However, that was only half of the drama. As, in a tense penalty shootout, Jordan Helliwell finally slotted home the decisive spot kick to send Gainsborough into the second round at the expense of Hednesford Town. The Holy Blues have now created another slice of history, reaching the second round for the first time since 1952 - some 72 years ago. Their reward, as the lowest ranked team left in the FA Cup, a trip to an EFL outfit in the form of Harrogate Town.

Seasiders

But, it is now league action that returns to the forefront of mind. It is more than 40 days since Trinity last played a NPL fixture. They face a Whitby side who sit above Wilcox’s men, having played a staggering six games more. The Seasiders are unbeaten in their last three games, following up two draws with a win against Prescot Cables, at the same time Gainsborough hit the headlines in Staffordshire. Whitby have not been consistent this year, but still pose a very legitimate threat to a Trinity side who will most certainly be drained physically and mentally.

The Holy Blues did the double over Tuesday night’s hosts last season, beating them twice in successive Saturdays during March. You have to trawl back to 2018 to find the last time Gainsborough lost on their travels to Whitby’s stretch of the Yorkshire coast.

Ahead of the game Russ Wilcox said: "It’s a shame it’s not at home, to give the lads some rest. We’ve got a long journey again. We have to look after the player’s health and safety, we need them for the rest of the season."

"It’s not just about Whitby away. We don’t want any fatigue injuries in this next game, because we are a small squad at the moment. We will go up there and refocus. That will be hard to do after the highs of the weekend, but we’ve got a good group in there who can do that. The league is going to be important to us. I don’t think we’ve played a league game for 40 days. It’s a tough place to go on a Tuesday night. The lads will have been working all day, so it’s probably the most difficult fixture we could’ve had after the highs of the weekend."

Trinity head into a busy slate of fixtures, with the next tantalising FA Cup tie on the horizon before December begins. Elsewhere in the league, Mikleover travel to Morpeth in the only other Tuesday night fixture. If you can’t get there, join us for online commentary before kick-off. Let's go!

Preview by Jamie Johnson