praised the character of his team and substitutes after coming back from two goals down to retrieve something from a game for the third time this season.

“I was really pleased and proud of the players and for the supporters as well,” said McKenna.

“The biggest credit due was our reaction to their second goal because that was the one that could have really deflated the group. But we managed to pick straight up and keep going how we were.

“We’ve seen it before with this group and we’ve built that resilience over time to keep playing our football, and trust if we do the right things we can always score.”

In contrast to Rooney’s view on his substitutions, McKenna was full of praise for his replacements, who changed the game.

“Credit to all the subs who came on – the boys all knew what slots they were going to come into and they all had a really good impact,” he said.

“Marcus scored twice to back up his goal from last week and that was great for the spirit in the group.

“It was also great for the understanding that with the challenge we face this year, it’s going to take the whole squad.”

Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor praised his side for scoring three goals for the first time this season after a 3-2 win against Colchester in the first round of the FA Cup.

The U’s remained in contention throughout and made it a nervous watch at the end for the home fans after Zach Mitchell headed home in the 86th minute.

Jordan Shipley made a spectacular return to action for the Shrews, scoring a superb two-touch goal and assisting after two months out through injury.

Cameron McGeehan had opened the scoring for the visitors before Daniel Udoh levelled in the first half.

Shipley then put Shrewsbury in front before an own goal made it 3-1, with Mitchell getting one back late on.

Taylor said: “I felt we were for large periods of that game totally dominant. We conceded from their first attempt on goal.

“We started the game really well. What I liked is the players didn’t give in; they didn’t lose belief and kept going.

“We scored a really good goal to equalise. I spoke to the players at half-time, our decision-making in and around the opposition’s box I didn’t feel was at the level they can produce. So second half the challenge was to go out there and make better decisions.

“We did that, we should have scored more than the three. I think we had 17 shots but only hit the target six times, which when you look at it wasn’t probably good enough.

“The aim at the beginning of the day was to be in the hat for the next round of the cup, and ultimately we fulfilled that.

“I am pleased that we have scored three goals for the first time this season but disappointed in the second goal and the way we conceded it.”

U’s interim boss Matthew Etherington said: “It was pretty close in the end. I thought the boys rallied really well, albeit not starting the second half great.

“The changes that we made had an impact and we finished the stronger team, so overriding feeling is opportunity missed but I didn’t think there was a great deal in the game.

“The two goals we conceded in the second half were poor goals to concede, and it is kind of a common theme with this team at the minute. We have to stamp that out because we are scoring plenty at the same time.

“As I have said to the players, in terms of the energy, effort, and commitment, I can’t fault it; it’s outstanding, but we need to tidy up those areas.

“It was an unbelievable goal (Cameron McGeehan’s). The move leading up to that was a good move, and we know Cam has that quality. It was a great strike and finish.

“Overall, I thought we were competitive in the game against a League One side. I thought we were more than competitive and causing them problems.”

Russell Martin praised Southampton’s bravery as Ryan Fraser was again their late hero at Millwall.

The Saints have scored crucial injury-time goals in their last three away games with Fraser, who scored a last-gasp winner at Hull last month, sealing the spoils with a 93rd-minute strike.

Martin’s side are now motoring – having also drawn with Preston thanks to Ched Evans’ stoppage-time own goal – but were made to wait for their fifth win in seven, peppering Bartosz Bialkowski’s goal but unable to get past the Pole until the last gasp.

“The lads responded and stayed so brave in the second half,” said Martin. “The amount of running we made them do made the game look like it did in the last half-hour.

“We were relentless in attack and at the hour mark I thought ‘we’ve got them’ but their keeper made a few good saves and we couldn’t get the goal.

“Thankfully we got it right at the end and it’s a moment of composure. I’m really grateful for that and proud of the players.

“I think we had control, we limited them to one shot on target and they hit the bar from a set-piece.

“The second half looked a lot different because we were aggressive, we made runs for each other to open them up and I was really pleased with that.”

Bialkowski made a string of fine saves, keeping out Stuart Armstrong’s shot in the 20th minute and then powerful efforts from Carlos Alcaraz and Will Smallbone.

Frustration grew in the Saints ranks with Kamaldeen Sulemana, another denied by Bialkowski in the second half, reacting angrily to being substituted by Martin.

“We had guys coming off the pitch annoyed that they’ve come off and I don’t mind that,” said Martin.

