Former Women’s Super League side Sunderland reached the FA Women’s Cup third round with a thrilling 4-3 win over neighbours Middlesbrough.
Sunderland, who made the 2016 semi-final and the last 8 the following 2 years, will next go to Fylde after edging the all-Northern Premier tie.
Huddersfield won 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Stoke, while Burnley beat Hull 2-1 in another third-tier fight.
Chorley, the most affordable ranked side left, lost 2-1 after additional time to Brighouse.
That honour now comes from Actonians, whose third-round video game at Billericay contributed to Brighouse’s tie in your home to Barnsley implies at least 2 fourth-tier sides will reach round 4.
Somewhere else, 3 third-tier sides dispatched fourth-tier clothing as Portsmouth surged Leyton Orient 6-1, West Bromwich Albion beat Lincoln City 2-0 and Loughborough Foxes won 4-0 at Chester-le-Street.
The winners of Sunday’s 7 ties sign up with the 11 groups who qualified last weekend in the third round on 5 January, with Women’s Super League and Championship clubs getting in the fray in round four.
Second-round results
Burnley 2-1 Hull City
Stoke 1-1 Huddersfield Town (3-4 pens)
Sunderland 4-3 Middlesbrough
West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Lincoln City
Chester-le-Street Town 0-4 Loughborough Foxes
Chorley 1-2 Brighouse Town (AET)
Portsmouth 6-1 Leyton Orient
Third-round draw
Northern section:
Fylde v Sunderland
Burnley v Nottingham Forest
Loughborough Foxes v Huddersfield Town
Brighouse Town v Barnsley
Southern section:
Ipswich Town v Portsmouth
Watford v Plymouth Argyle
Cardiff City v Southampton FC Women
Southampton Women’s FC v West Bromwich Albion
Billericay Town v Actonians
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