St Albans boss Ian Allinson ‘extremely proud’ after Forest Green FA Cup upset

St Albans boss Ian Allinson felt his “outstanding” side took advantage of their luck as they progressed to the second round of the FA Cup for the first time in 25 years.

St Albans shocked League Two leaders Forest Green with a 3-2 victory at Clarence Park.

Matt Stevens put Rovers ahead after 17 minutes but quick goals from Mitchell Weiss and Zane Banton turned things around for the hosts, who play in the sixth-tier National League South.

Jack Aitchison levelled on the stroke of half-time but a second-half strike from Shaun Jeffers secured St Albans’ place in the second round.

Allinson told BBC Two: “I’m extremely proud. We had to ride our luck a little bit at times, they’re a good side.

“But the boys didn’t give in. If you give Shaun (Jeffers) half a chance and he will take it and he managed to do that. Michael (Johnson) in goal has made a couple of really good saves.

“But I thought second half we were comfortable. Felt first half we rode our luck a little bit but the boys have been outstanding. They’ve been like that all season and they deserve it.

“You can see what it’s like on the pitch now. All the pubs are busy tonight.

“We’ve got 4,000 in here again. It’s fantastic for the city. It’s something that they’ve been waiting for for a very long time.

“Second round get a good draw and you just don’t know what is going to happen. I’m just so pleased for the club, the players and the supporters because it’s obviously a good day for them and they’ve not had days like this many times. ”

But Allinson insisted it would soon be back to business for his side, who are second in the National League South.

He added: “We’re going to go upstairs afterwards and have a pizza and a rest because the last two weeks has been absolutely balmy. So we can settle it all down now and we have got a league game next week and we need to prepare for that properly.”