“I’ve told them it’s a squad game. And if you show you’re annoyed when you come off I honestly don’t have a problem with that at all.

“They’re human beings and want to play football and that’s how it should be. I don’t see that as disrespectful and all that nonsense. As long as they celebrate with the guys when there’s a moment like that, which they did, then there’s never a problem.”

Adam Barrett continues to take caretaker charge at the Den, with Millwall now winless in five having also conceded late in their draw with Watford.

“You know with the quality players they’ve got and their play that they will wear you down a bit,” he said of Saints.

“I’m frustrated with the ending because when you switch off for one moment against these tough teams they punish you. They keep working and probing and it was a real sickener to concede so late again.

“I haven’t watched it back, but my initial thoughts are we spoke about the way they play and move and I don’t think we dealt with it well enough.

“They’re good players and they go and punish you. It’s two games there where we should be coming away with four points and we’ve got one.

“It’s vital we get results back on track here, it’s been disappointing.

“We’ve hit the bar first half and that could have changed it. The fans were with the boys all game, it was a great atmosphere. But we’ve got to get The Den back to being a real difficult place to come.”

Curtis Fleming admitted his future was uncertain after starting his spell as Bristol City’s interim head coach with a 1-0 victory over 10-man Sheffield Wednesday.

The Irishman stepped up to replace sacked manager Nigel Pearson, but has no intention of putting his name forward as a permanent replacement.

Rob Dickie’s close-range strike from Tommy Conway’s 64th-minute cross was enough to secure the points against opponents reduced to 10 men after 32 minutes when Barry Bannan was shown a straight red card for fouling Jason Knight on the edge of the box.

Fleming hailed it as “a huge win at the end of an emotional week” before admitting he had no idea what the future held for him.

“I am just taking things day by day,” he said. “I will enjoy a glass of beer tonight and then see what the club’s plans are going forward.

“If it proves my only game in charge, at least I will have a 100 per cent record!

“It has been a tough few days, losing friends who have left and trying to prepare the players for what we knew was going to be a massive game for us.

“You try to paint pictures for them in training, but those pictures can change when the lads are performing in front of 20,000 people.

“I tried to tweak a few things and some worked better than others. We can play better, but sometimes the result is more important than the performance.

“What I couldn’t fault was the effort of the players. The last five minutes seemed to go on forever. But in the end we have the three points and that’s great.

“It makes such a difference in a tightly-packed table. Now we can look forward positively to the next game.”

City should have gone two up after 72 minutes when Conway shot against a post and Sam Bell somehow contrived to hit the other upright from the rebound.

After that it took a brilliant Max O’Leary save from substitute Ashley Fletcher to prevent Wednesday from equalising.

Owls boss Danny Rohl said: “After the red card I saw a team on the pitch who were giving everything.

“I am so proud of them. We had three or four chances to equalise and deserved something from the game.

“I didn’t think Barry deserved his red card. It was a foul, but we had two defenders covering, so it was not a clear scoring chance.

“Bristol City are a strong side, who press high, but we feel a bit unlucky today.

“Things tend to go against you when you are at the wrong end of the table.

“Now we have to recover and move on. We know we need wins, but I saw so much to please me.

“In my short time at the club I have seen players with the right mentality for a fight.

“At the moment things are not going our way, but if we continue to create chances that will change.

“It’s about maintaining a belief and conviction that results will come and I am seeing that in training and matches.

“We have to keep working hard to reward our fans, who were fantastic today.”

Reading manager Ruben Selles admitted that he was pleased that his struggling side avoided an upset against lower-division opposition after their 3-2 FA Cup first-round win over MK Dons.

Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan gave Reading a third-minute lead with his sixth goal of the season, but Alex Gilbey levelled before the break.

Second-half efforts from Harvey Knibbs and Lewis Wing eased Reading into a two-goal cushion, with Max Dean halving the deficit with a late consolation for the Sky Bet League Two outfit.

Selles, whose side sit bottom of League One after losing their last five games, said: “The FA Cup is always difficult.

“Whoever is your opponent, we have often seen teams from higher categories falling to teams in the categories below. So, we put in a good performance.

“Perhaps we should have finished the game a little bit earlier. We just made it complicated in the last minutes.

“But I’m happy with the performance and keeping the team together, no injuries and we go into the next round. It was a good day.

