Eastleigh cruised into FA Cup second round with 5-1 thrashing of National League rivals Boreham Wood.

The hosts were in front after 17 minutes, with Nigel Atangana turning the ball in after Chris Maguire’s free-kick had been headed away.

However, it took just two minutes for Boreham Wood to level through Matt Robinson.

Maguire had the hosts back in front within four minutes, firing into an empty net from Jake Taylor’s low cross.

Maguire then turned provider when his free-kick was swept in by Ludwig Francillette seven minutes before the interval.

And Francilette scored again shortly after the interval to make it 4-1 to the home side.

The dismissal of Jayden Harris in the 71st minute for a second bookable offence failed to knock Eastleigh off their stride and Maguire wrapped up a fine win in stoppage time, smashing in from six yards out.

Lee Ndlovu’s strike and several incredible saves from Nathan Ashmore helped Boreham Wood end a four-match winless run in the National League as they edged out Hartlepool 1-0.

Ashmore was at full stretch to keep out Tom Crawford’s strike and stop Hartlepool from going ahead early on, while at the other end the hosts had a goal disallowed for offside from Erico Sousa’s free-kick.

Emmanuel Dieseruvwe forced Ashmore into another save on the half-hour mark while Ndlovu came close to giving Wood the lead as his turn and shot whistled past a post just before half-time.

Ashmore produced another spectacular save from Josh Umerah’s thunderbolt from distance before Ndlovu broke the deadlock with 12 minutes remaining after turning his defender, racing through on goal and calmly slotting past Hartlepool goalkeeper Pete Jameson.

But the Wood still needed another vital intervention from Ashmore to preserve their first win since September 16 as he denied Dieseruvwe from close range at his front post deep into added-on time.

Ryan Reynolds felt vindicated after seeing Wrexham promoted to the English Football League following a 15-year absence.

The Deadpool star and fellow actor Rob McElhenney surprised everyone when they bought the Welsh club in November 2020.

And the co-owners were in attendance at the Racecourse Ground – along with another Hollywood star guest in Paul Rudd – to see Wrexham beat Boreham Wood 3-1 on Saturday to clinch the National League title.

Reynolds and McElhenney were emotional after the game as they celebrated with the players and manager Phil Parkinson, with Wrexham moving to 110 points – a National League record – meaning Notts County (106) could no longer catch them with one game remaining of what had been a pulsating title race.

"I am not sure I can process what happened tonight. I am still little speechless," Reynolds told BT Sport.

"[People ask] 'Why Wrexham?'. This is why Wrexham. This happening, right now, is why.

"Boreham Wood showed up today. They are an incredible team. They have one of the best defences in the entire league.

"This entire story, the reason we are all on edge of our seats is because Notts County are so damn good. They deserve to go up. We are rooting for Notts County. We want to see them go up [in the playoffs]."

Wrexham sealed their place in League Two for next season after recovering from going a goal down to Lee Ndlovu's first-minute lob, with Elliot Lee equalising in the 15th minute before two well-taken goals from top scorer Paul Mullin in the second half secured the famous win.

Fans poured onto the pitch on the full-time whistle as celebrations centred around being presented with the National League trophy.

"Well I think we can hear what it feels to the town. It's a time of celebration and be welcomed into their community and be welcomed to this, it is the honour of my life," McElhenney said.

The 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' star also had rather high words of praise for striker Mullin, who now has 38 league goals this season.

"I would like to say Paul Mullin is one of the greatest footballers in the world," McElhenney insisted.

Salomon Rondon scored twice to send Everton into the FA Cup quarter-finals at the expense of non-league Boreham Wood.

Thursday's contest at Goodison Park was preceded by a moving tribute to Ukraine amid the escalating conflict in the country following Russia's invasion last week.

Everton players, including Ukrainian Vitaliy Mykolenko, named captain for the match, came onto the pitch draped in blue-and-yellow national flags. Boreham Wood also bore Ukraine colours along with a shirt carrying Mykolenko's name.

The traditional Z Cars theme that usually accompanies Everton players onto the pitch then changed to John Lennon's Imagine, with the starting line-ups then holding a banner that read 'Imagine all the people, sharing all the world'.

The Premier League club had this week severed ties with three Russian sponsors, each of which is linked with Alisher Usmanov, the club's billionaire backer who has had assets frozen as part of sanctions imposed by the European Union. Usmanov called the action "unfair" and vowed to take legal action.

Boreham Wood have enjoyed a remarkable run in this season's competition, reaching the fifth round without conceding a goal even during qualifying, and they were resolute against Frank Lampard's side for much of the contest.

Rondon, who had earlier missed a clear chance with a header, broke the deadlock after 57 minutes with a near-post finish from Jonjoe Kenny's low cross.

Richarlison had a goal disallowed but Rondon forced a header over the line from an Andros Townsend delivery to settle the match six minutes from time.

Everton will now face Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals this month.

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