Gavin Cowan says he felt no shoot-out nerves as Brackley beat Notts County

Gavin Cowan insists he felt no shoot-out nerves as Brackley disposed of Notts County 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

The Northamptonshire side deservedly went through to the second round of the FA Cup after coming from behind twice.

A decisive penalty from Zak Brown sent the National League outfit through, after goals from Alassana Jatta and Jodi Jones, Matt Lowe and Callum Stewart in normal time.

Brackley manager Cowan revealed the shoot-out did not make him anxious.

He said: “I felt really calm during the penalty shoot-out, because I felt as though we deserved it.

“I felt if justice was going to be done then we’d get the win. The only nervousness is knowing how hard people at this football club work.

“I’m just so pleased for everyone because I see how hard they work.”

Jatta opened the scoring on 12 minutes with a header, before Lowe was first to a deep cross in the area on 27 minutes.

Jones found the net when he converted a spot-kick on 50 minutes, after Conor Grant was upended in the area.

A 94th-minute penalty from Stewart sent the game into deserved extra time for Brackley.

And a decisive spot kick in the shoot-out from Zak Brown sent the non-league side into the second round.

Notts County manager Martin Paterson was left dismayed at defeat, especially after twice leading in the tie.

He said: “We value the FA Cup as a football club, I value it and we’ve come down to a great occasion and atmosphere.

“I don’t want to get into details because we just weren’t good enough. There were times we didn’t look threatening.

“We lacked impetus and aggressiveness and there were so many sloppy moments. We looked like we struggled to defend their direct play.”