FA CUP action starred at non-league grounds across the country last weekend, as Melksham Town, Westbury United, and Corsham Town all took the plunge in their extra preliminary round ties in English football’s greatest relic.

For Melksham, it was a long trip over to the Isle of Wight as they faced Cowes Sports on Saturday.

A journey back which they would very much have enjoyed as a result of their 4-2 success over the Yachtsmen.

Sam Hendy drew first blood, scoring the only goal of the first half, while Gary Higdon, Alex Henshall, and Ben Brooks added to Melksham’s tally.

Scott McFarlane and Jez Conway made up the scoring for Cowes Sports FC, but it was not enough to stop Mark Collier’s gunning side progress. Though, not everyone felt cup glory as both Westbury and Corsham fell short against their respective opponents.

Westbury took the short trip down to Portsmouth on Friday, where they faced Moneyfields. The Hampshire-based club came into the game with their heads held high after they comfortably won their season opener against Hythe and Dibben 4-0.

And the home side carried this confidence through with them as they cruised to a 1-0 victory thanks to striker James Franklyn, securing them a spot in the next round.

Like Westbury, Corsham also failed in their task to reach the next stage of the cup as they lost 3-1 on their travels against Larkhall Athletic at the weekend.

However, the tie wasn’t a friendly one as two of the Corsham side were shown red cards, these being Neikell Plummer and Brandon Mundy.

All goals for the Larks came from hat-trick hero Archie Ferris, while Jasper Jones netted a consolation goal for the away side.

The preliminary round will take place on Saturday, August 19, where Melksham will be one of many trying to secure a place in the first round of qualifying.