NILE RANGER headed the extra-time winner as seventh-tier Kettering stunned League One Northampton to make the FA Cup second round.

The ex-Newcastle striker, 33, struck to complete the Southern League Premier Central side’s 2-1 comeback win after Luca Miller cancelled out Connor Johnson’s first-half own goal for the Cobblers.

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Ranger said: “It’s special, especially where we’re coming from.

“Obviously our tier of football is quite low, so coming to Northampton, it’s a derby as well. Look what it means to the fans. It’s a lot.

“I’m trying to be humble. I’m getting old now.

“Obviously, I went down a level to show everyone I’m still hungry. It feels good for myself as well.”

Ranger rose highest to head home the winner in the 92nd minute at the Sixfields Stadium.

He is joined by two other former Premier League stars at Kettering in Gary Hooper and Marvin Sordell.

The result was a huge scalp for Kettering and Northampton are currently four divisions higher than the Southern League Premier Division Central side.

Gainsborough will be the lowest-ranked side in tonight’s FA Cup second-round draw after a penalty shoot-out victory following a 4-4 draw with eighth-tier Hesnesford.

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The Northern Premier League strugglers recovered from 3-0 down to force extra-time with an added time leveller from Will Lancaster.

Seventh-tier Trinity fell behind again before levelling — then won 5-4 on penalties to reach the second round for the first time in 72 years.

Gainsborough boss Russ Wilcox said: “I’ve never been involved in anything like that. In the penalty shoot-out we had three chances to win it and three chances to lose it.”

And National League strugglers Wealdstone pulled off a shock by winning 1-0 at League Two Grimsby with Alex Reid’s 90th-minute strike.

The striker said: “The gaffer said show respect but believe in yourselves.”

Oldham overcame the one-division gap to League Two Tranmere to beat Rovers 2-1 at Prenton Park.

National League Dagenham also beat League Two opposition with Dion Pereira’s second-half penalty clinching a 1-0 win at Crewe.

Daggers boss Ben Strevens said: “It’s an amazing day for us. The scenes at the end are what we do it for.”

Seventh-tier Harborough are in the second round for the first time after a 4-1 win at National League South Tonbridge.

Paul Malone gave the Southern League Premier Central side the lead before Ben Stephens (two) and Danny Forbes sealed it.

Northern Premier League Guiseley gave League One Stevenage a scare before finally going out on penalties.

Will Longbottom’s equaliser for the non league outfit made it 1-1 but keeper Murphy Cooper made two saves to help win the shoot-out 5-4.

Maidstone’s hopes of another memorable Cup run ended with a 3-0 defeat at Solihull Moors.

Josh Magennis scored a hat-trick for Exeter in the League One side’s 5-3 win over National League Barnet.

And National League North outfit Rushall Olympic finished with ten men with Luke Benbow sent off for two bookings as they were beaten 2-0 at home by League Two Accrington.

FA Cup first round results

Here are all of the resultd from the FA Cup first round…

• Notts County 5-1 Alfreton Town
• Tamworth 1-0 Huddersfield
• Tonbridge 1-4 Harborough Town
• Worthing 0-2 Morecambe
• Burton Albion 1-0 Scarborough Athletic
• Solihull Moors 3-0 Maidstone United
• Gillingham 0-2 Blackpool
• Reading 2-0 Fleetwood
• Newport County 2-4 Peterborough
• Barrow 0-1 Doncaster
• Woking 0-1 Cambridge United
• Stockport 2-1 Forest Green Rovers
• Bristol Rovers 3-1 Weston-super-Mare
• Rochdale 3-4 Bromley
• Walsall 2-1 Bolton
• Port Vale 1-3 Barnsley
• Exeter City 5-3 Barnet
• Swindon Town 2-1 Colchester
• Wycombe 3-2 York City
• Chesterfield 3-1 Horsham
• Southend 3-4 Charlton
• Maidenhead 1-2 Crawley Town
• Brackley Town 0(5)-(4)0 Braintree Town
• Crewe Alexandre 0-1 Dagenham and Redbridge
• Bradford City 3-1 Aldershot Town
• Carlisle 0-2 Wigan Athletic
• Tranmere 1-2 Oldham
• Stevenage 1(5)-(4)1 Guiseley
• Grimsby Town 0-1 Wealdstone
• Salford City 2-1 Shrewsbury
• Rotherham 1-3 Cheltenham
• Ruchall Olympic 0-2 Accrington Stanley
• Hednesford Town 4(4)-(5)4 Gainsborough Trinity
• Northampton Town 1-2 Kettering Town

Still to play

• MK Dons v AFC Wimbledon
• Sutton United v Birmingham City
• Curzon Ashton v Mansfield Town
• Boreham Wood v Leyton Orient
• Harrogate Town v Wrexham
• Chesham United v Lincoln City

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Fortunately for the Gunners, Manchester City, champions in six of the past seven seasons, also suffered defeat on Saturday as Pep Guardiola’s side lost 2-1 at Bournemouth.