“We got a little bit caught out in the first half, especially with their first goal. It was just that pass in between, we should have defended it much better.

“We were missing a few things in the first half, which is why we changed at half time. We were missing with the wingers, the one-against-one situations and the pressure.

“It was a matter of changing the dynamic of the game. We had to be much more on the front foot, much more aggressive with the pressure. We were much better in that way in the second half.”

New MK Dons head coach Mike Williamson, who succeeded Graham Alexander last month, said: “The halves were contrasting and, from our point of view, that was disappointing.

“That’s been a bit of a theme, our starts to the second half, and that’s something that we need to address.

“But I think that you can see the detail that we’re putting in and it’s evident what the boys are taking on.

“We’ve just got to find a way of wrestling the momentum back when we do go behind.

“We have to accept that we are going to suffer in periods of games. It’s how we get back into it and get back on the ball.

“In the first half, you could see what we were trying to achieve. But there was still an element of frustration getting the better of us.

“When other teams do step on and step up, we haven’t quite got to grips with that yet.

“Again, though, the boys fought all the way to the end. Even though we were running out of time, we never gave up. So there was still so many positives to take.”

Scarborough boss Jonathan Greening was left to reflect on football’s ‘cruel’ side after his part-time team were denied an FA Cup upset against Forest Green in stoppage time.

An equaliser by Olly Sully – the 18-year-old sub’s first senior goal – secured a 1-1 draw for the League Two strugglers after the National League North outfit had taken a first-half lead through Alex Wiles.

It also cost the Seadogs a precious £41,000 windfall in prize money and Greening, a member of the Manchester United squad that won the 1999 Champions League final in stoppage time, lamented: “I really wish we could have held on and won the game.

“But it wasn’t to be and, sometimes, football can be cruel. The boys are absolutely devastated because they put an absolute shift in and I’m really proud of them.

“We’re a part-time team and might not have a lot of money as a club but we showed that we’ve got a lot of heart and we’ve just got to show the same work ethic, team spirit and passion now in the replay.”

Forest Green boss David Horseman threw on Sully in an attempt to lift a lacklustre and unimaginative performance from his team and was delighted to see the teenager get on the scoresheet.

He said: “We were really poor. We gave a bad goal away and then had to break down an 11-man block, which we found difficult.

“But we did it in the end because some people stood up to the challenge of a difficult game and I’m really proud of Olly.

“It was brilliant to see somebody from our academy keep us in the FA Cup and help us live to fight another day.”

Coventry manager Mark Robins has urged his side to build on their second-half showing against Preston despite going down 3-2 at Deepdale for a fourth straight loss.

The Sky Blues missed out on promotion a year ago in extra-time of the play-off final against Luton but have found life tougher this season, sitting 20th in the Sky Bet Championship.

Defeat to Preston, who ended a run of seven without a win, will not help, but they almost salvaged something thanks to Haji Wright’s double.

It was not enough though, with Coventry now winless at Deepdale on their last 21 visits in the league.

Robins said: “I think there was definitely nervousness. What happened was the first half we were pretty poor, couldn’t really get out and they had a lot of the ball and their intent was clear.

“Ours wasn’t, we couldn’t move it, we turned the ball over too much, but then we took the lead probably against the run of play.

“The second half was chalk and cheese really, it was a proverbial game of two halves, and we showed the intent that our team shows generally and has done for years and we’ve got to hold on to that.

“The second-half performance was pretty good, apart from the goal that we conceded.

“The three goals we conceded were soft, they were poor, so that’s got to improve, but we looked better.

“We’ve broken that duck of not scoring away from home and then we’ve ended up with two from Haji which is good for him and his confidence.”

Coventry hit the front against the run of play when Wright opened the scoring after 33 minutes, but they were 2-1 down by half-time.

Duane Holmes levelled for Preston before Alan Browne fired home from the spot after Kyle McFadzean was adjudged to have brought down Milutin Osmajic.

Osmajic then gave Preston breathing room after 71 minutes, but Wright got his second seven minutes from time, leaving the home side sweating.

Preston boss Ryan Lowe believes that on this form, Coventry will turn things around.

He said: “What I will say about Coventry is they’re well coached and have got a fantastic manager and they’ve got some fantastic players and they’re in a false position as we speak.

“I said that to Mark at the end, ‘keep going because you’ve got some players and a good team’.

