FA CUP VERDICT: It was no cup classic, but Brackley can still hold their heads high

Indeed, many Rovers supporters were probably surprised during a second round tie that was always closely-fought, even if lacking in all the ingredients necessary for a classic.

A rousing atmosphere, entertainment, blood and thunder tackles, chances at both ends and, to round it off, the underdogs having their day and producing the sort of upset the FA Cup is world famous for.

All the ingredients, therefore, that were evident when Brackley defeated three divisions higher Gillingham 4-3 in a first round replay in 2016. THAT is the FA Cup for you.

Sadly, there was none of that at a near deserted Prenton Park on a cold winter’s night on Birkenhead.

The second round ties came a week too early to welcome supporters back - but not in tier 3 areas anyway - so Brackley attempted to create club history by reach the third round for the first time in their 130-year history against a backdrop of empty blue seats.

There were no bad challenges - referee Tom Nield didn’t issue a single card, a rarity in a game of this significance - while there were painfully few clear chances at either end.

And, sadly for Brackley, no upset and no place in Monday’s third round draw alongside the elite of English football.

There was no hard luck story for Saints - fifth bottom of the National League North - in suffering their third FA Cup second round loss in eight seasons.

They failed to seriously test home keeper Scott Davies throughout - Town didn’t get a single effort on target in the 90 minutes.

For the first 25 minutes, Brackley were the livelier side but were restricted to long-range shots.

In fairness, the visiting defence restricted Tranmere - coming into the tie on the back of six straight victories across three different competitions - to only two on-target efforts - and one of those was Kaiyne Woolery’s winner, a delicious curling effort which went in off the back post.

Tranmere enjoyed the bulk of the possession - 67 per cent - but it is credit to Brackley that Keith Hill’s men created so very little.

If there was a regret in the Saints camp, it was that midfielder Shep Murombedzi failed to hit the target with his side’s best opportunity.

The ball dropped invitingly to him on 63 minutes, but he fired his shot wide of the goal.

It was to prove Brackley’s best chance of the evening and three minutes later they were trailing.

With none of their own supporters inside the ground to will them on, Rovers were relatively untroubled late on.

Football, as has been said so often, is nothing without fans. And this was a tie which cried out for supporters to show their passion.

Though Brackley bowed out - the dream of a return trip to Merseyside to Anfield or Goodison Park in the third round over for another year - at least the club’s bank balance has been swelled by this season’s run.

Helped by £35,000 from the BBC for screening rights at Tranmere, Saints trousered £78,847 from the competition. At a time when they have had to play home games behind closed doors, that sort of money is the proverbial godsend.

It is not far short of the £90,000 they will bank from the National Lottery for playing games in October, November and December without fans.

Brackley boss Kevin Wilkin declared afterwards that his players can feel ‘tremendously proud’ of themselves, and so they should.

There have been many big games in recent years - two FA Cup wins over Gillingham, the FA Trophy win in 2018, four play-off chances to win promotion to the top table of non-league football.

Tranmere was another of those big matches and, even though it won’t live long in the memory like some of the others, it projected Brackley Town’s name - via the BBC - onto a national level.

And that sort of publicity can be priceless ...