Underdog Stories / Football history
How Did an Eighth-Tier Club Nearly Upset Grimsby in the FA Cup?
An eighth-tier club nearly upset Grimsby in the FA Cup as firefighter Darrhyl Mason scored twice, before a six-goal tie ended with three saved penalties.
By Brett Hanson · Underdog Podcasts · November 9, 2026
Three minutes into the match, firefighter Darrhyl Mason was through on goal. He held off a defender and drove the ball into the top corner.
Stafford Rangers were the eighth-tier club that nearly upset Grimsby in the FA Cup. On November 8, 2026, they led their League Two visitors 2-0 at halftime, then 3-2 in extra time. Mason scored twice. Grimsby came back to draw 3-3 and won the shootout 3-2. Stafford had to settle for a match nobody at their ground will quickly forget.
Who were Stafford Rangers playing in the FA Cup?
Stafford Rangers played in the Northern Premier League Division One West, four levels below Grimsby Town. Their first-round tie took place at the Stan Robinson Stadium, where 3,130 people watched the home side take on a Football League club.
The gap meant more than four rungs on a chart. Grimsby entered the FA Cup at the first round, alongside clubs from League One. Stafford had already played eight qualifying matches to get there. The bigger club arrived for its first tie; the smaller one had spent weeks earning the meeting.
This was Stafford’s first appearance in the first round since the 2006-07 season. Back then, Rangers beat Maidenhead United after a replay, then lost to Brighton in the second round. They had waited nearly 20 years for another first-round match.
The draw gave them home advantage. It also put a national audience in front of a ground whose regular league fixtures draw far less notice. The FA listed Stafford against Grimsby among the first-round television matches, with a noon kickoff. By then, Stafford had done the hard part of reaching the stage. Staying there for one more round would be harder still.
How did the eighth-tier club nearly upset Grimsby in the FA Cup?
Jack Birch started the move that gave Stafford the lead. He sent Mason through in the third minute, and the striker held off Maldini Kacurri before shooting past Harvey Cartwright.
Grimsby had chances to answer. Iwan Morgan hit a post, and Stafford goalkeeper Russ Saunders made saves. Yet the next goal belonged to the hosts. Just before halftime, Cartwright stopped a deflected shot from Beto Gomes. Birch reached the loose ball first and scored from a tight angle.
At 2-0, the ground had good reason to believe. Stafford had a full half left to protect the lead, though, and Grimsby had already shown they could get into dangerous spots.
Stafford nearly added a third after the break. Cartwright saved twice from Birch, including one chance created by Mason from the right. Those stops would matter. Each kept Grimsby within two goals while the visitors worked their way back into the match.
On The Underdog Football Show, Chris Horwedel called it his favorite story of the week. In the episode “Arsenal Lead, Como Make History & Nashville Break Record,” he first called the club “Stratford,” then used Stafford as he told the tale. The match had enough turns without giving the home side a second name.
Who is Darrhyl Mason?
Mason is a Stafford Rangers striker who works as a firefighter. He scored the first and third of Stafford’s goals against Grimsby. Horwedel was taken with that contrast: Mason had another job during the week, then scored twice against a Football League side on Sunday.
His first goal was a fine finish under pressure. His second required a different kind of nerve. Stafford had seen a two-goal lead disappear late in normal time, yet Mason was ready when Gomes put the ball across goal early in extra time. He turned it in to make the score 3-2.
There is an easy version of this story that treats Mason’s job as the whole explanation for the crowd’s joy. His play deserves more room than that. He ran onto Birch’s pass for the opener, supplied a chance for Birch after halftime and was there to finish when Stafford needed another lead.
“I think this is exactly why the early rounds of the FA Cup are so special.”
Birch had work away from the tie. The Non-League Football Paper reported that he was an Aston Villa youth coach. He set up Mason’s first goal and scored Stafford’s second, giving both men plenty to remember by the time the shootout began.
How did Grimsby come back from 2-0 down?
For much of the second half, Stafford held their lead. Then Grimsby scored twice in three minutes. Harvey Rodgers headed in Iwan Morgan’s free kick in the 74th minute. In the 76th, Kacurri headed home another Morgan delivery.