“Of course it’s a bit of a relief when you get that third goal but they’re never going to lie down, they were play-off finalists last year and they’re not just going to roll over and say take the three points.

“They’re going to keep fighting and that’s what they did so we had to show a different side to us again.

“Their second goal I’m disappointed with because it shouldn’t get to that, but I said to the group about management in-game and what we need to do and how we do it, and they know, they take it on board.

“A two-goal cushion is fine for a while and then they get one back. But I’m just pleased for the lads, they’ve been working hard.

“The performances have been good but the results just haven’t been, so to take three points off a good team in Coventry is pleasing.”

Richie Wellens hailed striker Aaron Drinan after Leyton Orient beat Carlisle 3-1 to book their place in the second round of the FA Cup.

A Joe Pigott penalty put Orient ahead before the visitors lost Callum Guy with a serious-looking leg injury in the first half.

Joe Garner equalised before goals by Orient substitutes Drinan and Ruel Sotiriou ensured the Londoners victory.

“I was pleased for Aaron Drinan that he got his goal, he has had an interrupted pre-season for two seasons on the bounce and when he’s fit and firing, he’s got pace and power and is a good finisher,” Orient boss Wellens said.

“But please, I request our supporters, if you want a fit and firing Aaron Drinan or any of our players, give them confidence. It doesn’t matter what level you play at, if you’ve got confidence, you are going to be a lot better.

“I thought that we started the first 20 minutes really well and then the last 15 or 20 minutes of the first half nothing really happened. Their shape then caused us a problem because I thought Carlisle were good for the first 20 minutes of the second half.

“When we changed to a four, I thought we were pretty dominant in the last 25 minutes and could have scored a few more.

“It was an important game for us both financially and because we wanted to get to the next round, so yes, it was a good day. We want to reach the third round at least and hopefully give the board of directors some money back.

“In the six years (since) the owners took over the club, I don’t think they have had a cup run.”

United boss Paul Simpson admitted his side needed to defend better.

“Again we didn’t work hard enough to stop the cross, similar to Cambridge last week, and it’s defending the goals which gave us a problem,” he said.

“We have to defend much better and need to address it very, very quickly.

“It’s a massively disappointing result for us. First half I thought the penalty was a little fortunate but I felt we needed to change it at half-time and we started the second half much brighter and much more positive. We started passing the ball better and got ourselves level with a really good goal.

“I thought we had Orient at one point but we have to say they thoroughly deserved to go through. They are a good footballing side but we have to do the horrible jobs you need to do in football on a consistent basis. If you don’t, you get punished.”

On the injury to Guy, Simpson said: “We’ve heard that it’s not a fracture but it’s not good news at all. We will get it scanned.”

Interim manager Andy Mangan felt Bristol Rovers could have scored more as they eased into the second round of the FA Cup with a 7-2 victory over Northern Premier League side Whitby.

First-half goals from John Marquis, Luke Thomas, Jevani Brown and Antony Evans were added to by substitutes Harvey Vale and Aaron Collins after the break, following Harrison Beeden’s own goal.

“It was one for the neutrals I suppose, but can we take more chances? Absolutely,” said Mangan.

“Can we add more phases of play in their half? Yes. But it’s 7-2 and the last time we scored seven was against Scunthorpe when we got promoted, so there are good omens.

“We’ve got really good players in there, lads who can open you up, lads who can keep the ball and create one-v-one opportunities.

“I thought LT (Luke Thomas) was excellent in his first game back (from injury) and also John Marquis with his endeavour.

“There are loads of positives but as a coach you’re always looking to improve,” said Mangan.

Rovers continue to search for a successor to Joey Barton and Mangan has now won two games from two since taking temporary charge.

Barton’s former assistant also praised 15-year-old Rovers substitute Ollie Dewsbury, who came off the bench with three minutes remaining to become the Pirates’ youngest-ever player in the FA Cup and second youngest in all competitions.

“It’s amazing isn’t it? He did really well with the Under-18s. What a day for him, so proud for him,” said Mangan.

“Can you imagine him going into school on Monday morning, how happy he will be? It will be great.”

Whitby Town manager Nathan Haslam was proud of his side’s efforts against a professional team playing four leagues above them.

“I’m really proud. First half we were a little like rabbits in the headlights, the occasion got to us, which is gutting because we spoke about it a lot,” said Haslam.

“But we’ve just got to take a step back and you know we’re playing a team who are four levels higher. You can see the gulf in class. It’s crazy really.

