'Whole village' turns out for FA Cup row replay
· Yahoo Sports
A non-league football club has thanked supporters after "the whole village" came out to support them as they won a controversial FA Cup replay.
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The original meeting between Mulbarton Wanderers and Woodford Town made international headlines after the Football Association (FA) made the rare decision to order a replay due to a referee's error.
A record crowd of 806 people attended the match in Norfolk, with Wanderers sealing progress thanks to a 2-0 win.
The victory brought with it £3,375 from the FA Cup prize fund and a home tie against Gloucester City in the third qualifying round of the world's oldest football competition.
Danny Self, the joint first team manager at Mulbarton, said: "We're over the moon that we've given the fans something to shout out about. Their support was incredible to have."
Victory in Saturday's next round would leave Mulbarton a win away from a potentially lucrative first round proper tie with EFL sides including Sheffield Wednesday and 2021 FA Cup winners Leicester City.
"[To our supporters] see you again on Saturday," the club's other joint boss Ben Thompson said.
"It will be the biggest game in our history and we need the fans again. They're our 12th man".
Mulbarton had to introduce advance ticketing because of "unprecedented demand" due to the tie's media attention.
Ashley Jarvis, who scored both of Mulbarton's goals, added: "It was a great atmosphere. The whole village came out and we're delighted to get the win."
Why was the match replayed?
Tuesday's match followed a surprise decision by the FA to rule that the game should be replayed and be switched to Norfolk.
London club Woodford, who play in a league below Mulbarton, lodged an appeal due to the laws of the game being applied incorrectly during the initial match, which Wanderers had won 2-1.
With the match still at 0-0 in the first half, Woodford had a penalty disallowed for their players encroaching into the penalty area.
However, the game was restarted with Mulbarton being awarded a free-kick, instead of Woodford being able to retake the penalty.
Danny Self, joint first team manager at Mulbarton Wanderers, was frustrated by the decision [Shaun Whitmore/BBC]More from Norfolk
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Mulbarton, located about six miles (10km) south of Norwich, have risen through local leagues in recent years and is competing at step four of the non-league pyramid for the first time this season.
Gloucester, their opponents in the next round, play at step three of non-league, in Southern League Premier Division South. The winner will claim £5,625 in winnings and the losers £1,875.
Despite losing Tuesday's tie, London-based Woodford also collected £1,125 from the FA's prize fund.
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