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In the midst of their push to win promotion back to the Championship this season, Sheffield Wednesday began their FA Cup campaign with a first-round tie at home to Morecambe at the beginning of November, and they progressed with a 2-0 victory.
Josh Windass put them ahead on the half-hour mark, and Alex Mighten added a second in the 65th minute to book the Owls’ place in the next round.
Their other cup run would come to an end in the following encounter away at Premier League outfit Southampton, though, eventually dropping out of the EFL Cup in the third round following a penalty shootout defeat, after a commendable 1-1 draw in normal time.
Since then, Darren Moore‘s side have continued their impressive form in England’s third tier, posting back-to-back victories in their fight for a place in the top two, firstly beating Accrington Stanley on their travels before Mark McGuinness netted the only goal in a triumph at home to Shrewsbury Town last Saturday.
Having now cut the gap to the the automatic promotion spots to just a single point and the summit of the division to three points, the South Yorkshire outfit will briefly turn their attention away from the league and fight to book a place in the third round of the FA Cup.
Their visitors make the relatively short trip in the midst of a promotion fight of their own, with a disappointing defeat last time out seeing them drop outside of the playoff places in League Two.
The Stags also entered the FA Cup in the first round early in November, and they began with a trip to Barrow, eventually advancing with a 1-0 victory as Oliver Hawkins‘s goal late in the first half proved to be the difference between the sides.
Nigel Clough‘s side find themselves in a tough run of league form, though, having now lost three of their last four matches in the fourth tier, including a 2-1 defeat at home to Bradford City after that cup triumph, before they returned to winning ways away at Rochdale Town thanks to George Maris‘s second-half goal.
Darren Moore could deploy the same Sheffield Wednesday starting XI that got past Morecambe in the first round earlier this month, with talismanic captain Barry Bannan again likely to be rested.
Summer arrivals Mallik Wilks and Alex Mighten should also get another chance to boost their claims for regular first-team football, with the duo likely flanking either Michael Smith or Callum Paterson in the front three with additional support from Josh Windass.
With Bannan set to sit out, Bristol City loanee Tyreeq Bakinson could come into the midfield alongside Will Vaulks, while Dominic Iorfa and Mark McGuinness are expected to continue their centre-back partnership in the continued absence of Ben Heneghan, who will miss the majority of the campaign through injury.
In their bid to cause a major FA Cup upset, Mansfield Town should travel to Hillsborough with a full-strength starting XI, with John-Joe O’Toole, Oliver Hawkins and James Perch set to line up in a back three.
Nottingham Forest loanee Will Swan, who has netted six league goals so far this season, will likely fight with Lucas Akins to lead the line, while Jordan Bowery will offer further threat from a new wider role.
George Lapslie should come back in from the outset, having also hit the net six times this term, while George Maris is somewhat of a mainstay in midfield for Clough’s men.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Stockdale; Hunt, Iorfa, McGuinness, James; Bakinson, Vaulks; Wilks, Windass, Mighten; Smith
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Pym; O’Toole, Hawkins, Perch; Bowery, Maris, Hartigan, Lapslie, Wallace; Quinn; Akins
In the week that the Bulls lost their most famous ex-player, FA Cup legend Ronnie Radford – 50 years on from his iconic match-winning goal against Newcastle – it briefly looked like there might be some left-over magic in the air.
For seven minutes, the sixth-tier outfit led after Miles Storey’s goal against the team 81 places above them in the English football pyramid in League One.
But Pompey hit back, with Reeco Hackett quickly levelling before second-half goals from Colby Bishop and substitute Joe Pigott earned the twice FA Cup winners a safe passage to Monday’s second-round draw
Making their first trip to Edgar Street in 38 years, Pompey were given a good first-half workout by the fired-up hosts.
Although home keeper Dale Eve had to keep out Hackett’s left-foot curler bound for the top corner, Pompey had a first real scare when Bishop’s challenge on Hereford’s former million-pound marksman Tyrone Barnett in the visitors’ penalty box went unpunished.
And there was worse to follow for Pompey when Hereford took the lead on 26 minutes.
Sean Raggett played a loose pass inside to Hackett, who was immediately closed down and robbed by Storey – and the former Pompey player raced away down the inside-left channel before keeping his cool to nutmeg on-loan West Bromwich Albion keeper Josh Griffiths.
Fittingly, just two days on from the announcement of the sad passing of Hereford’s legendary number 11, their modern-day number 11 emulated his predecessor.
There had already been a minute’s silence, which cascaded into applause from the whole ground, followed by chants of ‘there’s only one Ronnie Radford’ when the clock showed 11 minutes.
But this goal was destined not to prove so famous.
Ronan Curtis headed down Connor Ogilvie’s far-post cross for Hackett to bring down and fire home coolly from six yards.
On 63 minutes, Portsmouth took the lead when, from Clark Robertson’s in-swinging right-foot corner from the left, Bishop timed his run to get there first and head his 10th goal of the season.
And Pigott wrapped up victory 10 minutes from time when, again from a corner by skipper Robertson, Bishop won the initial header before Pigott reacted sharpest to sidefoot home
Hereford FC boss Josh Gowling told BBC Sport:
“I’m really disappointed because we should have got something out of it, but goals change games – and the quality of the delivery they have changes games.
“In the first half we were excellent. We were in the ascendancy and they looked nervous.
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“We were on top and looked like we could go on and win, but we’ve made one mistake, it has cost us a goal and that’s the difference in levels.
“We’ve given them a leg up and a little lift and you could see their performance raise after that.”
Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley told BBC Sport:
“I was so sad to hear the news about Ronnie Radford. He was such an iconic figure and he had that iconic moment. For a lot of people my age, his famous goal was their first memories of the FA Cup. But what a brilliant night to celebrate his life