Macclesfield Town and Tamworth achieved the FA Cup shocks of the day after beating Swindon Town and Cheltenham Town respectively in the first round of the competition.
Goals from Connor Jennings either side of a Scott Boden strike put Macclesfield in a commanding position over the League One team.
Peter Winn added a fourth for the Conference side to give them a superb 4-0 win to advance to the second round of the competition.
Tamworth secured their passage to the second round of the FA Cup courtesy of a narrow 1-0 victory over Cheltenham, with Nick Chadwick's 20th-minute strike proving sufficient for the Conference outfit in progressing to the next stage of the game's oldest cup competition.
Oxford United escaped an embarrassing defeat to Conference outfit Gateshead with a late fightback at the Kassam Stadium.
Gateshead went ahead against the League Two side thanks to a 30-yard strike from James Marwood, before Jamie Chandler doubled their lead just after the break.
However, Deane Smalley pulled one back for Oxford with 13 minutes left to play, before Danny Rose spared their blushes late on to force a replay with a 2-2 draw.
League One outfit Crawley Town needed over an hour before they broke the deadlock at Conference North side Hednesford Town, but Darren Campion put the ball in his own net to give the Red Devils the lead.
However, the hosts found an equaliser with 14 minutes to play as Elliott Durrell converted a penalty, but Emile Sinclair rose seven minutes from time to win it for Crawley and break Hednesford hearts.
Leyton Orient advanced to the next round with a 5-2 win over Southport of the Conference.
Orient got off to a flying start with Shaun Batt slamming them ahead inside two minutes, before Dave Mooney double their advantage from close range just six minutes later.
Luke George responded midway through the first half to get the Conference team back in the match, before Lloyd James scored deep into first-half stoppage time to restore the two-goal advantage.
Batt got his second to put the game to bed in the 57th minute and there was still time for Dean Cox to add a fifth with just over a quarter of the game to play before Matt Flynn got one back for Southport with three minutes to go.
League Two's Hartlepool United progressed with a narrow 3-2 win over Notts County of League One.
Jack Baldwin nodded Hartlepool ahead with a quarter of an hour on the clock, only for Dean Leacock to inadvertently draw the visitors level two minutes later.
Luke James restored United's lead just before the break before scoring again with 15 minutes to play, but Ronan Murray again got County back in it with six minutes to play.
It took just three minutes for Oldham Athletic to go in front against Wolverhampton Wanderers thanks to a Genseric Kusunga opener, but Scott Golbourne drew the away side level just before the break to force a replay after a 1-1 stalemate.
Southend United got off to a flying start at Morecambe after Anthony Straker scored twice in three minutes to give them a 2-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes.
Ryan Leonard got his name on the scoresheet in the final minute to send Southend through to the next stage with a 3-0 win.
MK Dons took 39 minutes to find a breakthrough against Halifax Town of the Conference when Izale McLeod gave the League One side the lead.
Shaun Williams tucked home a penalty early in the second half to give the Dons a comfortable advantage before McLeod notched his second 20 minutes from time.
Lee Gregory managed to get one back for Halifax eight minutes later, but Brendon Galloway coolly slotted home a fourth for the League one team to give them a 4-1 win.
In the earlier kickoff, Grimsby Town held local rivals Scunthorpe United to a 0-0 draw at Blundell Park.
Lenell John-Lewis was denied twice by the away side, first by defender Andy Dawson and then by Scunthorpe goalkeeper Sam Slocombe, as the non-league side almost caused an upset.
Boreham Wood earned a potentially lucrative replay with Carlisle United by holding the Cumbrians to a goalless draw at Meadow Park.
The Hertfordshire club, who are currently involved in a relegation battle in the Conference South, will now travel to Brunton Park, where the average league attendance has been 4,587 this season.
Fellow non-league outfit Braintree Town also secured a replay with Football League opposition by holding Newport County to a 1-1 draw at Cressing Road.
Chez Isaac fired Braintree ahead early on, but a second-half own goal from Ryan Peters kept Newport in the hat.
Eighth-tier Daventry Town frustrated Chesterfield for 69 minutes at the Proact Stadium, before goals from Gary Roberts and Jimmy Ryan sent the League Two side into round two.
Sheffield United secured their first away win of the season with a 3-2 victory at Colchester United.
A Harry Maguire strike and a Sam Walker own goal put the Blades 2-0 up inside 12 minutes in Essex, but Macauley Bonne and Luke Garbutt found the net after the break to bring Joe Dunne's men level.
