Tamworth gaffer Andy Peaks was "immensely proud" of his team after they held Tottenham in a gripping FA Cup encounter that only saw the Lambs defeated 3-0 after extra-time. Despite being 96 places below their Premier League adversaries at the beginning of the third-round weekend, the part-time players showed valor, nearly putting the town on the football map with a win at the Lambs Ground.

However, there was slight regret as Thomas McGlinchey and Jordan Cullinane-Liburd narrowly missed what could have been staggering stoppage-time goals for Tamworth. Moreover, the recent axing of replays in this year's cup meant Tamworth was denied what would have been a financially rewarding rematch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs ultimately made it through to the next round thanks to goals in extra time from Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson, following Nathan Tshikuna's own goal in the 101st minute, yet the match will remain long remembered by the National League team.

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Regarding the absence of a replay chance, Peaks shared: "That’s all changed, we knew that and it is what it is. Nothing has changed on today. To take a team to extra-time, it is unbelievable."

"I am immensely proud and I just said ‘don’t be disappointed because we almost created history there’."

"They were disappointed at the end because I think they were that close to nicking a goal at the end and it would have made it 1-0 to us, but I said ‘be proud’."

"Even this week it didn’t really sink in what we were actually going to do. It will probably take a few days, but I think we had an opportunity."

"Equally, when you look at the team they had, for us to compete with them for such a long time, I’m like ‘wow’."

"It is unbelievable. The players they had out there at the end, you look at the bench and who they are bringing on, it just speaks volumes for what we are all about and we made it so hard for them to play through us."

Peaks, a Leeds fan, revealed he had asked Tottenham defender Archie Gray for his shirt as memorabilia to remember the occasion before he paid tribute to Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou. "I actually said to Ange before when he said ‘how are you’? I said, ‘I was all right until I saw your team sheet’! But, no he was respectful before and said what a great job we had done here," Peaks said.

"And at the end he was brilliant and said, ‘you gave us a right good run for our money, be proud of your boys, they were fantastic’."

"He has done me a programme saying exactly that, so I’ll take that."

"I’m getting Archie Gray’s top. He has promised me one. He won’t let me down. He knows I’m a Leeds fan and promised me."

Postecoglou was made to sweat before Spurs progressed into the fourth round and while he picked a strong team, he was forced to introduced Kulusevski, captain Son Heung-min and Dominic Solanke. He added: "Firstly credit to Tamworth, I thought they gave everything and gave a really good account of themselves."

Tottenham's manager praised both teams after a hard-fought encounter, remarking, "I’m sure all Tamworth will remember the day as they should because their team played really well."

"And we will remember it too because it’s a unique experience for us in terms of the kind of challenge we had today. I enjoyed it. It was a good day."

He also chimed in on the FA Cup replays debate, understanding both sides but highlighting scheduling difficulties: "I get the sentiment but at the same time, I’ve been banging on about less games so it is a balancing act," said Postecoglou. He added, recognising fixture congestion concerns, "The way the calendar is at the moment, it would be almost impossible for us to fit another game in. We are already struggling to fit it all in."

"I understand the sentiment around it."