Speaking on TNT Sports, former England midfielder Joe Cole said: “I think this league title will be won by less points than for a long time because there are too many good teams.

“A lot of people tipped them for the league but I am second guessing that now.”

When making their predictions before the start of the season, 11 of the 30 BBC TV and radio pundits said Arsenal would win a first title since 2003-04.

But, in the absence of captain and playmaker Martin Odegaard, who suffered an ankle ligament injury while on international duty in September, they have not made the start many anticipated in pursuit of ending City’s dominance.

Keown said: “They didn’t show any of their personality and Odegaard was missed more [on Saturday] than I have ever seen.

“It was a seventh different back four in the past 10 games for Arsenal but the Newcastle goal was basics. They have been so good at that before.”

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock said: “Odegaard is the key player for Arsenal. He is not afraid to give the ball away by hitting that killer pass. He is the one missing.

“They had overtaken one of the best teams in the world and people were tipping them to win the league because they thought you were ready for that next step.

“It shows what pressure does.”

Wolves fought back from a goal down against Crystal Palace but couldn’t hold on for what would have been an important three points.

The defensive frailties of O’Neil’s side proved costly once again, with errors and poor marking essentially gifting Palace both goals.

“I don’t think it’s all on him. The whole group has a lot of responsibility,” said Wolves striker Matheus Cunha when asked about the pressure on O’Neil.

“Any club can pass through this situation, it’s part of the game. We just need to keep working, the results are coming.”

Wolves have failed to win any of their opening 10 games of a league season for only the third time in their history, after 1926-27 and 1983-84.

The silver lining for Wolves is that they ended a run of four consecutive home defeats after what has, admittedly, been a cruel opening schedule.

“The fact the lads are fighting for everything is the positive, you can’t ask for more than what they give,” O’Neil told Sky Sports.

“There were some decisions we made out there that weren’t correct and we’ve got to address that.

“It’s going to be a tough season, we’re going to have to fight and scrap for a long time.”

Is it too early to call Wolves’ clash with Southampton next weekend a relegation six-pointer? The way things are going, probably not.

RUBEN AMORIM will take the reins at Old Trafford as one of the most feted and fawned-over young bosses in football.

Yet the latest man charged with dragging Manchester United off the canvas was once so convinced he would not cut it as a boss that he tried to quit… after only two games.

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It was 2018, and Amorim, then just 33, had begun his management career at Portuguese third-tier outfit Casa Pia with two defeats.

And as he walked into the dressing room after the second of them, his mind was made up. It would be best for everyone if the relationship came to a swift end.

As a rookie still chasing his Level 1 coaching qualification, Amorim felt the club needed a bigger, more experienced name. And with brutal honesty, he told his astonished players so.

Among them was Evandro Roncatto, a team-mate from their playing days at Belenenses and signed by his close pal.

Brazilian Roncatto, now sporting director of Oliveira do Hospital, remembers it well.

Amorim may have had huge doubts, but his players had already seen enough to have none — and they wasted no time giving president Victor Franco a brutal message of their own.

Roncatto revealed: “I was playing for Kalamata in Greece when Ruben called and right away I was very impressed.

“But he had doubts as he did not have a professional coaching qualification.

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“He was so honest with his concerns and worried about harming the team because he wasn’t a big-name coach.

“And that day he came into the dressing room when we were still getting changed, in front of the president and vice-president and said, ‘I’m leaving’.

Ruben Amorim is ‘Mourinho 2.0’ who turned Sporting from ‘walking dead’ into Portuguese champs… he can revive Man Utd

WHEN Ruben Amorim took charge of Sporting Lisbon in March 2020, one club official compared their situation to the “walking dead”, writes Jordan Davies.

Optimism and hope was at an all-time low.

But the Amorim-effect was almost instantaneous, guiding the Portuguese sleeping giants to their first league title for 19 years in 2020/21, losing just once and only conceding 20 goals.

Since then, Sporting have lifted another league title in 2023/24 – as well as two League Cups – and currently sit top with nine wins from nine this term.