“We showed them too much respect. We didn’t do our basics well, which I hoped we would, and they punished us. I think they were clinical.

“When you need that bit of luck, there were questions about that first goal being offside. Just to stay in the game, we were on the back foot, and I think that changed the complexion of the game for us really.”

Haslam said of Connor Simpson’s 59th-minute curler into the top corner – the goal of the game: “That one will be played for a long time by Whitby.”

Sutton boss Matt Gray revealed he had predicted his side’s FA Cup clash with non-league AFC Fylde would be a game of two halves as they came from behind to seal a 2-1 win.

The U’s were staring down the barrel of being dumped out by non-league opposition for the second year running after Jon Uskabasi opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time.

However, Harry Smith’s quick-fire double in the second half sent Sutton through.

Gray said: “I sort of knew how the first half would go to be honest, because they were kicking down the hill with a wind behind them, which died down second half.

“AFC Fylde have got some good players, they’ve got some threats. I wasn’t pleased with some things of course, but I was desperate to get in at half-time with a clean sheet.

“I knew and I predicted we would be very dominant second half. I thought we were going to nick a bonus with a goal-mouth scramble and a couple of good chances.

“I felt they were the better side first half, they edged it. To get the goal and follow it up with the second very quickly was pleasing.

“I’ve managed many games here and I’ve seen games pan out exactly the way it did. The team talk was a refocus to the lads about what I wanted and I told them we didn’t need to go gung-ho to try and equalise.

“I knew Harry would have an impact second half and he was a real handful.

“I was frustrated because it’s a cup tie and they’ve got nothing to lose and they threw everything to take us to a replay, and I just wished we would have taken one of those chances to kill the game.”

Lancashire club Fylde have a strong record of qualifying for the main stages of the cup.

However, after failing to reach the second round for a fourth year running, boss Chris Beech said: “We exit the FA Cup, but I don’t think we deserved that in terms of effort and application.

“I was looking at the statistics and we went toe-to-toe with a League Two team. I thought we dealt with them really efficiently first half, probably better than they maybe thought we would.

“We got a position of control but they have big-game moments. They don’t have many, but they have the capability to dominate an opponent because they’re very physical, but there’s quality within that.

“The general play and how the game was we were comfortable, but there were two bits of quality within that from Sutton.

“We had a great chance to get them back to our place. To come away from home to London to a team in League Two; we’ve had 12 opportunities and only scored one.

“We’ve got to get better so we can create less and score more.”

Port Vale manager Andy Crosby was proud of his 10-man team after they earned an FA Cup first-round replay against fellow League One side Burton with a goalless draw.

Captain Nathan Smith was given a straight red card in the 18th minute after bringing down Mark Helm, but Burton failed to make their one-man advantage count.

Vale actually finished the game with nine men as Jason Lowe was withdrawn through injury and they’d already used their three substitution intervals.

The draw comes on the back of Crosby’s men booking their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, but they’re currently on an eight-match winless run in League One.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of the group, the togetherness of the group,” Crosby said.

“We were the better team with 11 men, we were the better team with 10 men, we were the better team with nine men.

“We controlled possession, we controlled them out of possession, we controlled them with 10 men and we controlled the possession with 10 men.

“And I can’t tell you how together this group is, how much they care, how disappointed they’ve been with the run we’ve been on.

“But to go into that game and start the way we did and have the chances we did.

“And then to suffer the disappointment we did with the referee making the decision, to not feel sorry for ourselves, to keep going.

“They crawl off that pitch in a better place than when the game started.”

In a game not short on chances, Burton finally found the net in the dying moments through Josh Walker, but it was ruled out for offside against substitute Cole Stockton.

Albion boss Dino Maamria felt his team were blatantly denied a place in the second round, rather than missing a golden opportunity to go through.

“We scored a legitimate goal in the last minute of the game – it’s clearly onside,” he said.

“Watch it back. Diagonal ball from Jake Caprice, Ryan Sweeney’s in an onside position – he heads it down. Josh Walker’s in an onside position – he turned and volleyed it in brilliantly.

“But the offside got given on Cole Stockton at the near post with the ball nowhere near him.

“It’s a really, really frustrating decision to give, but in all honesty am I surprised by it?

“You see it when they got the sending off in the first half, every decision after that – the crowd, their bench – they’re on top of the referee, they’re on top of the linesman – he got abused throughout the game.