However, Chris Porter netted the winner from the penalty spot with nine minutes remaining.
League Two high-flyers Fleetwood Town extended their winning streak to three games as David Ball's 11th-minute effort sent the Cod Army on their way to a 2-0 win at Gloucester City.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas's 13th and 14th goals of the season inspired Bristol City to a 3-0 win over Dagenham & Redbridge.
Ryan Lowe struck in stoppage time as Tranmere Rovers registered a 1-0 win over Accrington Stanley at the Crown Ground.
The match between Bury and Cambridge City was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Gigg Lane.
Peterborough United left it late to book their place in the second round, with Darren Ferguson's men securing a 2-0 victory over Exeter City at London Road.
Britt Assombalonga fired Posh into a 1-0 lead in the 72nd minute, before Nathaniel Mendez-Laing secured the victory seven minutes later.
Elsewhere, Paul Gallagher hit a hat-trick as Preston North End dismantled Barnet 6-0 at Deepdale, with both sides finishing the game with 10 men.
Keanu Marsh-Brown saw red as early as the 15th minute for violent conduct, and it would soon go from bad to worse for Edgar David's men, who fell behind to an 18th-minute strike from Tom Clarke.
Simon Grayson's men capitalised on their numerical advantage to devastating effect, with Gallagher and Joe Garner adding two further strikes, despite going down to 10 men themselves following Stuart Beavon's red card.
Likewise, Mansfield Town booked their place in the next round in style, annihilating lowly St Albans City 8-1.
The Southern League Premier Division outfit looked poised to earn a half-time advantage over their League Two counterparts, courtesy of an eighth-minute Darren Locke strike.
However, the Stags rallied and overhauled the deficit within minutes of the interval, first through Lee Stevenson in the 43rd minute, before Anthony Howell completed the comeback moments later.
Despite being separated by a number of divisions, Mansfield failed to find their stride until the closing 20 minutes, where Sam Clucas hit four goals - along with a couple from Oliver Palmer and Colin Daniel - to comfortably dispatch St Albans.
Rotherham United enjoyed derby success in securing their place in the draw, comfortably beating local rivals Bradford City 3-0.
Kieran Agard bagged a brace either side of an Alexander Revell strike to ensure that the Millers triumph in the all-League One affair.
Likewise, Walsall emerged triumphant from their clash with League One rivals Shrewsbury Town with a 3-0 victory.
Craig Westcarr fired the Saddlers into a 2-0 lead, before Romaine Sawyers secured the victory 17 minutes from full time.
Rochdale left it late to seal their progression to the second round, with Scott Hogan and Peter Vincenti scoring within the last five minutes to down Torquay United 2-0.
Francois Zoko inspired Stevenage to victory over Portsmouth, bagging a brace in a 2-1 win over Pompey, while Wycombe Wanderers are set for a replay with Crewe Alexandra following a 1-1 draw at Adams Park.
Anthony Grant fired the visitors into the lead as early as the fourth minute, before Paris Cowan-Hall restored parity later on in the first half as both teams struggled in their attempts to find a second.
Results in full: Grimsby 0-0 Scunthorpe, Boreham Wood 0-0 Carlisle, Accrington 0-1 Tranmere, Braintree 1-1 Newport, Brentford 5-0 Staines, Bristol City 3-0 Dag & Red, Bury P-P Cambridge United, Chesterfield 2-0 Daventry, Colchester 2-3 Sheffield United, Corby 1-2 Dover, Gillingham 1-1 Brackley, Gloucester City 0-2 Fleetwood Town, Hartlepool 3-2 Notts County, Hednesford 1-2 Crawley, Kidderminster 4-1 Sutton, Leyton Orient 5-2 Southport, Lincoln 0-0 Plymouth, Wycombe 1-1 Crewe, MK Dons 4-1 Halifax, Morecambe 0-3 Southend, Oldham 1-1 Wolves, Oxford United 2-2 Gateshead, Peterborough 2-0 Exeter, Preston 6-0 Barnet, Rotherham 3-0 Bradford, Salisbury 4-2 Dartford, St. Albans 1-8 Mansfield, Stevenage 2-1 Portsmouth, Stourbridge 4-1 Biggleswade Town, Tamworth 1-0 Cheltenham, Torquay 0-2 Rochdale, Walsall 3-0 Shrewsbury, Welling 2-1 Luton, Wrexham 3-1 Alfreton, Macclesfield 4-0 Swindon
Matt Cotton
