Six rounds, endless drama: How this non-league side fought their way to the FA Cup first round

Six Rounds, Endless Drama: How This Non-League Side Fought Their Way to the FA Cup First Round

One non-league side have qualified for the FA Cup first round proper, having started their journey in the extra preliminary round.

Having made their way through six rounds, they are officially the lowest club remaining in the competition, playing in the eighth tier of English football.

Here's how Maldon & Tiptree made it all the way to Port Vale away.

Change In Ownership

Back in February, the Essex-based club was bought out by 'Britain's first gay dads' in a 'multi-million pound' takeover.

Former West Ham United, Manchester City and Ipswich midfielder Kevin Horlock was appointed manager, whilst players came in over the summer with plenty of EFL pedigree.

Former West Ham, Coventry and Colchester striker Freddie Sears was brought in, whilst Tom Eastman, who has made 257 League Two and 179 League One appearances, also arrived.

They now sit top of the table with 25 points from nine games, two points above Felixstowe United.

Extra-Preliminary

Taking place all the way back on 2 August 2025 - before the EFL and Premier League seasons even began - Maldon & Tiptree hosted Buckhurst Hill.

As expected, it was a routine win for Maldon, winning 5-0 with goals from Gary Hooper (x2), Dylan Williams, Louis Dunne and Matthew Price.

FT: Maldon & Tiptree 5-0 Buckhurst Hill - while off the pitch, Maldon are certainly giving off Billericay 2016-2019 vibes. On it, Bucky Hill couldn't lay a glove on them.

P.S - yes that's a Cybertruck! Looks even worse in real life than you could imagine 😂 pic.twitter.com/mLHgV3ini7

— Travelling Fan (@TravellingFan) August 2, 2025

Preliminary Round

A visit to Brickfield Lane and Hadley awaited them in the next round, though it was still not officially classed as a qualifying tie, with it taking place in the final preliminary round.

A penalty from Sears in the 29th minute and an extra-time goal from Matt Price was enough to down them, as Hadley did score a goal of their own.

📍Hadley F.C pic.twitter.com/kqu2BbJkrx

— Maldon & Tiptree FC (@MaldonTiptreeFC) August 16, 2025

First Qualifying Round

A tie against the same-level club, Isthmian Premier side Canvey Island, was their reward in the first official qualifier.

Despite no gulf in leagues, Maldon looked a different class on the pitch, a Sears brace seeing them comfortably march on to the next step of their cup journey.

🔥 FULL-TIME: Maldon & Tiptree 2–0 Canvey Island 🔥

Another big win at the Drewitt-Barlow Stadium today in our FA cup run, as the Jammers beat visitors Canvey Island! ⚽⚽

Full-time: Maldon & Tiptree 2–0 Canvey Island

Another chapter in our FA Cup run! A classy brace from… pic.twitter.com/e6eAQT6hax

— Barrie Drewitt-Barlow (@Gaydads) August 30, 2025

Second Qualifying Round

Into the second qualifying round - where National League North/South clubs enter - and a favourable tie against Stanway Rovers of the same league as the Jammers was listed as the next step towards the main draw of the competition.

Another routine victory duly followed, winning 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from Cameron James and Tevan Allen in front of 716 fans.

This was a big improvement on the year before, where the two sides met in the extra preliminary round, with Rovers instead winning 2-1 at the Jammers' Park Drive stadium.

Third Qualifying Round

Another slice of luck came in the third qualifier, facing yet another team from their own division, this time Waltham Abbey FC.

However, this tie was the first one that caused Maldon & Tiptree's defence to concede more than the odd goal, although the result was still beyond doubt.

The Jammers cruised to a 4-0 lead after 53 minutes, before Waltham Abbey scored two in six minutes to give them hope, albeit too little too late.

FULL-TIME: Waltham Abbey 2-4 Maldon & Tiptree pic.twitter.com/OQyd0KWEJ8

— Waltham Abbey Football Club (@walthamabbeyfc) September 27, 2025

Final Qualifying Round

The fourth and final qualifier was a home tie to Southern League Division One side Flackwell Heath.

Before the game, the club announced the signing of Macauley Bonne, joining from National League Southend United and formerly of Queens Park Rangers, Leyton Orient and Ipswich Town.

BONNE BECOMES A JAMMER 🍓

We are delighted to announce the signing of Macauley Bonne following his departure from @SUFCRootsHall ✍️

The striker arrives with plenty of football league experience and is available for today’s @EmiratesFACup fixture against Flackwell Heath 🎯 pic.twitter.com/FReI3CQT30

— Maldon & Tiptree FC (@MaldonTiptreeFC) October 11, 2025

Once again, Maldon and Tiptree were in luck, with another kind draw; Flackwell Heath were of the Southern version of the Isthmian Northern division where Maldon & Tiptree ply their trade.

This time though, it was a much tighter affair; yet another Sears strike made all the difference as the Jammers broke Flackwell's hearts to beat them to the lucrative first round proper spot.

Kevin Horlock reckons he has ‘the best Step 4 side ever assembled’ as ten-man Maldon & Tiptree saw off Flackwell Heath to reach the FA Cup first round proper.https://t.co/hg4Zg88HWn

— The Non-League Paper (@NonLeaguePaper) October 12, 2025

First Round

On Monday night, the FA Cup first-round draw was made live on TNT Sport.

All eyes were on the eighth-tier side, who eventually got a dream draw away to League One club Port Vale, a side that faced Arsenal just last month in the other domestic cup.

This certainly isn't any typical fairytale story - such as Marine AFC's run, having been a Northern Premier League Division One West team - and was full of investment and fortunate draws. And yet the story is no less intriguing - noone can take away from the fact that the Jammers needed to survive six rounds to get to this point, an impressive achievement by anybody's standards.

It means it is the third time the Jammers have reached the first round in their history, after doing so back-to-back in 2019/20 and 2020/21.