“I didn’t think they were strong enough to deal with that.

“And flagging that last decision there denied us going through.”

Steven Schumacher praised the “outstanding” character of his Plymouth side as they fought back to draw 3-3 with Middlesbrough at Home Park.

Goals from Bali Mumba, Finn Azaz and Morgan Whittaker cancelled out efforts from Boro striker Josh Coburn (2) and Sam Greenwood.

The Argyle boss said: “If we play as well as we do then we’ve got to get points, so I’m pleased that we got a point today.”

“I thought it was a great game, two good teams who obviously like to attack.

“There were moments of quality and passages of good play from both sides.

“I felt we were really good first half. Even though we fell behind I thought we were playing well and probably deserved to go in ahead.

“Second half they came out and we couldn’t get the ball off them for 15 minutes and they’ve shown their quality and got themselves ahead.

“So, it was a really tough game, end to end, but the character of our players was outstanding and I’m really pleased to get something from the game because overall I would say a draw was a fair result.

“Since I have been in charge we have always said ‘try and be positive and get on the front foot’ and ‘try and enjoy the game and be exciting’.

“I know at times that can leave us open and I know at times we can defend better and make less errors.

“But we have also got to remember the players we have got and not many of them have played at this level, so they haven’t got the experience that Middlesbrough have got or loads of other Championship teams.

“We are getting better and we can only learn and develop, so that’s what I want them to do, what I believe and hopefully what our fans like to see.”

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick said: “We did enough to win the game. A lot of the performance was good, we didn’t give them an awful lot and what we did give them they punished us for.

“We were terrific in the second half and they had a free-kick that came from nowhere go in at the back post and it is what it is.

“We didn’t start particularly well but we looked dangerous and got the goal and put ourselves in a good position.

“We had a few minutes where we let them into the spaces we knew they wanted to be in and that was frustrating.

“Then the second half I thought we were terrific. The free-kick going in changed the last 10 minutes, so it is a bit frustrating.

“We appreciate all the effort the fans have gone to this week and to add the Norwich one on the back of that a week before, it’s an incredible two weeks of travelling and effort from them.

“We have given them a couple of wins, but this one we felt like we did enough.

“They have seen goals, application and effort from the boys, so there was enough to celebrate and it was nice to spend a few moments with them at the end and show them how much we appreciate them.”

Darren Ferguson was left to rue two individual errors that left his Peterborough side facing a replay away at Sky Bet League Two Salford following a 2-2 draw.

Posh goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic twice gifted the visitors the lead, in the fourth and 69th minutes, with errors before towering defender Emmanuel Fernandez snatched an equaliser in the 93rd minute after being sent on to play upfront.

“I’m frustrated we’ve got another game and a journey up to Salford,” Ferguson said.

“We’ve already got Wigan on Tuesday so I didn’t want a replay. I ran the risk of losing the game towards the end.

“We were defending with just two players and the rest were upfront but in many ways, you don’t want to lose a game so you’re better off being in the cup and having a replay but it’s definitely a result I didn’t want.”

Bilokapic first played a pass straight to Stephen Mallan on the edge of the box to bury into an empty net and then allowed Zak Sturge’s backpass to roll under his foot.

Ricky-Jade Jones had pulled Posh level just 25 seconds into the second half, scoring in three consecutive games for the first time in his career.

Ferguson added: “We know the reason why we drew, there’s no other way of looking at it, it’s two individual errors. I don’t think they’ve any real chances in the game.

“The mistakes were momentum killers because we started the game really well and were on the front foot.

“The second came from nowhere. Before that, everyone thinks we’re just going to go on and win the game, even them probably.”

After coming so close to an FA Cup upset, Salford boss Neil Wood was left disappointed that his side could not get over the line.

He said: “It’s tough, they’re a really strong team.

“They had to really load it up with the subs they brought on at the end.

“We did ever so well and we’re a bit disappointed in the moments leading up to the equaliser, we probably made some mistakes. It feels like a defeat.

“I have high expectations for us and it’s probably a bit of disappointment creeping in but we have to put it into context.

“They are a really good team at the top end of League One, who have some excellent players.

“We dealt with their attacking players quite well and to get ourselves back in front and to get  90 seconds away from seeing it out, without doing so, is disappointing.

“We played some good stuff ourselves and defended really well so there are some real positives to take from the game.”