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He may be young, but Amorim already has an eye for rebuilding and revitalising fallen super powers with his infectious charisma and intense tactical philosophy that hardly ever wavers. 

The “walking dead” at Manchester United must be praying for a similar sort of revival.

And they may just get it from one of the most talented young coaches on the continent – a man accustomed to breathing new life back into crumbling institutions such as Old Trafford.

Amorim has spent the last decade dreaming of one day gracing England’s Premier League, such was his admiration for an ex-United boss in Jose Mourinho growing up.

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Often nicknamed ‘Mourinho 2.0’, Amorim spent a week with his coaching idol in an internship capacity at United’s Carrington training base in 2018, going on to cite him as his “reference point”.

United should not be expecting a mini-Mourinho, as Amorim said himself: “Mourinho is one of a kind. There won’t be another Mourinho. Mourinho is unique.”

And yet, you cannot help but compare the two.

For all the mismanagement in the Old Trafford hot seats over the years, this would be a real get – finally a slap in the face United’s Prem rivals have no answer for.

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“In an instant, all the players stood up and told the president if he let Ruben go, all of them would leave the club along with him.

“We told the president we were with the coach to the death. We were all emotional and all defending Ruben

“When the president found himself in that situation, I think any idea of firing Ruben disappeared in seconds!

“All the players were with Ruben to the death, no matter what.”

The belief in that dressing room was well founded, as Casa Pia went on to win the title and Amorim’s coaching career took off.

A year later Braga had poached him as their reserve boss, three months later he was in charge of the first team, and after only 13 games, Sporting Lisbon paid £8million to get him.

It was also an indication of the loyalty so many who have worked under Amorim insist he inspires in players — Roncatto more than most.

He had grown close to the new United chief when he arrived at Belenenses in the noughties.

Amorim became his unofficial guardian, from meals at the family home to easing him into a new life in Portugal.

Roncatto, 38, added: “The way he treats his players is spectacular.

“When he left Casa Pia for Sporting Braga I said, ‘This is where the story of an elite coach begins’.

“I wasn’t wrong and United have picked the ideal person.”

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Martin Truex Jr. was the last driver on track in the pole round of qualifying, rocketing to the top of the charts with a 19.686s lap that denied Hendrick Motorsports a front row lockout.

“I felt great about our car on stickers,” said Truex, who also led the way in Cup practice. “You know, you never want to get too optimistic but it fired off really good in practice — especially that second run when the track rubbered in.

“I was like: ‘Alright, if we can just hit the balance here for qualifying it should be really fast.’ Proud of James [Small, crew chief] and all of the guys and everyone back at JGR and at TRD. We haven’t had a whole lot of good going for us lately. This feels awesome. Anytime you’re first at anything in this series is special and exciting. We got some work to do for tomorrow, but hopefully we can make a gain on it and have a good day.”

This is Truex’s 24th career pole and his first of the 2024 season. His last P1 start came at this very race one year ago. Truex is also winless in his last full-time season of competition, which he hopes to change in the final two weeks.

“Two more chances to win,” said Truex. “We want it bad. We are working hard. We are not giving up and hopefully we can get one for everyone.”

Truex will share the front row with Chase Elliott, who was the highest-qualifying playoff driver. William Byron was third, Chase Briscoe fourth, and Ty Gibbs fifth. Rounding out the remainder of the top-ten was Harrison Burton, Alex Bowman, Ryan Preece, Kyle Larson, and Austin Dillon.

Round 1

In Group A qualifying, the Stewart-Haas Racing drivers impressed with Briscoe and teammate Preece topping the charts, followed by Elliott and Burton. Dillon was the final driver to advance, beating Championship 4-bound Joey Logano by 0.025s.

Ryan Blaney, facing a likely must-win, qualified 14th. Christopher Bell, who sits 29 points above the cut-line, was a surprisingly mediocre 16th while the two drivers chasing him moved forward to the pole round. 

In Group B, Truex led the way there with an astonishing 19.584s lap — over a tenth faster than his eventual pole run. He was joined by the Hendrick trio of Byron, Bowman and Larson, as well as JGR teammate Gibbs. Larson was the final driver to advance, besting Josh Berry by 0.029s.

Tyler Reddick, who locked himself into the Championship 4 with a dramatic last-lap pass at Homestead, made an error on his fast lap and will start 31st. However, the lowest-starting playoff driver will be the one who did not even take part. After the throttle stuck in practice, Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 car sustained significant rear end damage. Hamlin did not participate in qualifying as the team makes extensive repairs to the car. He will start 37th (last) on Sunday, 18 points below the cut-line.