That is a rough way to lose a two-goal cushion. Both goals came from set pieces, and both arrived after Stafford had kept Grimsby out for more than an hour. The match was level at 2-2, with extra time ahead.
A smaller side can be worn down by that kind of swing. Stafford went forward instead. In the 93rd minute, Gomes combined with Birch and crossed for Mason, who put Rangers ahead again. Grimsby had finally pulled level; three minutes into extra time, they had to do it all over again.
The next equalizer took longer. In added time at the end of extra time’s first half, Géza Turi got through the Stafford defense and scored for 3-3. Saunders later saved from Sonny Finch to keep the match level until penalties.
Horwedel said Stafford had held “three separate leads.” He was counting 1-0, 2-0 and 3-2, a fair description of how often Grimsby had to chase. The cruel part for Stafford was that Grimsby never led during open play. Their first lead of the entire tie came in the shootout.
Why did Grimsby win the penalty shootout?
Harvey Cartwright saved three Stafford kicks. He stopped attempts from Birch and Harvey Washington, then saved Luca Navarro’s effort to end the tie. Grimsby won the shootout 3-2.
It had started badly for both sides. Cartwright saved Birch’s first kick, but Grimsby’s Jamie Walker hit the bar. Luke Banks then scored for Stafford, and Andy Cook scored for Grimsby. After Cartwright saved from Washington, Cian Doyle put the visitors ahead.
Kyle Sambor kept Stafford in it. Justin Amaluzor answered for Grimsby, leaving Navarro needing to score. Cartwright went the right way again. After 120 minutes in which Grimsby had never been ahead, their goalkeeper had made the difference from the spot.
Horwedel said he expected supporters to talk about the match “20 years from now.” That is a prediction, of course, and Stafford’s players would surely have preferred another round. Still, it is easy to see what he meant. The home side had been a kick away from taking a fourth-tier club through 120 minutes without once falling behind.
Why do early FA Cup rounds produce matches like this?
The first round puts clubs with very different routes into the same draw. Grimsby joined there as a League Two side. Stafford came through qualifying, including replays, before getting the home tie. The FA said Rangers had played more qualifying games than any other club in that first-round field.
The ground was full. The match was on television, too. The FA said each club selected for a live first-round broadcast would receive a £50,000 fee, so even before kickoff Stafford had gained something substantial from the weeks spent getting there.
None of that guaranteed a good game. Stafford made one by taking their chances and refusing to disappear after Grimsby’s comeback. Cartwright made it harder for them still. He saved Birch’s shots when Rangers led 2-0, then saved three more from the spot.
The result belongs to Grimsby. They came back twice and advanced. The sound of the day belongs somewhere else: to 3,130 people at the Stan Robinson Stadium, watching a firefighter put Stafford ahead for the third time.
The full episode of The Underdog Football Show is on Underdog Podcasts, with the rest of the network's shows.
People also ask
What was the score between Stafford Rangers and Grimsby Town?+
They drew 3-3 after extra time in the FA Cup first round on November 8, 2026. Stafford led 2-0 at halftime and went ahead again early in extra time. Grimsby equalized both times, then won the penalty shootout 3-2.
Who scored Stafford Rangers’ goals against Grimsby?+
Darrhyl Mason scored in the third minute and again in the 93rd. Jack Birch scored Stafford’s other goal just before halftime. Mason works as a firefighter, while The Non-League Football Paper reported that Birch was an Aston Villa youth coach.
How many divisions separated Stafford Rangers and Grimsby?+
Four levels separated them. Stafford played in the eighth-tier Northern Premier League Division One West, while Grimsby played in League Two, the fourth tier. Stafford had also played eight FA Cup qualifying matches before this first-round tie.
Who saved the penalties for Grimsby against Stafford?+
Goalkeeper Harvey Cartwright saved three Stafford penalties in the shootout. He denied Jack Birch and Harvey Washington, then stopped Luca Navarro’s kick to send Grimsby into the second round. Grimsby won the shootout 3-2.