FA Cup tie throws up 11-goal thriller but falls way short of 134-year record

FC Halifax Town secured their spot in the second round of the FA Cup with a stunning victory over Maidenhead United in a goal-drenched game on Saturday.

The West Yorkshire side sealed the win over their National League rivals thanks to a hugely entertaining 7-4 scoreline at the Shay.

There were no fewer than eight different scorers. Billy Waters notched a brace for the hosts, with Maidenhead's Josh Kelly and Emile Acquah also bagging two each in a topsy-turvy game.

The sides traded the first four goals of the afternoon before Halifax broke away to go 4-2 up. Acquah then reduced the arrears before the interval.

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But Jordan Slew, who Blackburn once paid £1million to sign from Sheffield United, made it 5-3 to Halifax just before the hour. Waters added a second to put the game out of Maidenhead's sight at 6-3.

But that didn't stop them trying and after Kelly completed his brace, the hosts' Elliot Newby capped off the afternoon with goal number seven.

Despite the big win, Halifax chief Pete Wild was critical of his players' defending.

"I think it was the sublime to the ridiculous, for a team that's kept eight out of ten clean sheets, you wouldn't have known," Wild said.

"I think we defended poorly, I don't think we defended well at all against strong, aggressive centre-forwards, and we know what Maidenhead bring, we've worked on that, and we just didn't deliver in that department today.

"On the flip side of that, tactically how we worked to try and beat Maidenhead, get round them, pull their full-backs out, get into the box, whip balls across the box, we scored some of the best goals we've seen all season.

"So it's a fantastic in-possession display, but a horrendous out of possession display.

"And I don't use the word horrendous lightly, I thought we were horrendous out of possession. We're all better than that, that's what disappoints me most and that's what I'll go home and reflect on tonight."

FC Halifax Town manager Pete Wild was unhappy with his side's defending despite an emphatic day for his forward line

Wild says he is in no hurry to be involved in a game as frantic as this any time soon.

"I don't want to be involved in one of them ever again," he added.

Whilst there were a whopping 11 goals to witness for the 1,514 lucky fans in attendance, it sadly fell some way short of the all-time FA Cup record.

That was set way back in 1887 when Preston North End completed an astonishing 26-0 win over Hyde.

Despite not quite beating that record, today's game did still set a landmark.

Not since January 1891 has a game between two non-league sides produced as many goals. That was when Darwen won 13-0 against Kidderminster Harriers in a first round replay.

The draw for the second round takes place on Monday night with Halifax one of six non-league sides guaranteed to be in the next round, along with Yeovil Town, Chesterfield, Kidderminster, Boreham Wood and Buxton.